The Unappreciated Power of Naps

By: Jade Wu, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Jade Wu

The science of the past few decades has shown that taking a nap may increase our productivity, boost our cognitive abilities, and take us closer to the limits of athletic performance. In various cultures around the world, napping is considered an important part of everyday life. And yet, so many of us consider napping a waste of time—something that’s unproductive, lazy, or childish. Is our dismissal of napping holding us back?

In The Unappreciated Power of Naps, sleep researcher and clinical psychologist Dr. Jade Wu will uncover the truth about napping and its amazing benefits for both mind and body. Across six revealing lectures, you’ll examine what science tells us about the benefits—and, yes, the potential downsides—of napping, including:

• The positive influence of naps on cognitive skills, including memory, vigilance, and mental processing speed;
• The benefit of brief periods of sleep for enhancing physical performance, from increased muscle strength to greater jump velocity to higher endurance, and more; and
• The troubling potential links between excessive sleeping and health conditions like heart disease and dementia.

To better understand the mental and physical benefits of naps, Dr. Wu will give you a crash course on how sleep works and the important differences between short rests and a full sleep. You’ll also learn the truth about some very prevalent myths about sleep and discover why we have so many misconceptions about our needs and habits when it comes to rest patterns.

As you will see, sleep is not one-size-fits-all but rather a highly personal and individual part of your life that changes based on age, lifestyle, and health conditions. While the body is very good at regulating itself, our busy lives can disrupt our natural and much-needed rest cycles. With Dr. Wu’s guidance, you’ll have the tools to better craft your own personalized approach to resting and recharging, in the way that best suits you.

©2024 Audible Originals, LLC (P)2024 Audible Originals, LLC.

Informative, well paced, humorous

Highly recommend to anyone, but especially those who are searching for ways to understand and maximize the power and intelligence our bodies and minds posess.

Great

I enjoyed the six lectures in this course. Jade Wu was cleary enthusiastic about napping and used many scientific studies to back up her words. I especially appreciated how she presented the information and provided both sides, letting the listener decide. The only criticism I have to offer is that she used the term "pregnant people" instead of the true word of "women". Otherwise, this course is worth your time.

I got a detailed understanding of nap and how important it is to sleep and health.

Very educational overall. I found it strange a person of science saying pregnant people. Maybe I don’t understand English well, but when I hear “pregnant people” it tells me anyone is able to become pregnant and not just women.

Very helpful

Really enjoyed the content of this lecture series. I highly recommend people listen to it.

pretty good. plan to reread this next week

pretty interesting and in depth. her prose is good. funny. she gives a lot of practical advice.

Short but useful

Extremely short, but useful, even if the bulk of the advice boils down to "afternoon naps can be useful." The book delves into many details aspects of napping - athletes, babies, Alzheimer's, etc. However, if you struggle with sleep, the author's full-sized book "Hello Sleep" would be better.

Fascinating

A fascinating insight into sleep and napping and how it can play an intergral role in our over all well being.

I was with her until the 4hr nap

some good info and some seriously misleading, I couldn't believe she said 'napping between a few minutes to 4 hours is ok'. I had to go back and confirm what I had just heard. Way to really mess up your sleep later. I am fascinated with the science of sleep, so I have read/listened to my more than enough on the subject. my advice: don't believe EVERYTHING she says.

general information, no benefits

i was expecting deep dive in planning napping during the day. the citation are not in my interest as I believe they are wrong.