Campus to Hold First-Ever 'Nap-in'

Christine Clark | March 2, 2009

Students who attend the UC San Diego First-Annual Nap-In will get prizes and napping tips, such as a “UC San Diego Nap-Map” where they can find the hottest spots for napping on campus, including locations at the Geisel Library.

Hundreds of students and staff from across campus will bring mats, pillows and teddy bears to the first-ever UC San Diego “Nap-In” at 12:30 p.m., March 9 in the Price Center Ballroom. The event, co-sponsored by the Wellness Center, will feature remarks from Sara Mednick, assistant professor of psychiatry at the School of Medicine, and author of Take a Nap! Change Your Life!

Mednickwill discuss the important role of napping in maintaining mental and physical health for people of all ages. Students who attend the event will get prizes and napping tips, such as a “UC San Diego Nap-Map” where they can find the hottest spots for napping on campus.

The Nap-In coincides with daylight saving time, when Americans lose an hour of sleep. “Studies show more traffic accidents and pedestrian fatalities, even an increase in heart attacks, when clocks are set forward an hour in the spring,” Mednick said.

This First-Ever UC San Diego “Nap-In” was created as part of UC San Diego’s LiveWell program, a Student Affairs initiative to create a healthy learning environment on campus, in order to promote the benefits of napping, according to Jerry Phelps, acting director of the Wellness Center.

Mednick, who’s been researching napping since graduate school, says nappers make fewer mistakes, are in better moods and in better health.

“I think students and staff will find they really benefit from napping,” she said. “In fact, a nap has been shown to be a more effective ‘boost’ than a cup of coffee.  The more you nap and the better you sleep, the better you do.”

For more information about the Nap-In go to:
http://wellness.ucsd.edu/napin.shtml