Psst.
Hey, Smarty Pants, has this ever happened to you?
It's about mid-afternoon and you're outside playing with friends, or maybe you're inside playing video games when You decide to call it quits and head home to bed to take a nap.
What?
No naps?
Yeah, I know for most of you, napping is not your thing anymore.
And if you do nap, it's probably only after doing something really tiring, like playing basketball for six hours straight.
Either way, you're definitely not napping as often or as long as you used to.
You know, like when you were one or two years old.
But guess what?
There's a good chance that you're not done with naps forever.
Huh?
I ask again.
Has this happened to you?
It's mid-afternoon, and instead of being out with your friends, you're at home with an adult.
Could be a parent, an aunt, or an uncle, or a grandparent.
And you're sitting together on the couch, watching TV when you decide to get a snack.
You ask the adult if it's okay to have a cookie, to which they say...
Yep, they're out.
So has that ever happened?
Yep, I thought so.
So why is it that after giving up naps as a kid, you end up napping again as an adult?
Why do you take naps anyway?
And why are short naps sometimes better than long ones?
It's time for another whiff of science on... Who Smarted?
Who Smarted?
Who Smarted?
Who's smart?
Is it you?
Is it me?
Is it science or history?
Listen up, everyone.
We make smarting lots of fun.
Okay, smarty pants, take a look at whatever device you're using right now to listen to this podcast.
Do you see an icon on the screen that looks like a battery?
It shows how much energy is left in the device you're using.
And, as you may know, once that battery icon is almost empty, you'll need to plug the device into a power source to recharge it.
In a way, that's how your body works too.
Every day, you use up your body's energy supply.
And at night you need to plug in, so to speak, by sleeping, so that your body will be full of power again in the morning.
But why does this happen?
Is it A, so your brain can shut down and get a much-needed break?
B, so your body can repair cells and get rid of any bad stuff?
Or C, who knows, but it feels good.
The answer is a combination of B and C.
While sleep has a ton of benefits, such as bodily repair, scientists still don't have all the answers as to the reason why you need to do it every night.
But one thing we do know is that your brain does not shut down.
If it did shut down, who would keep your heart pumping?
Your lungs breathing. or your mouth drooling.
While you might be fast asleep, your brain is busy doing lots of other things, including creating dreams.
But as far as knowing everything your brain does during sleep, that's a mystery that keeps scientists awake at night.
However, there is one thing your brain does that could explain why humans take naps.
Think of your brain as your bedroom.
When you wake up... your room might be nice and neat, with most things where they belong.
But as the day goes on, your room becomes a cluttered mess of toys and schoolwork and crayons and markers and video game controllers and snacks.
And don't forget the dirty clothes everywhere but where they belong in the hamper.
By nighttime, your room is what your adult might refer to as... Oh, wow.
This place is a disaster.
But believe it or not, in some ways, so is your brain.
Every day.
Your brain is hard at work, observing everything around you, and it's constantly collecting all the new things it's learning.
Now, these things wind up getting thrown all over the place.
So sleep is an opportunity for your brain to clean its room.
Whoa.
Scientists believe your brain uses this time to go through what it has learned and find places to store it, while improving things like your memory and problem-solving skills.
And this might be the reason you nap so much when you're little.
After all, babies learn a ton every day.
They can start a day like this and finish it like this.
Mother, father, I seem to have a wet diaper.
Now it's a poopy diaper too.
Clean up on aisle me.
Okay, obviously not that much development happens in a day.
But babies are constantly learning about the brand new world around them.
While they're also figuring out how to move and communicate.
So much growth happens in those early months, it's exhausting.
And because of that, babies need a tremendous amount of sleep.
Any idea how much?
Is it A, up to 10 hours a day, B, up to 13 hours a day, or C, up to 18 hours a day?
Believe it or not, the answer is C, up to 18 hours a day.
Whoa.
And if you've ever been around a baby, You know, not all of that sleep happens at night.
Babies nap a lot during the day to get in the extra hours.
And all that sleeping and learning pays off.
And as your body understands and accomplishes more things like walking and talking, you can get away with less daily sleep.
So napping goes down too.
And by the time you turn three, you're probably just taking one nap a day.
Yet that nap is still very important for your development.
Then, by the time you start going to school, nighttime sleep is usually enough for your body.
You might still nap, which is perfectly fine, as there's no set time for giving up naps.
But for a lot of kids, at this point, nap time is a thing of the past.
And future.
You see, during your teenage years you're going to go through another burst of development and your body's going to need a lot of sleep to handle it, perhaps up to 10 hours a night.
But getting sleep is not as easy as it used to be.
Rock-a-bye baby in the treetop.
When the wind blows, the cradle will fall.
Mom, I'm 15.
Stop trying to rock me to sleep.
And please, stop singing.
You're embarrassing both of us.
Yes, the old tricks when you were a baby or toddler no longer work.
And worse.
Teens are too busy with friends, school and activities that they often go to bed late and get up early.
That means they're shortchanging the amount of sleep they need to handle all of the changes their bodies are going through, which is why many teens find themselves very tired at times.
I am.
And that's where I come in.
Uh, no, this is not a good time for you.
But I'm Captain Caffeine.
I keep naps away so you can stay up all day.
Yeah, you're exactly what teens don't need.
But everybody loves me.
I'm in chocolate, soda, energy drinks, Red Bull, monster, tea, and everybody's favorite, coffee.
First of all, kids shouldn't have coffee or too much caffeine.
And second, can you like tone it down a little?
You're at a 10.
Can you get it down to like a six?
But I need to keep you awake.
Not now.
Sleep is too important for growing kids.
Fine, but I'll be back.
Sorry about that.
As I'm sure you smarty pants know, adults love their caffeine, particularly coffee.
But before you become an adult, a better way for teens and tweens to keep alert is to exercise.
And, of course, take a nap.
But if you do decide to take a nap, how long should your nap be for maximum effect?
Is it A, less than 30 minutes?
B, an hour?
Or C, more than two hours?
The answer is right after this quick break.
Who Smarted is brought to you by Squarespace.
Now, you know I'm good about creating new adventures and episodes of Who Smarted, but you don't know that I procrastinate on other stuff, like a website for one of our new projects.
Oops.
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And now I feel silly for putting off building that website.
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You can use Squarespace to launch that business site or any site that you've been dreaming about but putting off today.
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And when you're ready to launch, you can use code smarted to save 10 on your first purchase of a website or domain.
That's squarespace.com slash smarted.
Code smarted.
Now back to Who Smarted?
We're talking naps.
Specifically, how long is the perfect nap?
Now, while you might think more sleep equals more rest, you're actually better off taking a shorter nap and saving the longer sleep for bedtime.
This goes for adults as well as for teens and tweens.
In other words, the perfect nap is A, less than 30 minutes.
But why?
Why?
Well, teens still need nighttime sleep to grow and develop, and a longer nap might hurt your ability to sleep later.
Naps under 30 minutes, often called power naps, give you energy without impacting your nighttime sleep or making you feel groggy afterwards.
Ugh.
And these naps provide the perfect boost to get through the day.
On the other hand, if you go beyond 30 minutes, you fall off a cliff.
Ah!
And into deep sleep.
Deep sleep helps your memory and creativity, but it's hard to get out of.
You might feel groggy when you wake up from a deep sleep, which is why a 30-minute nap will make you feel more awake than a 60-minute nap.
But if you do want to snooze for longer than 30 minutes, you'll want to go through an entire sleep cycle which takes about an hour and a half or 90 minutes.
In that time, your brain does all its memory sorting and problem solving.
Your body rejuvenates and enters deep sleep, followed by REM sleep, which is when dreams happen.
So after 90 minutes, you'll start a new cycle, which is a perfect time to wake up.
Just make sure you don't go beyond that.
A nap lasting longer than 90 minutes to two hours could have you waking up groggy again.
And then you'll need something to boost your energy.
Like me.
Wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up.
Ugh, not you again.
Hey, without me most adults would be fast asleep at their desks or on their couches or sitting in their cars.
There is some truth to that.
As I'm sure you've noticed, many adults tend to doze off during the day.
Why is that?
After all, they're not growing anymore.
Any guesses?
The biggest reason adults get tired during the day is they simply aren't getting enough sleep at night.
Adults need an average of seven hours of sleep each night to energize their minds and bodies, but many don't get that.
Now, you might be wondering, why is the afternoon the time when both kids and adults get tired?
Well, that has to do with your body's internal clock cycles.
Between two and three in the afternoon is when most people go through a natural drowsiness, thanks to bodily systems that control your awake and sleep times.
This is so common that some cultures have siestas or afternoon breaks to give people a chance to nap.
And then I'm back.
Yes, many adults and some kids get past this drowsy period by drinking coffee tea, sodas or energy drinks with caffeine, a chemical that jolts your brain and nervous system, keeping you awake.
But while caffeine may be effective...
It's not the best way to combat drowsiness.
Caffeine does not allow your body to do all the important stuff that it does while napping.
I mean, imagine your brain trying to organize itself while this is going on.
Hey!
Hey!
Wake up!
Trust me, even after a short nap, you'll feel better than you would after chugging down a drink loaded with caffeine.
So if you need to nap and you can nap, toss that energy drink and just get some sleep.
A double shout out to Super Smarty fans Phoebe and Lennon in Los Angeles, California.
Phoebe, we hear you love getting smarter and that trustee makes you laugh.
And Lennon, you love how we answer your questions on Spotify and you laugh at all of trustee's jokes.
Yep, you two are a dream team, all right.
Thanks for smarting with us.
This episode Naps was written by Dave Beaudry and voiced by Taya Garland, Kim Davis, Gia Davis and yours truly, Jerry Kolber.
Technical direction and sound design by Josh Hahn.
Who Smarted is recorded and mixed at the Relic Room Studios.
Our associate producer is Max Kamaski.
The theme song is by Brian Suarez, with lyrics written and performed by Adam Tex Davis.
Who Smarted was created and produced by Adam Tex Davis and Jerry Kolber.
This is an Atomic Entertainment production, and I love a good nap.
Who's smarter?
