Everyone knows what it’s like to be stuck in a boring meeting or class, or watching a long performance, or overseeing a Cabinet meeting, and slowly feel the seemingly unstoppable force of sleepiness creep over you. You know how bad it’ll be if you’re caught catching public shut-eye, but the sandman still gets you in the end.
Fear not. There are expert-backed solutions to these small but insistent crises.
“First and foremost, prioritize sleep and ensure you get enough rest the night before important meetings to help you stay alert,” said Dr. Rachel Salas, professor of neurology at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
Salas also recommends setting clear goals and intentions before the meeting, so you know what you want to learn or contribute.
Do you have time to take a nap? “A nap as short as 6 minutes has been shown to increase alertness,” advised Dr. Tony Cunningham, a clinical psychologist and director of the Center for Sleep and Cognition, and assistant professor of psychology at Harvard Medical School. But keep it brief, he added. “If you sleep longer than 30 minutes you might go into deeper stages of sleep and feel even worse when you wake up!”
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