Napping
Short early-afternoon naps: useful, but easy to get wrong
Views differ across this directory, which is why this appears with caveats rather than as a recommendation. A nap of roughly 20 minutes in the early afternoon, when the natural circadian dip arrives, restores alertness. Taken long or late it eats into that night's sleep pressure and can worsen insomnia.
People on record
Sorted by strength of stance
Does it: documented as part of their own routine. Recommends: explicitly advises other people to do it. Discusses: covered it substantively without clear personal adoption; this can include criticism or disagreement.
- Andy GalpinDoes it
Exercise physiologist · Perform podcast
Third on his own list of responses to a bad night, and the one he expects to surprise people. Thirty, 60 or 90 minutes that improves the next ten hours beats grinding through the day making worse food choices.
Source: Perform: How to Boost Your Metabolism & Burn Fat - LeBron JamesDoes it
Basketball player · NBA all-time leading scorer
He naps. When the night falls short of eight or nine hours he makes it up with a nap, and he said he was heading home from the recording for one of about two and a half hours. He calls it the best way to recover.
Source: The Tim Ferriss Show #349 transcript: LeBron James and Mike Mancias - Michael PhelpsDoes it
Olympic swimmer · Most decorated Olympian in history
In training he slept eight to ten hours a night and added a two-hour nap during the day, treating sleep as the thing that made the workload survivable.
Source: The Tim Ferriss Show #494: Michael Phelps and Grant Hackett, transcript“I treated my body like I was a Ferrari. … So I was sleeping probably eight to 10 hours a night with a two-hour nap during the day.”
The Tim Ferriss Show #494: Michael Phelps and Grant Hackett, transcript (opens in a new tab) · 23 Jan 2021 - Novak DjokovicDoes it
Tennis player · Record 24 Grand Slam singles titles
On match days he takes what he hesitates to call naps: ten, fifteen or thirty minutes depending on the wait, treated as a quick reset of energy rather than sleep. Five minutes of breathing exercises sometimes does the same job.
Source: Tennis365: Novak Djokovic reveals his sleep routine - Tim FerrissDoes it
Author · The Tim Ferriss Show
Short afternoon naps when the schedule allows, on top of years of extensive experimenting with sleep timing.
Source: The 4-Hour Body - Greg DoucetteRecommends
Coach and IFBB pro · Harder Than Last Time
Broken sleep raises cortisol and ghrelin and leaves the next day hungrier, is how he explained the problem to the reporter, so his answer for Ramadan was short naps spread through the day, while carrying on with any natural sleep aid that already works.
Source: The New Arab: How to stay in shape during Ramadan lockdown - Matthew WalkerDiscusses
Sleep scientist · author of Why We Sleep
Naps are useful but conditional in his account: fifteen to twenty minutes and early is fine, long or after 1pm eats the sleep pressure needed that night.
Source: The Tim Ferriss Show #654 transcript
Aimed at the same thing
Other entries filed under energy or focus.
- HabitFREE, no cost
Pre-workout music
Headphones on, a set playlist, and a fixed cue to switch into training mode
On record from 5 of 62 tracked people: 5 do it - HabitFREE, no cost
Water before coffee
A full glass of water on waking, before the first cup of coffee
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - Protocol$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Deliberate cold exposure
Cold showers or ice baths used deliberately, usually a few minutes at a time
On record from 25 of 62 tracked people: 19 do it, 6 have discussed it - Supplement$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Caffeine
The most-used performance drug in the world, timing-sensitive
On record from 14 of 62 tracked people: 10 do it, 1 recommends it, 3 have discussed it - ProtocolFREE, no cost
Morning sunlight exposure
Bright outdoor light soon after waking, 5-30 minutes and no sunglasses
On record from 10 of 62 tracked people: 6 do it, 3 recommend it, 1 has discussed it - ProtocolFREE, no cost
Hard thinking before lunch
Book the mentally demanding work for the morning and stop making big calls late in the day
On record from 2 of 62 tracked people: 2 do it
Habit entry · notes paraphrased from cited sources, quoted excerpts copied from the transcript they link to. Not medical advice. Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or reviewed by anyone listed. How this works.