ARE YOU TIRED?

I always used to wonder why I was so tired and fairly useless around 3:00 PM. As it turns out, according to brain research, most of you probably have similar time periods during the day.

Did you know that if you sleep well, you will think well? This month, I shared the book Brain Rules with my graduate students. In the book, John Medina gives a great deal of usable information on our brains. One of the most fascinating to me is regarding sleep. Although the research is unclear as to how much sleep an individual person needs, on average, it is around 7 hours a night.

Research on the subject of sleep can be confusing but one thing researchers seem to agree on is the fact that “sleep loss cripples thinking in just about every way you can measure thinking”. As a result, many companies are introducing nap time into their daily work schedules. Yes, I said it “naps” for adults at work. How would that go over with your employer? Dr. Onyeaghala (my dean), if you are reading this, let me know if I can take a nap at 3:00.

It is fascinating that some of the companies instituting such policies are recognized as the most innovative, successful, and progressive companies in existence. According to Rosekind (a NASA scientist), people’s performance can improve 34% in just 26 minutes of napping.

Now think about our schools. If naps are good for adults, what would they do for students? Have you ever tried to teach a child who is tired? Useless battle isn’t it? Well, it is good to know that some of our more progressive schools are also listening to top brain researchers and doing things such as starting school later in the morning. I haven’t heard of any providing nap time beyond early elementary but maybe they’re out there.

If you want to learn more, check out John Medina’s book “Brain Rules”. It is a good read and resource.

What do you think about this subject? Share your thoughts with someone today.