Post Classifieds
Students benefit from napping
There is much to gain from adding sleep
By Jasmine Peterson
On May 4, 2012
Jay Ibaugh's eyes were closed as he sat on the couch with his head tilted back and
his feet propped up on the table in front of him. It was noon, and the room was
markedly quiet as the senior political science major from Ransomville was taking
his daily nap in the StudyQuad in Butler Library.
Ibaugh said the naps refreshed and relaxed him after his 45 minute drive to school.
"Ready to go to class again," he said.
Feeling rejuvenated and relaxed are just two of the benefits power nappers can
wake up to, said Stephani Foraker, assistant professor in psychology at Buffalo State.
"Most people would describe a power nap as just a short nap, lasting anywhere
between 20 to 30 minutes," Foraker said. "You're just giving the body and brain
enough time to just zone down. That also seems to be a good amount of time so that
when you wake up, you still feel refreshed."
In addition to feeling more alert, power naps can also help with memory, which can
facilitate studying, she said.
"Sleep helps to consolidate, or lock in, our memory for new information," Foraker
said. "So you actually learn better with a little bit of sleep."
Sleep also lowers cortisol, the stress hormone that can frazzle students and makes
focusing and problem solving difficult.
Cory Wright, a freshman communications major, said she notices a change in her
stress tolerance when she wakes up from her nap.
"When I wake up, I'm usually more happy about things," Wright said. "More
easygoing, not as stressed."
Although exactly what goes on during naps on the molecular level is still unknown,
the benefits of power naps and proper sleep are apparent, Foraker said.
"We still don't understand sleep that well at that non-conscious level," she said. "But
it seems to help us organize the stuff that happens to us."
Foraker said despite the benefits, napping is often socially viewed as being lazy or
planning poorly by our busy society. But many famous world leaders were nappers,
she said, including Bill Clinton and Winston Churchill.
Tired students who aren't used to napping can teach themselves to nap through
practice, Foraker said.
"Start on the weekends," she said. "It's two o'clock on the weekend, it's starting to
get around snack time, so instead, just lay down. It's good to limit the environmental
input around you."
Foraker suggested students lie down in a dark, quiet room that is slightly cool - a
lowered temperature is one of the cues the body uses to go to sleep.
For napping on campus, Leiah Renford, a freshman speech pathology major, and
Alexis Ashley, a junior childhood and elementary education major, both suggested
the couches, tables and quiet atmosphere at the Barnes and Noble in the Buffalo
State Bookstore, on the lower level of the Student Union.
Emily Greer, a senior English major, said she napped in the International Students'
Lounge, on the third floor of Butler Library. And although currently unavailable due
to construction in the Student Union, Mary Burgio, a junior exceptional education
major, said she napped on the couches of the Fireside Lounge.
But even on the comfiest of couches, sleep doesn't always come right away for
beginning nappers, Foraker said.
"Part of it's just learning to let your mind drift off. If you start thinking about all the
problems of the day, your mind just goes in circles. It's the idea of letting go of things
and for some people, that's the hard part of napping," she said.
Regular power nappers can maximize their benefits by adding caffeine, Foraker
said.
"If you're going to take a power nap, have a cup of coffee before," she said. "Say it's
two o'clock in the afternoon, and you're like, 'I'm never going to make it through
this next class.' Have your coffee, take your 20 minute power nap. It takes 20 to 30
minutes for the caffeine to kick in, so now you not only wake up refreshed from your
nap, but the caffeine has kicked in."
Even without coffee, Foraker said that power nappers can enjoy a combination of
feeling more alert, attentive and a lowered stress response in the body, but joked
that students shouldn't forget to set an alarm to avoid waking up three hours later.
For comments on this story, contact bscrecord@gmail.com.
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