Proof You Went Psychotic Last Night… Plus Why You Should Ask Your Boss for Naptime

Watch the complete talk here. 
Matthew Walker is one of my scientific heroes. The man has literally it his mission to prove that midday naps are a vital to learning and that dreams aid in emotional processing. How cool is that?I was talking to a friend yesterday about how in America (and much of the “modernized” world), we really de-value the importance of sleep in an effort to be more productive. In most cultures throughout history, there has been time set aside — usually right after lunch — for people to rest, digest, have a little siesta before getting back to work. Now, we’re seeing the American work-your-tail-off-9am-to-5pm model being embraced in developing countries all around the world. The underlying assumption is that skipping sleep and working more will make us more productive. But according to Walker’s research… that’s not necessarily the case.

I’ve always been taught that naps are for lazy people, something you only get to do if you’re feeling sick or have a lot of time on your hands. Sleep, however, appears to be a far more complex and integral phenomenon than we give it credit for. A thirty-minute cat nap can help consolidate memory, enhance cognitive skills, and support the integration of emotional experiences. As we learned yesterday, you’ll actually die from lack of sleep before you will starvation. Sometimes, you’re more productive with your head on a pillow than in front of a computer screen.

So maybe catching a few extra Zzzzzz after lunch isn’t such a bad thing after all, even if it does make you a little psychotic.