I can never take short naps. I always end up wanting to sleep the rest of the day.
1. I never nap for more than 20 minutes. If my body goes into a deeper level of sleep or relaxation, I get up feeling groggy and disoriented.
2. Properly nap. Force yourself not to think about work. Focus on other things such as the weight of your body sinking into the chair/couch, the distant sound of traffic, etc.
3. Towards the end of the nap, very slowly and deliberately count up to 20, with a maybe 2 or 3 long slow breaths between counts. Completely relax during this count, but on the count of 20 immediately, instantly get up and go about your business. Know that this is what you are going to do, but don't let your body tense up or in any way get ready for it. Works for me like a charm. Just psychologically knowing I'm going to do this somehow prepares me for it at a deep level.
How do you do this while you are asleep? Or do you mean do this after you wake up?
Part of it is about how it's easier to make such decisions when it's not right now, but somewhere in the future. The second part is that when the count is up, you actually do it without thinking.
I tried it a couple of times and it does seem to help with the "uggh no just one more minute" false reasoning. Haven't managed to turn it into a habit though.
> 2. Properly nap. Force yourself not to think about work. Focus on other things such as the weight of your body sinking into the chair/couch, the distant sound of traffic, etc.
I think these are the most important, and they should be considered together.
Set a timer for 15 minutes, and lie down. Even if you don't fall asleep for those 15 minutes (I probably end up in deep sleep for 5-10 minutes), get up when your alarm goes off. Even closing your eyes for 15 minutes can be beneficial.
Sometime around 40 that changed. I take a nap almost every day, (sometimes 2, esp if doing something mentally taxing...I can do this since I work from home), but it's been years since I have been able to take a nap exceeding 20 minutes. I simply wake up, no alarm or stimuli needed. Even if I was up all night the night before. Sometimes, (like on Sunday afternoon), it's annoying. I would like to be able to enjoy a long nap again occasionally.
I've wondered about this, and would love a solid physiological explanation.
So if it's "kicked in" when the 20 min alarm goes off that means the last 5 min of that 20 will have been restless because the caffeine was already working.
Caffeine is the great antagonist of sleep quality anyway. Just drop it for a month, see how that feels. Then see how much it fucks up your sleeping quality as you take even two cups of strong coffee (which is great fun because the caffeine will actually work full power, it's amazing, but your sleep after that night will suffer).
This "coffee power nap" thing is a very nice story, but it's based on nothing. People that have success with it are finding the benefits of having a nap despite their caffeine usage.