Traveling long distances, even in the relative comfort of modernity, is an exhausting process which disrupts our circadian rhythms making it hard to sleep enough. This temporal squeeze on slumber has brought back the popularity of napping but it can be a difficult skill to master if you approach it like sleeping through the night.
Justin Lee is a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and PhD Candidate in a joint program with Harvard Medical School. He’s also the co-founder of 1337arts.com where he sent cameras to the edge of space, as well as a DOE Computational Science Graduate Fellow.
Neil Joglekar is Stanford graduate who co-founded ReelSurfer, and is the San Francisco Curator for Globals Shapers of the World Economic Forum.
Thanks everyone for a wonderful chat!
Both Justin and Neil have teamed up to create the Napwell, the world’s first sleeping mask designed for nappers which is now on Kickstarter. (Justin’s wife Diana handles their Twitter account @napwell.) Justin and Neil will be sharing more about the Napwell as well as answering your questions about jet lag, napping on flights, and anything else you want to know about getting good rest on short time frames or weird schedules in the comments below. I’ve also got a surprise for you there once the live chat begins…
Hi everyone, you can begin leaving you questions and comments now, Justin and Neil will be by at 4pm US EST (11pm GMT) to chat naps with you. See you there! (Er, I mean, here π
What kind of research went into creating the Napwell?
You can check out the kinds of things we did on our Kickstarter page (under the “Evolution of Napwell” header):
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2011830108/napwell-the-worlds-first-napping-mask
Some things that we didn’t mention on that page but that we’re currently working on:
– making Napwell as comfortable/soft as possible
– trying to figure out how best to waterproof everything and/or making an option for a detachable module so you can use it with your current sleeping mask
– maximizing battery life
– blocking sound/generating white noise to help people fall asleep faster.
From Facebook, Christopher asks:
“What’s the minimum amount of sleep needed (at night) in order to function properly during the day, if napping 30-60 minutes during the afternoon?”
Chris,
The “minimum amount of sleep required to function” can vary significantly from person to person. It can also vary significantly for a single person depending on his current circumstances/environment – e.g., if you are extremely stressed out and haven’t been able to sleep well for the whole previous week, or if the streetlamp right outside your window keeps you from falling asleep, etc..
What many sleep experts suggest is trying it out – i.e., take a nap during the day and then go to bed at night and see when you would “naturally” wake up (e.g., without an alarm clock).
Maybe a more important question though is instead of how to “function properly”, how to “function optimally”.
In this regard, naps have been shown to be REALLY great for you, regardless of how well you sleep each night. We’ve got a pretty decent post about this on our Napwell Blog (http://napwell.com/blog/2013/11/13/naps-are-awesome-why-you-should-nap-even-if-you-feel-well-rested-each-morning/), and there’s also a neat study done by NASA about a decade ago on the benefits of naps on pilots:
http://www.jetlog.com/fileadmin/downloads/NASA_TM_94_108839.pdf
how can i figure out when the best time to wake up is after a nap?
Generally speaking, either:
– 20-30 minutes after falling asleep
– 1.5 hours after falling asleep
or
– 3+ hours after falling asleep
What you want to avoid is waking up in the middle of deep sleep (See: hypnogram at the link below).
http://napwell.com/blog/2013/12/26/napping-well/
*Caveat: the hypnogram above is a rough estimate of what the average/typical person might experience. Your actual sleep cycles will depend on your genetics as well as external factors (e.g., if youβre severely lacking in sleep, you could fall into a deep sleep in just a few minutes)
How does the Napwell charge?
Hi Rita,
Currently, the Napwell is battery operated so no need to charge it. Based on our current tests the battery life lasts about a year but we are working on ways to extend the life (since technically the lights only need to be on when you are waking up) and on a rechargeable battery.
Thanks for your question!
Thank you!
How did you come up with the idea?
I’ve always loved to nap, and I’ve always loved to tinker. I consider myself pretty lucky to work with amazing people at MIT and Harvard Medical School, but it really frustrates me to see my colleagues routinely hampered by small things that have dramatic effects on their productivity (like sleep inertia).
One nice thing about MIT is that it’s really got this “just do it” culture, and so I built a quick/crude prototype one day (literally just a mask with LED’s controlled by a potentiometer). After some initial testing on myself I realized: “hey, this actually works” (at least for me) and started iterating through the steps you see on our Kickstarter page (“Evolution of Napwell” header).
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2011830108/napwell-the-worlds-first-napping-mask
That is very interesting. What do you envision the Napwell becoming or going from here?
At the moment, we’re focused on reaching our Kickstarter campaign goal and making sure we can deliver our product on time to our backers.
After that, we envision working with niche groups at first. Although Napwell was originally designed to help people nap better, we’ve had a lot of backers on our Kicsktarter campaign who have been interested in using the Napwell for:
– Helping frequent flyers get over jet lag faster (and have a more pleasant flight experience overall).
– Alleviating symptoms of medical conditions like “delayed sleep phase disorder” and “seasonal affective disorder”
– Improving the operational safety of U.S. naval submarine crews (who would otherwise lack appropriate light cues for healthy sleep cycles).
– Helping couples wake independently (without rousing the other).
We’re going to try and focus on the medical, naval, and travel communities in the near-future as we feel like Napwell can have a very immediate and direct positive impact on those groups. Hopefully things will grow organically from there, but that’s too far in the future to say.
Thanks again for taking my questions. What tweaks could be made to specifically help us travelers get over jet lag? I fly often for work, usually 2 weeks of every month across the US and sometimes Europe.
As a product for travelers, we want Napwell to be as comfortable as possible.
In terms of jetlag, the idea is that having a Napwell will let you set your personal times for when you want to sleep/wake to light instead of being dependent on the cabin lights (which might not be in sync with your actual final destination).
We also want to make Napwell as comfortable as possible so that you actually can sleep when you want.
As for more specific tweaks, these will be things that we’re going to work on jointly with our early adopters/testers. It’s a product we’re making for them, so it makes sense that their feedback would play a large role in shaping the direction of the Napwell.
How does the Napwell project tie in with your studies?
No direct tie to my studies. My thesis research is along the lines of “computational imaging for pathology” and my lab is actually a lab that specializes in 3Doptics. (http://3doptics.mit.edu/website/). I guess one tie-in is that I have a bit of expertise in optics and can make sure that the illumination system is as uniform, flexible, and power-efficient as possible.
That being said, my program/department of study, HST (http://hst.mit.edu/), has been great in terms of connecting me with interested physicians who have offered advice/guidance on the science behind napping and how to best build the Napwell.
Napwell is an extracurricular pursuit for now, but if it gets far enough along, I am considering taking leave of absence from school to work full-time on the product.
I’m curious how I can better plan out my naps when traveling. I try to avoid them on long haul flights, simply because I feel more groggy afterward. Also, I’m worried the naps are going to completely throw off my schedule, making jet lag worse. Any tips?
You might be feeling groggy because you’re waking up during the “deep sleep” phase of your sleep cycle. (It also might have to do with the rocking and low air pressure of the flight cabin). I built the Napwell to help address problems like the one you’re describing.
One thing you might want to try in the meantime is:
– nap for either 20-30 minutes, 1.5 hours, or 3+ hours.
The idea behind this is: you want to wake up when you’re NOT in deep sleep.
(Check out the hypnogram on our blog post as a reference: http://napwell.com/blog/2013/12/26/napping-well/)
*Caveat: the hypnogram above is a rough estimate of what the average/typical person might experience. Your actual sleep cycles will depend on your genetics as well as external factors (e.g., if you’re severely lacking in sleep, you could fall into a deep sleep in just a few minutes)
Depending on how far you’re traveling (and which direction), you may or may not want to nap.
– if you’re going westbound (so the days are a bit longer), a nap on the plane might help you have the energy to stay u those extra few hours after you arrive at your destination.
– if you’re going eastbound, you might be better off trying to stay awake then falling asleep as early as you can at your destination
– if you’re traveling on a long-haul flight (e.g., to Asia from the U.S.) you might want to think of your sleep-time on a plane not as a nap but as a ways to transition from one time zone to another. (so maybe try to fall asleep as close as you can to your destination time zone’s “sleep time”)
Does your “Napwell” mask have an attachment for sleep apnea? Hostel sleepers would love you for it!
Unfortunately, our current model doesn’t have an attachment specifically for sleep apnea. However, I don’t think it would be too difficult to make a slight modification so that Napwell would be compatible with sleep apnea devices.
Drop me a line on our Kickstarter page and we talk further about what modifications might work/help with sleep apnea.
Can you give a break down of the start up costs? It would be interesting to see what such a project takes.
Hi everyone, we’re just coming online now. Justin, Neil, welcome!
How do you deal with jet lag with a 7 mo old? We’ve traveled extensively internationally before our little man…next mo, he’s going on his first intl trip with us to London and Paris. Any tips? Hoping this is the first of many. Start em early!
Unfortunately, this is something I’m not 100% sure on (and don’t want to offer you any false tips). I’ve dropped a line to a sleep physician I know and will get back to you as soon as I hear back.
In the meantime, I did find this link online, which you might find helpful:
http://blog.isisparenting.com/tips-for-time-zone-travel-with-baby/
*the feedback I have been getting from people I’ve asked so far is to avoid long-haul travel with infants if at all possible.
If you absolutely must travel, I’d do a quick Google search on “infant jet lag” to look for tips on how to best minimize your child’s jet lag.
Hello!
My husband and I love traveling, so when we started having kids we didn’t think twice about taking them along. Kids had their first flights at 3 weeks of age and never stopped going (now 3, 5 and one on the way). They have more stamps in their passports than a lot of adults! We have taken them all over the world, including Russia, Europe and so on. One time we flew to Amsterdam, but it was so cold there that after just a few days we went straight to El Salvador. Long flights, completely different time zones.
The trick is, don’t think of it as difficult or different. Children are very adaptive to any situation, but they also are very sensitive to their parents’ moods and reactions. So, if you stress, the kids will, too. If you act normal, they will, too. Very easy.
We are getting a lot of “ahs” and “wows” when people learn we travel with kids so much, it actually never occurred to us that’s not all that common.
Travel is awesome! Travel with kids is even better! It is the best education you can possibly offer them.
Congratulations Kirsten, a Napwell is coming your way. Please email me – anil [at] foxnomad.com with the address you used to leave this comment and I’ll make arrangements to have one sent out.
Is it possible that naps just don’t work for some people?? I ALWAYS feel worse after!!
You might always be feeling worse b/c you’re waking up in the “deep sleep” phase of your sleep cycle. Can you give us a rough estimate of how long your naps typically last for?
Usually 30-45 minutes. I have trouble waking up when I want if that makes sense.
Many apologies – I’d written a longer more thoughtful answer but it didn’t seem to post (I think I forgot to retype my name, website, and email when clicking submit).
The shorter answer is:
– 30-45 minutes probably puts you right at “deep sleep,” and there’s a good chance that’s why you always wake up feeling terrible.
– How are you waking up after your naps? (e.g., do you set an alarm clock?)
– I’d suggest napping for <30 minutes, 1.5 hours, or 3+ hours if you can. Check out our blog post for more specifics:
http://napwell.com/blog/2013/12/26/napping-well/
Let me know if you’re having any trouble Justin or if the page is acting up. It should be storing your name/email/site but sorry if it’s been an issue for some of the comments.
I’m curious how caffeine factors into napping. Is it still possible to get quality nap rest in the afternoon when you’ve had coffee a few hours before in the morning?
The biological half-life of caffeine is about 5 hours for the average person (but this can vary significantly based on your genetics, how long you’ve been drinking coffee for, etc.)
It is possible to get quality rest in the afternoon, but if you’ve had a lot of caffeine in the late morning, you might find it hard to fall asleep.
A little bit off-topic, but one thing you might be interested in is a “caffeine nap” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nap#Caffeine_nap) – I’ve heard anecdotally that people who really really need to be on top of the ball (e.g., a surgeon just getting word that there’s a huge accident and patients will be coming in in about 25 minutes) might take a caffeine nap (drink caffeine, then take a nap and when they awaken they get both the benefits of the nap + caffeine). This is all anecdotal though, so I can’t speak to the scientific merits of caffeine naps.
I’ve also read and given that a try. It’s been hit or miss for me. Either a very light sleep for 20-35 minutes or a longer hour one that’s not as refreshing. Luckily, I only operate on words, computer code, and server parts π
Given what you know, when already facing external stress from traveling (e.g. cramped conditions, long days, etc.) is it best to avoid caffeine or simply stick to schedule. I know I tend to ingest more, which certainly can’t be helping jet lag. (Though conversely the withdrawal isn’t too fun either!)
Neil, Justin, how does the work in developing the Napwell breakdown between you both?
Thanks everyone for joining in the chat. I’d like to let you know I want to send you a Napwell (and make a contribution toward the Kickstarter goal!) The commenter with the most upvotes (click the green/red arrows) by the end of the chat will be the winner π
We’ll all be voting for the best questions and answers!
What are your best sleep tips?
– try to sleep on a consistent schedule if you can
– avoid bright white light/computer activity in the late evenings/in the hours before you sleep.
– if you do use a computer in the late evenings, try using a program like fl.ux to warm the tones of your computer screen.
– take naps, even if you get enough sleep each night (and especially if you don’t).
– noise down/lights off when you do sleep.
– keep your room cool when you sleep (in general try to think of what your body would “naturally” experience)
– make sure you have a comfortable bed
Here is the link to f.lux (I’m downloading it now myself π
http://justgetflux.com/
“take naps, even if you get enough sleep each night” << I’m surprised to read this, fascinating. Any particular reasons why?
http://napwell.com/blog/2013/11/13/naps-are-awesome-why-you-should-nap-even-if-you-feel-well-rested-each-morning/
Looking for any help with development??
Turan,
We’re looking for a designer and an industrial designer (as you can see from our Kickstarter video, we have a functional prototype, but it’s not as “pretty” as we’d like it to be). If you know anyone, we’d love to speak with them!
Thank you, I will keeping this in mind.
I like to nap but wish it didn’t make me look so lazy, otherwise I would at the office from time to time! Eating unhealthy lunches seems ok but taking 15 minutes of shuteye and I’d be fired!
Sorry I thought I’d replied this, but I think my message got lost when my browser reset.
—–
Tell your boss to talk to me! Or tell him to watch the following TEDx video on why Naps are awesome for workplace producitivity.
Or you might also want to tell him that the following companies all have very liberal napping policies (some going as far as to having dedicated napping rooms):
– Google
– AOL
– Cisco
– Huffington Post
– Proctor & Gamble
Or if he’s a sports fan, tell him that professional athletes nap to keep at peak performance.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/07/sports/basketball/07naps.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
Naps are also great for reducing risk of heart disease, so that would be a plus in terms of medical expenses for your company as well.
http://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/news/20070212/take-a-nap-protect-your-heart
You can see some of Google’s napping pods around the 0:30 mark:
What is your daily schedule like?
As a student, my schedule’s pretty variable.
Some days I work 7am-3am (e.g., before a paper submission or a final class project) and other days I can be more relaxed. On a typical day, I go to class (either at HMS or MIT, depending on the day), then I go to lab (and maybe meet up with one of my research collaborators to talk about X project) and work there for a while before going home in the evening and working from home until bedtime.
Currently, the Napwell Kickstarter campaign is subsuming my life, so I pretty much spend my entire day either iterating through another prototype of the product or replying messages/emails that I get asking about Napwell.
Whoa: 7am-3am!
What have been some of the most interesting experiences or insights you’ve had so far developing the Napwell?
Probably the neatest thing so far has been having backers come to us with a message along the lines of “I can’t wait to use Napwell for X application!”
Although we pitched Napwell as a “napping mask” in our Kickstarter video, I’ve had:
– an active duty US naval submarine officer tell me that he thinks submarine crews would benefit significantly from using the Napwell as they otherwise have only their diet/eating schedule to regulate their circadian rhythms.
– backers who have specific medical conditions like delayed sleep phase disorder or narcolepsy (and who currently use sunrise lamps with some degree of success) message us saying that they love that they now have an option for a portable sunrise lamp
– a multitude of frequent flyers wanting to use to Napwell to help them get over jet lag faster (and have a more pleasant flight experience overall).
– couples who both want to wake to simulated sunrise, but who have asynchronous schedules so sunrise lamps won’t work for them.
impressive fundraising, how did you get that much money quickly?
With a little bit of luck and a lot of support from friends.
We were fortunate enough to get selected by Techcrunch to pitch at their TechCrunch Boston meetup. (http://techcrunch.com/2013/11/13/pitch-off-tonight-boston/)
When we launched, we were also lucky enough to get TechCrunch to cover our launch in a post. That post has been a pretty big driver of traffic to our Kickstarter page.
Our friends have also been great in terms of sharing word of Napwell via social media. This has helped keep Napwell under “popular hardware projects” in Kickstarter, which has also helped boost our fundraising.
How did you determine the illumination rate of the mask upon wake up?
This is something we’re still testing/refining, and it’s something we’ll be soliciting feedback from our Kickstarter early tester backers on.
The timer in our prototype is for 15 minutes before maximum brightness and that came from literature reviews of sunrise alarm clock functionality (which brighten over the course of 15-30 minutes).
I bombard my eyes with blue light (thanks iPad!) throughout the day and evenings but how does traveling in winter in norther/southern latitudes affect sleep? Those situations make it more difficult to get out of bed, is there a good sunlight substitute when naturally in places at times it’s only up a few hours?
I think the larger affect of traveling in winter in northern/southern latitudes is “seasonal affective disorder,” which encompasses not only the “hard to get out of bed” feeling you’ve described but also a more general “i feel really terrible/depressed/lousy” throughout the entire day.
They have special lamps/light-boxes that you can use to help counter S.A.D.
Does less sleep at night = longer naps during the day?
All other things equal and assuming you don’t set any alarms, yes – that would probably happen.
What a brilliant idea, sounds like you did a great job there! Congratulations! Greetings from Argentina. #napwell #naptimize
Thanks Ezequiel! π
Nap all day, must be fun testing! Seriously though, how much time do you spend sleeping when working π
What are some ways to overcome nap insomnia? Say you’ve got 30 minutes to rest on a layover but can’t sleep 15 minutes in. Best to give up or keep trying the entire time – are there any benefits to rest without sleep?
There have certainly been studies that suggest resting/meditation is great for you, even if you don’t fall asleep.
However, stage 2 sleep is believed to be when your brain integrates knowledge/forms neuronal connections, so a nap can help you better in that respect.
In terms of your specific scenario, I think it depends on what I have lined up for the rest of the day.
– If I’m on my way home after a long week of away-from-home work, I would probably just try my best to rest/relax in the last 15 minutes.
– If I’m on my way to work, I might try and get some work done in the last 15 minutes and then nap on the plane during takeoff (when I can’t have any electronics on… well, at least for the time being).
“- If Iβm on my way to work, I might try and get some work done in the last 15 minutes and then nap on the plane during takeoff (when I canβt have any electronics onβ¦ well, at least for the time being).” < < The last flight I took across the US, electronics were allowed and the temptation stole my nap time! I’m going to have to do better next time.
Would be great to try this out, I’m pretty good at sleeping : )
Just 4 or 5 comment votes from winning a free one π
Or perhaps Justin and Neil need some test subjects?
How do I know what sleep stage I am in? Do I need to go through all of them in a nap for it to work?
Unfortunately, it’s hard to tell exactly what stage of sleep you’re in without you wearing something like an EEG. (We have a photo of what an EEG looks like on our blog post: http://napwell.com/blog/2013/12/26/napping-well/)
There are a lot of devices that have been on the market with “forehead EEG sensors” (e.g., the Zeo), but from what I’ve heard from personal correspondence with sleep experts, these devices don’t do a very good job of determining what stage of sleep you’re in.
You don’t need to go through all the stages of a sleep for a nap to work. (e.g., just getting through the first 20-30 minutes will help you wake up feeling more energized. However, to access to full “forming neuronal connections” benefit of napping, you want to try and get through a complete sleep cycle.
Whatever kittens do, we should research that π
Assuming (and hoping for) a successful Kickstarter, what’s the development schedule like from there for the Napwell?
We have a rough schedule near the bottom of our Kickstarter page (under “Next Steps”):
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2011830108/napwell-the-worlds-first-napping-mask
Might be off topic, but shift work has been compared to jet lag. How do you get good rest for it? I haven’t slept well in years…if I can say I still sleep. It’s more like 4-6 hour naps twice daily rather than a full rest.
If you’re working a night shift, you might try taking a shorter prophylactic nap before your shift and then trying to take a longer sleep after your shift. Also make sure you’re getting enough vitamin D (normally generated by UV exposure on the skin during the daytime).
Night shifts are tricky b/c you don’t have a lot of the natural light cues to help you regulate your sleep cycles.
*Please also be careful. Night shift work (along with frequently flying east-west across time zones) has been associated with higher rates of cancer. (Also, I’m not 100% sure, but I also seem to recall “night shift work” being deemed a carcinogen by the WHO)
I’ve heard that shift work was linked to poor diet and heart disease, but not cancer! But I’m sure there’s more than a possibility.
I think I skimmed a related article. An experiment was done on mice–one group had good sleep, the other didn’t. The mice without good sleep had more DNA damage, because they didn’t get enough sleep to where the cells repaired themselves.
I used to be so tan, but now I’m the palest I’ve ever been. I will take more vitamin D, too.
Thank you for your concern, and thank you so much for answering.
How does sleeping position affect how we nap? Is it possible to get good rest when sitting up on a plane?
I think the affects of position manifest most significantly as how comfortable you feel when you’re trying to sleep. It’s possible to get good rest when sitting in your chair on a plane, but it might be easier if you have more legroom and a comfortable chair.
better to nap on full or empty stomach ?
Are you confident you can reach the Kickstarter goal?
Cautiously optimistic. Either way, we’re expecting to spend a lot more than 30K on our first production run (hardware products are really difficult to do!) and have been using the campaign not just to fundraise but also to gauge interest in Napwell and what specific groups Napwell might most benefit.
Justin, Neil, as we begin to wrap up I wanted to thank you for your time. I hope that everyone checks out the Napwell Kickstarter campaign and considers supporting a good, well implemented idea:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2011830108/napwell-the-worlds-first-napping-mask
You can also find them on Twitter @Napwell and like Napwell on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Napwell/524558314296344
Also, Kirsten congratulations, you’re the commenter with the most votes up so a Napwell is coming your way! I’ll make a donation on your behalf and be in touch shortly. Thank you again Justin, Neil, and feel free to swing by and keep answering questions as long as you like. Best of luck and I look forward to keeping in touch.
And of course, thank you everyone for participating and reading along!
Anil,
Thanks for having us on! I’m going to grab a quick bite to eat and will try and get through the rest of the comments when I get back.
For all of the viewers and posters – thanks so much for your questions/interest in Napwell. Feel free to ask us any further questions you might have directly via the “contact me” link on the right-hand-side of our Kickstarter project page:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2011830108/napwell-the-worlds-first-napping-mask
Justin
nap experts?! i want that job!
If you can combine those job skills as either a designer or an industrial designer, you might just have the job!
I find Melatonin most helpful of all.