Despite the stigma, napping is not reserved solely for toddlers and university students the day after a deadline. In fact, the road to successful leadership is paved with napping entrepreneurs.

Creativity

Having regular naps can help you become more creative and aid you in finding innovative solutions to your company’s problems.

This is because the left side of the brain is analytical and the right side is creative. When you’re at rest the right side of the brain is more active, which means after a nap you’ll be more likely to find a solution to that problem that stumped you when you were awake.

And even if it doesn’t come to you immediately, having a 20-40 minute nap will mean you’ll wake up more focused and will be able to concentrate on finding a solution for longer.

Improves cognitive function

The reason that you become more focused after a nap isn’t just because you’ve allowed your brain to rest, although this is a factor.

Your greater alertness and improved memory retention after you’ve rested your eyes for 40 winks is because napping clears the brain’s short term memory storage so you are able to retain more new information.

Dr Matthew Walker, assistant professor of psychology at the University of California, explained how the hippocampus acts like an email inbox, and that once full “It’s just going to bounce until you sleep and move it into another folder”.

Recovers health

Everyone performs their best when they’re at their healthiest. For entrepreneurs this is vital as being unhealthy can have an effect on your work performance and how your business is run.

When you sleep you aid hormonal maintenance cell repair, which helps you live longer and be more fit and active.

That’s why when you nap, you’re not just napping because you’re tired; you’re napping for the good of the company (at least that’s what we’ll be pitching to our boss).

So, are you a serial napper? Or do you prefer a solid 8 hours a night? Drop us a comment below with your sleeping habits.