Micro naps to be a better human

Last week I was at All Energy, the largest renewable energy show in the UK. While there is remarkable technology, which I admire from the engineering perspective, the most precious renewable energy is our own life force.

Without it none of the innovations and technologies presented would have come into being.

On of the most inspiring and heartfelt conversations I had during the show was in fact about how working from home has enabled a whole new way of working including naps and nature walks to reconnect with one’s body to stay sharp mentally.

I take 2-3 naps a day. I literally feel my short term memory empty. I feel my stomach relax. I feel my eyes soften. Sometimes even my whole body tremors to release stress switching back into a more parasympathetic nervous system state, the state of relaxed awareness that makes great ideas flow.

We are in the information age where clear intentions and breakthrough ideas shape industries while still most of the business world operates with models of the industrial age, tracking time instead of results. To me this values effort over outcome and limits the creativity inherent in the human spirit.

I have a spot my couch, tug myself in with my blanket, a pillow under my ankles. It’s amazing how my body now associates this spot with deep relaxation.

It’s building a habit. And it creates magic every time.

The quote is from „Why We Sleep“ by Matthew Walker. I read this book years ago and it has influenced much of my experimentation around different sleep and nap patterns.