26 Minutes Is The Perfect “Cat Nap”

Have you ever wondered what the perfect amount of time for napping is?  In light of the air traffic controllers that have been falling asleep while on the job, researchers are now telling them to take 26 minute naps.  This is supposed to be the optimum amount of time.  That way you don't fall into too deep of a sleep.

I am a frequent napper.  When you wake up as early as we do (around 4-4:30 am), you pretty much need a nap in the afternoon.  I have the problem of trying to take a quick nap, and waking up groggy 2 hours later.  If there's one thing worse than waking up early to an alarm clock, it's waking up to an alarm clock twice a day.  Ugh.  Here's an interesting article that explains more about the NASA study and how it's being used with air traffic controllers.