The day is Thursday, July 12th, 1990, and I am beat. I just celebrated my 29th birthday the day before and stayed up a little too late. My job as a district manager for a large winery took me to Sacramento for a client call. It’s 2 p.m. and I’m on my way back to Marin; it’s 90 degrees outside. I’m tired. Interstate 80 is hot and monotonous. It drones on and on. As my mind starts drifting, I find it hard to concentrate on the road. To keep myself alert I slap myself in the face, yell as loud as I can and turn the stereo up to a deafening pitch. Nothing works.

I can’t take it anymore so I pull off the road in Fairfield. I spot two trees on the side of frontage road that lend just a bit of shade to the edge of the sidewalk. As I race to take the spot I spy another car; it slips into the shade. I’m pissed. The driver in the white Ford Taurus looks at me. He waves me over and pulls his car forward as far as he can so that I can get some shade, too. I slowly pull in behind him. I turn my engine off, crank my seat back and fall asleep.

That’s where it all began. Fifteen minutes; that’s all it takes. The Power Nap is part of my routine. It’s a cure-all. Three days a week, I wake up at 4:30 a.m. to go to the gym. On those days, by noon, I’m fried. I’ll go home for lunch then slip into bed for 15 minutes of bliss! Those 15 minutes will carry me through the rest of the day. For me, the Power Nap is the answer to headaches, over exertion, stress, anxiety and numerous other physical and mental ailments.

So the next time you’re grinding away on your computer and feel terrible, take a nap. You’ll feel like a million bucks in fifteen minutes!

Posted by:Mark Machado