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🦆 CHILL THE DUCK OUT

Volume 021: Dear nap.

☁️ Cold Open

Dear nap,

I owe you an apology.

I was never much of a napper growing up. In fact, I wasn’t even a huge fan of sleep in general. I was a bit like little Anna in Frozen. “The sky’s awake so I’m awake.”

Why? Because I didn’t want to miss out on the world around me.

What was that world, you ask? Well… in early adulthood, a lot of it involved staying up until 3 AM playing Tiger Woods golf online against strangers. Not exactly high culture, but I was a darn good video game golfer, and it gave me the sweet satisfaction of destroying my friends when we played in person.

So yeah, naps didn’t stand a chance.

Then I met my wife, who naps like it’s an Olympic sport, and my world changed. She could drop into a 20-minute snooze and wake up refreshed like a Disney princess. Meanwhile, I still thought naps were for toddlers and cats.

But somewhere along the way, I caved. I can tell you exactly why… parenthood. Our youngest took after his Dad (surprise, surprise) and wasn’t much of a sleeper. So we took every opportunity to catch some Zzz’s whenever we could.

I’d routinely sneak out to my car during my lunch break to catch a quick nap to power through the rest of the day. On Saturday and Sunday afternoons, we’d make his little butt waddle to the bedroom with us, put Scooby Doo on the TV, and drift off for a little siesta.

Those naps became lifesavers. Now? I treat naps with the respect they deserve. A little recharge, a mental reset, and suddenly I’m a much better human to be around.

Nap, you win. Let’s dig into why.

🧠 The Science Bit

Turns out our pre-school teachers were secretly preparing us for peak adulting. Because naps aren't just for toddlers having meltdowns or college students who discovered that energy drinks aren't a food group.

Science has our backs on this one.

Researchers (bless their caffeinated hearts) have proven that short naps are basically a software update for your brain. 10-30 minutes of horizontal bliss that can accomplish all of the following.

Boost your mood faster than a surprise pizza delivery. Naps actually lower cortisol, your stress hormone doing its best impression of a smoke alarm that won't stop beeping. Less cortisol equals less "why is everything terrible" energy.

Turn your brain into a superhero. Memory? Enhanced. Focus? Laser-sharp. Creativity? Through the roof. It's like your neurons went to a spa and came back ready to solve world hunger (or at least remember where you put your keys).

Banish fatigue without the zombie aftermath. The sweet spot is to keep it under 30 minutes, and you'll wake up refreshed instead of wondering what year it is and why your mouth tastes like cotton balls.

Make you approximately 73% more human. Okay, that's not a real statistic, but naps genuinely help regulate emotions. Translation: fewer moments of wanting to fight inanimate objects that have wronged you.

Think of napping as hitting the reset button on your internal computer. While you're catching those Zzz’s, your nervous system finally gets to chill out and stop running around like it's managing a small country during a crisis.

Your brain also gets a break from accumulating adenosine, which is the chemical that builds up all day making you feel like you're running on fumes. A quick nap slows down this process, giving you a fresh start without committing to a full eight-hour sleep marathon.

🍟 This Week’s Happytizer

You probably saw this one coming.

Give yourself permission to take a 20-minute nap this week. Not a three-hour Netflix-induced coma, but just enough to recharge. Set an alarm if you’re worried about oversleeping. Bonus points if you can embrace it without guilt.

🎉 Unsolicited Joy of the Week

Move over Goodnight Moon… there’s a new nap-time classic in town.

A 3-year-old girl went viral after asking her au pair to read her the iced coffee machine instruction manual as her naptime story. That’s right. While most kids want fairy tales, this future CEO just wants caffeine content. Super relatable.

Watch the hilarious clip here. And hey, if she can drift off to brewing instructions, maybe there’s hope for all of us.

💤 Feedback Dreams

Quick reminder: the window is still open to share your feedback on this (your favorite) newsletter and be entered to win a limited edition Chill the Duck Out hoodie. Yes, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity… unless I do something else with them, in which case it’s more of a “twice-in-a-lifetime” thing. But yours will be free, so you win.

Here’s the deal: send me your thoughts of what you love, what makes you smile, or even what could be better. Brownie points if you’re cool with me turning your kind words into a testimonial for the website. Everyone who shares feedback gets tossed into the hoodie raffle that I will do on September 1st.

And while your comments roll in, I’ll use them as my coffee machine instructions to drift peacefully into my afternoon nap. Zzz.

👉 Reply to this email or shoot me a note at [email protected] to enter.

It’s that easy. And far more refreshing than pretending you enjoyed a 7-minute power nap on your office floor.

🙃 When Netflix Wins, Medik8 Saves

For those days when you got 4 hours of sleep but need to look like you got 9, there’s always a cold splash of water… and a moisturizer that works harder than you do.

That’s where this week’s sponsor, Medik8, comes in. They’re all about smart, science-backed skincare that actually does what it says, so you can trick the world into thinking you’re well-rested, even if Netflix said otherwise last night. Click below to check them out.

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🫶 Duckin’ Done

Naps aren’t lazy, they’re life hacks. Don’t be like me and wait 20 years to figure that out.

Catch some Zzz’s,
Jason

🧐 Behind the Curtain

Science confirms what our kindergarten selves knew all along: naps are magical. Research shows that brief 10-30 minute naps provide immediate cognitive benefits lasting 1-3 hours, including improved mood and reduced sleepiness. Short naps enhance memory, attention, and creativity, while boosting job performance, alertness, and reducing stress. The key is keeping them short. Longer naps can leave you groggy. So go ahead, embrace that afternoon snooze. Your brain will thank you for the mini-reboot.

 Johns Hopkins Medicine: Can a Nap Boost Brain Health?