We’re excited to introduce you to a brand new Apollo Vibe: Power Nap.
Because our goal at Apollo is to support you through all stages of your day and night - which may include nap time - we’ve added this Vibe to your arsenal! The Power Nap Vibe is meant to ease you into a short and wake you up gradually to restore energy and reduce fatigue in order to beat the afternoon slump without relying on uppers like caffeine or energy drinks. We now have eight Apollo Vibes to support your transitions through the day — Energy, Focus, Social, Power Nap, Recover, Calm, Unwind, and Fall Asleep.
While we encourage our Apollo community to try to get the adequate amount of rest they need each night, we know life gets in the way sometimes. Naps can be a beneficial tool if you experience daytime sleepiness or fatigue.
Learn more about why this Vibe may be helpful to you on your journey to feeling your best:
Benefits of naps
Unfortunately, you’re not always going to get a great night of sleep. Factors that may impact your sleep include babies or kids, pets, working night shift, disturbing noises, light pollution, jetlag, and more. While you may not consider yourself a regular napper, an occasional nap after a rough night can turn the day around.
Naps can improve mental and physical well-being. According to The Sleep Doctor, a lack of sleep can negatively impact focus, learning, memory, decision-making, and mood. A nap can lessen these effects. Napping can also help to reduce stress and regulate stress hormones, such as cortisol. Athletes often resort to naps to enhance physical performance, such as endurance, reaction times, and strength. A short nap may also improve performance in the workplace. Now that an estimated 27% of Americans are working from home post-pandemic, a quick nap in the middle of the afternoon is more feasible.
If you ever feel guilty for napping, keep in mind that in some cultures, afternoon naps are a daily occurance, such as in Spain. According to the National Sleep Foundation, the Spanish tradition of a “siesta”, or an afternoon nap, dates back to thousands of years and most likely originated to give farmers time in the afternoon to recover from the heat and restore their energy. Today, people in parts of Europe, Latin America, China, India, and more use the mid-afternoon pause in the day to return home, eat a leisurely lunch with family, and nap, as early afternoon is when most people find that their bodies naturally get tired.
Drawbacks of naps
When can naps be detrimental? If you nap for too long or too late in the day, your nap can reduce sleep pressure, or the need for sleep that builds up during the day. This can make it more difficult to fall asleep at night, so use your Power Nap Vibe wisely.
How to use Power Nap
Dr. Dave, Apollo co-founder and Chief Medical Officer, neuroscientist, and psychiatrist, recommends taking a nap before 3 or 4 P.M., or at least 4-5 hours before your bedtime. It is most widely recommended by sleep experts to nap for around 30 minutes. If you nap longer than 30 minutes, beware: this can cause the sleeper to enter deep sleep, and if you’re woken up during deep sleep, you may feel groggy.
In some cases, Dr. Dave says a longer nap close to 90 minutes (or an entire REM cycle), can be helpful, too, especially if you’re an emergency or shift worker trying to avoid extreme fatigue. This length of time allows the body to cycle through the stages of sleep and avoids interrupting deep sleep.
To experience Power Nap Vibe:
- Put on your Apollo wearable and open the Apollo Neuro app on your phone.
- Select Power Nap Vibe and choose the allotted time (30, 45 or 60 mins). While Power Nap will gradually wake you up, we also recommend setting your alarm for a few minutes after your scheduled nap time so you don’t nap for too long!
- Set the intensity (20%, 30%, etc.). The vibration should be noticeable and comfortable, but not distracting. Always start with the intensity low (where you just start to feel it) and increase from there gently. You wouldn’t start listening to your music with the volume at full blast, so think about Apollo’s sound waves in the same way, but for your skin instead of your ears.
- As your nap time comes to an end, Power Nap will gradually wake you up so you can wake up more naturally and without a jarring alarm.
Get Napping!
We’re looking forward to hearing how this new Vibe benefits our community. Are you a regular napper? Do you want to start napping to beat the afternoon slump? Treat yourself to a nap and try out this Vibe today.
