Short power naps can improve productivity but don’t ease up on your night-time sleep cycle In his 2017 book Why We Sleep, neuroscientist and sleep researcher Matthew Walker recalls how the term “power nap" was coined.
In the 1980-90s, renowned sleep researcher David F. Dinges and Mark Rosekind, then administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in the US, conducted a series of studies on the pros and cons of power napping in “the face of unavoidable sleep deprivation".
Their work focused on the aviation sector, especially pilots. Dinges and Rosekind figured that “inserting a nap" at the beginning of an “incoming bout of sleep deprivation" would provide a buffer and protect the brain from major lapses in concentration.