It is a beautiful Saturday today. The sun is shining, the birds are singing and the zombies are wandering the streets (and you thought I was joking…). I am not outside, enjoying the weekend. I am in my lab, working. Because I’m a sad, obsessed PhD student.
Fig 1: A clipart interpretation of what I feel I should be doing today
So, while I sit in here, waiting for my samples to degas, I did what any normal person would do… I looked up some journal articles.
What did I find? Well, I found a paper that will change the lives of university students everywhere. No longer will we be forced to keep our habits quiet, for fear of judgement. No longer will we feel guilt for doing what comes naturally. No longer will we be oppressed by our demanding supervisors!
Why?
Because naps are good for learning, damn it!
Fig 2: Napping. This kid could teach us all a thing or two.
Of course, this isn’t news, but this paper [1] by Wamsley et al shows that if you dream about what you’ve been doing, you’ll perform better at the task after your nap.
I take two things away from this:
1. All naps should be long enough for you to dream. Excellent.
2. Dreaming about my work isn’t necessarily a sign that I’ve been working too much. Right?
Right?
[1] Wamsley et al Current Biology; 20, 9, 1-6
