Canadian Experts Suggest a ‘Perfect Storm’ is Brewing in Digital Healthcare

December 28, 2013 / Elliot Chan / Leave a comment

The world is getting older and so are we. There are more people over 60 years old today than there has been in the history of the world—then again, there are also more people over 80 and 100.

We all know how to be healthy, eat well, exercise and relax; but if you ask any baby boomer, 85% would say they aren’t eating enough vegetables, 62% would say they are overweight or obese, 20% aren’t exercising, 30% are stressed—yet 80% would say that they would get a clean bill of health from the doctor.

At Interface 2013 Digital Health Summit, Dr. Douglas Clement of the Heart and Stroke Foundation addressed the forecasted perfect storm of health care. It’s looming over the horizon and it is time for the digital health community to act.

“We are seeing now in many parts of the world the reduction of birthrates has gone from eight per woman to less than two—which is not replacement,” said Dr. Clement during his keynote presentation earlier this month. “At one point we are getting an aging population and on the other side we are not having children coming along behind them. This is going to increase the average age of individuals drastically.”

This global change will impact the funding and care of organizations and the health care systems. Digital health care revolution will shift the landscape from a physician centric, disease orientated and hospital-based to a consumer-driven, wellness-focused and a system that measures personal biometrics. This will generate data, devices and other monitoring systems to measure each individual’s needs.

The convergence of genomics and handheld and wearable devices will enable all of us to have our own personal dashboard, an efficient way of viewing our electronic health records (EMR). Interface 2013 hosted numerous companies making innovative advancements from Lions Gate Technologies’ Phone Oximeter, which uses smartphones to measure blood oxygen and heart rate to Proteus Digital Health’s consumable sensor and the wearable patch, which work together to capture data about you and relays it to your smartphone.

“The current paradigm in health care,” said Arna Ionescu, vice-president of Proteus Digital Health, “is that you go to the doctor and the doctor fixes you. That kind of works when you have an acute ailment, the doctor prescribes antibiotic or puts you on a splint—but when you have a chronic condition that fundamentally doesn’t work anymore. Because a chronic condition needs to be managed each and every day and doctors needs to know what happens each and every day to make effective decisions.”

Medicines work—but 60% aren’t taking them as prescribed, because life is chaotic and habits are difficult to instill. But with the Internet available on so many devices, data is assessable as well. Data is powering the world of digital health, companies like Proteus Digital Health, Fatigue Science, Recon Instrument, Misfit Wearables and Medeo are all utilizing the limitless possibility of technology to gain more clarity of how to help the aging public and the changing ecosystem of medical care.

“Today [October 10] I read in the paper that there are 70% of graduates do not have jobs in medicine,” said Dr. Clement. “This is a problem. The physician’s role is going to have to shift into the technological side, because we are likely to see much of the advice given by robotic-type systems on the computer.”

Dr. Clement added, “As transportation is moving to driverless vehicles, health care is moving to biomedical sensors.”

Interface 2013 Hosts Top Innovative Companies Changing the Landscape of Digital Health

December 28, 2013 / Elliot Chan / Leave a comment

Michael Bidu, CEO of Sanotron opened the second annual event on October 9 and 10 in hopes of creating a dialogue around the ever-changing landscape of digital health—an idea that effects every person in the modern world.

But what is digital health?

“In simple terms,” a video presented at Interface 2013 explains, “digital health is the convergence of digital and genetic revolution of health and healthcare. The essential elements include wireless devices, hardware sensors and software sensing technologies, microprocessors and integrated circuits, the Internet, social networking, mobile and body area network, health information technology, genomics and personal genetic information.”

Top innovators across the continent highlighted the two-day event by showcasing their apps, wearables, concepts, and other progressive products to the crowd at the Vancouver Convention Centre.

Some of the notable companies making moves towards the future of digital health are:

AYOGO

An app that enables users to control their own healthcare lifestyle through an interactive game.

“We believe that the classic ‘play’ is the most important quality of the human being,” said Michael Fergusson, founder and CEO of Ayogo Health. “It differentiates us from most other creatures in the world. Human beings have used play throughout history to explore our world, to learn new skills, to contact and communicate with each other.”

Ayogo is applying that concept into the monotonous chore of managing our health needs. The largest healthcare problem in the world is that patients aren’t applying what they know to take better care of themselves. Hyperbolic discounting causes people not to see the impact of each decision they make. But by incorporating all the requirements for healthy living into a game, patients will feel more engage to take their medicine, interact with others coping with the same health condition and see improvements in their lives.

FATIGUE SCIENCE

The Readiband is a wearable device that tracks sleep patterns and fatigue levels to enhance healthy living.

“We don’t believe wearable technology should be about the calories you burn or the steps you take, the floors you hike or amount of hours you entered into a log, saying ‘I’ve slept six or seven hours last night,’” said Sean Kerklann, CEO of Fatigue Science. “It’s all about making wearable technology more valuable to you as an end user. To make you achieve the results you want to achieve or to avoid the risk of what fatigue can cause.”

The Readiband data logs the quality and the hours of sleep an individual has and uses an algorithm to measure the sleep debt. Using the information gathered, the user will be able to see when his peak performance hours are, as well as his moments of impairments due to fatigue. Pilots, truck drivers, professional athletes and normal every day people can all benefit from understanding their sleep patterns.

BIOBEATS

An application that helps us understand our vital signs by generating music with our heart beat.

Although Nadeem Kassam, co-founder of BioBeats, was unable to attend the event, the promotional video BioBeats presented gave a glance at the possibilities at our fingertips—it’s close to science fiction.

“David [Plans, co-founder of BioBeats] sent me the application from London,” said Kassam on the video, “I put my finger on the back of the camera—I can see the waveform of my heart. And he sonified my heartbeat through a bass. And for the first time I listened to the bass kick of my heart. Just that was moving—and then he turned it into jungle UK house music. And I had no reaction, but to dance. I jumped for joy and as I jumped for joy my heart rate accelerated…and I watched it, the music accelerated.”

MEDEO

The health platform’s first feature is video conferencing, which allows the circle of care to collaborate online to assess your needs. That means no more procrastinating about going to see the doctor, no more flipping through magazines in the waiting room and no more agonizing trips back and forth from specialist to physician to pharmacist.

“The doctors tell us that between 30% to 50% of all of the visits they do right now in their office can be done by video,” said Ryan Wilson, CEO of Medeo Corp. “Imagine what percentage of the visit can be done by Telehealth once we have all these incredible sensors in the medicine cabinet at home.”

The world is constantly evolving for better and worst, but with new innovations geared toward our health and the advancement of technology—we hope to be approaching a solution and distancing ourselves from the problems.

Limited Time Only: Why Optimal Timing for Social Media Marketing Doesn’t Really Exist

December 28, 2013 / Elliot Chan / Leave a comment

Your brand, your content, and your opinions are important—so make sure they don’t get lost in the sands of “social media” time.

Since the birth of Twitter, Facebook and Google Plus, content creators have been trying find the optimal time to post their works and share others. The Internet is full of analytics and infographics displaying the best time to post content. So why do we need another piece?

Because fresh content is constantly bumping down older news and the timeframe before materials go stale is shorter than ever. Although there is a general sense of when users are logged on and when users are asleep, the science of time is still a bit tricky for strategists and analysts who are just starting to embrace the new tools to help reach the largest possible audience. Plain and simple, their optimal time might not be your optimal time—so research and experiments with different analytics is essential to find your audience’s habits.

Simple stats collected through different analytics show that the best time to Tweet and post on Facebook is between 1pm to 4pm on weekdays. But that is too general and inconsistent for most businesses—after all, if everybody post during those short few hours, the audience will of course be overwhelmed by the sudden surge of content.

Regardless of what the Internet says, businesses should customize their content marketing strategy according to their audience. Trial and error and experimenting cannot and should not be avoided: utilize the research available and apply it to your own organization. Start with the basics and slowly modify your strategy. A good source to start with is this study done by Fannit.

Facebook Insight, the new algorithm measuring online activity on fan pages, is making a world of difference for marketers reaching out to the Facebook audience. No two brands are alike and even though the Internet is always open, fan page managers should take fluctuating traffic and time zones into consideration. If you want to reach an audience on the east coast at 8am you’ll neglect the sleepy crowd in the west. However, Facebook Insight supplies graphs for managers to properly analyze and locate the perfect peak hour for posting.

There are plenty of analytic software online for measuring Twitter activity and interaction. Most are now able to give stunning graphs and statistics, but unlike Facebook, Twitter users tend to access their account through their mobile devices. Tweets are more fleeting and often require the generosity of a retweet to get noticed, so Twitter managers should be aware of the different results they get from different software. While some research shows that Twitter is most effective during the weekend, other studies suggest the few hours of commute during the weekdays.

There are generalities when it comes to measuring the best time for posting social media, but if you want effective marketing you’ll need to consistently analyze your company’s optimal time for sharing and posting content. For example, what might be best in July might not be best in October—what might be noticed in the east coast might be lost in the west.

These are all things to take into consideration when presenting content to those loyal followers and fans.

New Study Shows That Laptops And Lectures Don’t Mix

December 28, 2013 / Elliot Chan / Leave a comment

Notebook computers have become more efficient and affordable in the past few years so it is no surprise that it is replacing those primitive coil paper notebooks. But the great debate continues, is the technology a beneficial asset or a hindering distraction?

In a recent study published in the Computer & Education journal, research subjects attended university-level lectures and completed a multiple-choice quiz in two experiments.

The first experiment was constructed to evaluate how multitasking affects the participant’s learning ability. The subjects were allowed to use their laptops to take notes during a meteorology lecture. But half were expected to complete a series of unrelated task on their computers during moments where they had spare time. The tasks were made to simulate normal activities that may distract students, such as online searches.

The second experiment required the subjects to take notes on pencils and paper, while others were on laptops. The objective of this part of the study was to see whether students working the old-fashion way would be distracted by the bright screens and tapping keys around them.

“We really tried to make it pretty close to what actually happens in the lectures, we found that lo and behold, the students who multitasked performed much worse on the final test and those who were seated around peers who were multitasking also performed much worse on the final test,” said Faria Sana, co-author of the study.

“So you might not be multitasking but if you have a clear view of someone else who is multitasking, your performance is still going to be impaired.”

Like a contagion, laptops usage affects more than just the user, but also their neighbouring classmates. The result surprised many of the participants, who didn’t expect their marks to drop from using their computer.

“A lot of students spend quite a big chunk of time in class doing things that are not related to the academic environment or aren’t directly related to the course or the lecture,” Sana said. “We’re hoping that based on these results, students will take responsibility for their actions.” Although the study is not advocating a laptop ban in class, it is advising students to think twice before using their computers during lectures for extracurricular activities—for the sake of their own education and the people around them.

GamePress Lets Gamers’ Imagination Run Wild with New Game Creation Platform

December 28, 2013December 28, 2013 / Elliot Chan / Leave a comment

GamePress co-founder Murtaza Sadaat and his brother and cousin Hamed and Behroz Sadaat grew up like most game-loving children” envisioning fantastical worlds and the possibility they have from the tips of their finger to the virtual screen.

As adults they have taken their childhood whimsy, combined it with modern day technology, and created a mobile platform that offers users the freedom to build, modify and share unique games.

Based in London, Ontario, GamePress transforms the complexities of game programming into an interactive, touch, drag and drop interface that gamers can utilize to build original games on their iPad. Physics simulations, game logic, animations, special effects and artificial intelligence are the brush strokes on each game canvas. Graphic designers, game developers and inventive children alike will now be able to use the mobile platform to construct their own pastime.

“Thinking back to when we were young playing games,” says Murtaza Sadaat, “we’d say Mario is awesome, but I would love a level like this or a level like that. I feel everybody has a mindset to be creative and bringing games to another level. They just don’t usually have the opportunity to do that.”

Above all else, fun is the objective. A quality game does not have to look the best or have a lengthy storyline or the newest graphics or technology; it all comes down to the game play. Sadaat believes that some of the best games are the simple ones that can engage an audience with a worthwhile experience.

From the early days of Atari to the current mobile devices era, games have been in a constant evolution. Playstation, Nintendo and Xbox are not going extinct any time soon even though mobile is gaining more presence. The consol gaming experience is not rivaling the mobile experience. Sadaat is not convinced that the two will merge, but instead remain two separate brand of entertainment.

“There is a different type of control scheme, different type of input and just a whole different game style that works on tablets and mobile devices,” Sadaat told Techvibes. “With GamePress we give our users total freedom. They can do whatever they want with the touch screen or the tilt control. We leave it up to the users to come up with the best game play, so the next generation of users who are growing up on tablets and smartphones will know what feels natural for them.”

YouTube has created a whole market for user-generated content; GamePress’s attitude is not so different. GamePress enables creators the ability to share their work on a network called the GamePress Arcade, a community of user-generated games. GamePress is also developing a publishing service to help compelling, high-quality games be sold on App Stores, Google Play, etc.

“We want to create a platform where you can create games, share them and if the opportunity arises—even make money off the platform,” Sadaat added.

GamePress is currently free to download at the Apps Store. And in the future, the app will introduce social features permitting users the option to leave comments, collaborate on projects and purchase and sell assets. This will allow musicians and other artists the chance to sell their content to game creators.

On Saturday 22, 2013, GamePress will be presenting their app at Project Play, a gaming event in the London, Ontario community. In addition, GamePress is hosting a game-creating competition, Greatest Game Challenge submission deadline will be on November 1, and with the first place prize being a PS4, the game featured in app stores and GamePress Arcade, Facebook page and the GamePress website.

Canadian Digital Agency Rival Schools Has Fun Being Creative for Clients

December 28, 2013 / Elliot Chan / Leave a comment

Don’t let the name Rival Schools fool you: their studio in Vancouver is not a classroom with chalkboards and desks, but rather an environment that fosters creativity—action figures, cartoon posters and a ping pong table all work together as inspirational ornaments.

The fun-loving digital agency formed in 2007 and has done work for big name companies such as McDonald’s, Kellogg’s and Nike. Rival Schools began as a service agency, doing projects primarily for clients, both as a mean for survival and a method to gain an education in a constantly changing field. What they know now is that although they want to continue attracting talent and building their portfolio with paying clients, they also want to leverage their skills and create personal projects.

“Diversity and flexibility is challenging and fun,” says Roy Husada, Rival Schools’ cofounder and creative director. “Just doing straight client work can burn you out.”

Bramble Berry Tales, an interactive storybook app is Rival Schools’ newest project conceived from their playground-like studio. The first book in the series titled “The Story of Kalkalilh” written by Marilyn Thomas teaches lessons and sparks imagination as the reader follows Lily and Thomas as they explore the colourful and musical land of Kalkalilh.

“It’s based off of indigenous people,” said Husada. “It comes from the Squamish tribe’s folklore that have been passed down from generations to generations. It has never been officially documented in any mainstream way. But as you know indigenous languages and culture are in a decline.”

The second book entitled “The Great Sasquatch” will be released in October and the third book “The Little People” will be available for download in December 2013. Rival Schools is taking the opportunity to help capture and reinvigorate stories that are essentially the roots of Canada.

Rival Schools value their method of selecting projects. They take pride in working from idea to result, whether it is their own special undertaking like Bramble Berry Tales or a project for a large corporation. The most important factor for Rival Schools is communication.

“A lot of shops say they can do everything,” explains Husada, “that is how we like to label ourselves. We can do everything, but our biggest strength is our ability to combine our craft of user experience and user interface with content. We take concepts from the beginning to the end.”

Innovative curiosity is what keeps Rival Schools going. Entertainment, consumer goods, software and technology are the products, but the real goal is establishing a relationship and working as a team with companies that have the same mindset.

“Clients that aren’t good fit are those who tell us what to build, but not why they want us to build it,” said Husada. “What are they trying to achieve? The analogy is like going to the doctor and telling the doctor what you want. You don’t tell them what you want. You don’t tell them you need a cast—you tell them what is wrong first and they will tell you what you actually need.”

Husada added, “We always tell our clients that we can adapt to a style based on their goals. We don’t have a style. We are not always clean and neat or funky and edgy. It really depends, but what we do is that we look at the end user and we use all our ability to understand the process and empathy to figure what it is that appeals to them and be delightful.”

Wajam Mashes Social Media and Search Engines For More Effective Results

December 28, 2013 / Elliot Chan / Leave a comment

“A lot of users don’t understand what social search means,” says Martin-Luc Archambault, CEO and cofounder of Wajam. “The first time I asked my dad if he would like to have social search he said, ‘What? I don’t want you to see what I’m searching for.’ That isn’t what it is about.”

Montreal-based Wajam is a social search engine that enables users the heightened ability to find links, photos, videos and more through the help of friends on social media. Allowing users to filter out their searches by different categories such as content, social media and friends, Wajam connects people, enhances the searching experience and saves time discovering areas and topics of similar interests.

The idea for Wajam came to Archambault while working on another startup project with a partner. They were both researching, searching individually—when they brought their findings together, they discovered that the results were mostly similar. The end result was a lot of time wasted, due to lack of communication, one that social searches remedy. Because as their tag line indicates, “Great minds search alike.”

Friends and families are constantly sharing useful information on social media. Because the network is becoming more and more saturated, you will miss some of the content. By incorporating Wajam, you can harness your friend and families’ knowledge and reel them up whenever you need to through the Wajam website, their browser extension and their soon-to-be released mobile app.

“We are not trying to tell users to come to Wajam.com and search on Wajam.com, we are not trying to replace anyone,” said Archambault. “We are going to work with whoever you like.”

Whether it is Google, Biing, Amazon, Ebay, Wikipedia, Yahoo! or many other search engines, Wajam is built to work seamlessly with the platform searchers are familiar with.

After the launch in the January 2012, Wajam had found what they were looking for: a community benefiting from the social search platform they had created. Earlier this year Wajam was rewarded the golden honour at the 8th Annual 2013 Hot Companies and Best Products Awards in Best New Information Technology Company category, as well as the silver in Innovative Company category and bronze in the Company Growth category.

But the acclaimed team isn’t settling yet, they are anticipating new innovations all the time and Wajam has their eyes set on the future.

“We are trying to match advertisers with social recommendations,” Archambault told Techvibes. “Once we are able to do that we will be able to syndicate social search and social ad API to third party sites. My ultimate goal is that a year from now users won’t have to download Wajam to get recommendations from their friends on Amazon.” Archambault added, “We can help Amazon tailor their search results. Any site that has a search box, we want to be their API. We want to make those search results more personal. That is how we are intending to scale.”

What began as a few hundred downloads a day has grown into tens of thousands. Wajam doesn’t want to preach the effectiveness of social search or even explain what it does. It proves itself best in action. The social search engine is confident that their product will exceed users’ expectations if they log on, try the product and incorporate it into daily searches. The value of Wajam is worth finding.

A New Kiind of Feature Creates Options and Build Relationships

December 27, 2013 / Elliot Chan / Leave a comment

For many years, a gift card often accompanied a thank you. However, while those kind gestures showed great appreciation, the actual gift frequently fell to the waste side.

One Victoria-based startup recognizes that about 18% of all physical and prepaid gift cards do not get used. Unredeemed credits and expired gift cards fade away and that is an estimation of $10 billion annual lost. Companies that issued unused gift cards would have once claimed the liability as revenue. Now with changes in the legislation, unused gift cards are being taxed as unclaimed property. Because of that gift cards are no longer retailers’ cash cow.

Enter Kiind, a zero-waste gift campaign that simplifies and enhances the gift giving experience by charging the giver only when the recipient uses the gift.

“For people who use Kiind, they like the concept of being smart with their money,” said Leif Baradoy, CEO and founder of Kiind. “It’s not about being cheap. It is saying I don’t want to be wasteful. I am offering you this gift—if you don’t want it. Cool. Give it to charity. Or if you don’t want it, I don’t want to pay for it either. But if you do want it, great!”

Kiind’s convenient features allow users to send gifts to one or more recipient fast. Those receiving gifts will be able to view it via emails or on Passbook, and once the gift is used the giver will be notified. It is through this notification that Kiind helps build relationships, especially in B2B interactions.

“People like being notified when their gift is being used or claimed,” said Baradoy. “That gives them a reason to touch base and follow up with someone. Kiind is a tool to help people connect with one another in a meaningful way. Although we are a digital gifting company, we see ourselves in a relationship business.”

Since forming in 2011, Kiind had always offered options for givers and receivers. If a recipient chose to decline a gift, they had the choice of offering it to charity with a simple click of a button.

Now, Kiind’s newest feature enables the recipient to select the most desirable gift from multiple choices.

“So you can offer someone a $100 Amazon card or a one-year subscription to Rdio or $100 Gap gift card,” said Baradoy, “It helps the recipient get the gift they want and the giver is still able to offer something to someone and tailor the gift to where their interest are.”

Over time, Kiind will help givers become smarter by tracking the choices their recipients make. By gaining intelligence, gift can be personalized and a healthy relationship can flourish from there.

Along with the new multiple choices feature going live on Tuesday, August 24, the team at Kiind are also adding new partnerships and inventory into their system, just in time for the holiday season.

Although the majority of Kiind’s inventory is currently only available in the US, Baradoy assured us that before the malls get packed with holiday shoppers, Kiind will do a nationwide roll out. Over 25 different Canadian retailers will be added and that includes movie theatre chains and well-known restaurants.

Kiind was recently selected as a finalist at the Grow Conference’s Startup Smackdown and the New Ventures BC Competition. As Baradoy opportunistically awaits the results for the competitions and the upcoming shopping season, Kiind reaps the benefits of gift cards’ slow demise.

Perch Opens Window To Business and Personal Communication

December 27, 2013 / Elliot Chan / Leave a comment

“I think what is pushing people apart more than anything in technology is text,” said Danny Robinson, CEO and founder of Perch.

“Text is such a diluted form of communication. More and more people are texting. How often do you pick up a phone and talk to somebody? Video is the next best thing to being there. It really feels like you are right in front of somebody and if we can get more conversations happening on video than on text, I think we’ll bring more people closer together.”

Vancouver-based, Perch is an always-on video connection that is intended to help company’s bridge culture gaps, workplace communicate effectively and families stay in touch. By designating an iOS device to Perch, users can connect with anyone on the other end, whether they are across the hall or across the continent.

While apps like Skype or Facetime behave primarily like a phone call, Perch resembles an open window. With such accessibility, Perch made sure privacy was the paramount concern. It didn’t matter if you are connecting an office in Toronto to an office in Vancouver or from the workplace to your kitchen at home; the creepy-factor is something Robinson and the Perch team wanted to eliminate.

“To make it socially acceptable,” said Robinson, “it has to be polite. You cannot spy or eavesdrop on people.”

Perch disables the microphone until the face-recognition feature identifies a user’s face on the iOS device. In addition, only the front camera on the iPad or iPhone is activated when Perch is in use. Perch is not a security camera. It’s not meant to be concealed. That being said, Robinson who has an iPad on his desk looking into his home kitchen and he can’t help feeling a peace of mind knowing that Perch is there.

“It’s doesn’t record,” said Robinson, who previously founded Redhand, a remote video monitoring application that turned old devices into a security camera. “Our older versions of Perch would record, but we found that people enjoyed the live interaction more. It gets to the heart of the company and that was to communicate with a human element.”

Perch does more than enable people to make exchanges for work and/or home life; by always being on, the app gives a chance for impromptu interactions between two different spaces. These spontaneous moments are where people really get to know one another. On Skype or on a phone call, people tend to talk about specifics; with Perch you can have conversations you didn’t intend to have.

Perch has two general modes, the always-on portal mode and the video caller-display mode. The video caller-display feature only allows others to communicate after you agreed. This allows you to focus on your work or go about your day without being interrupted.

“Three-quarters of this office might not be interested in Perch until we put it on the wall,” said Robinson. “Then they are like, ‘that’s pretty cool.’ Once it is on the wall and it’s cool, then they use it all the time. Hopefully, they will see the value and bring it home.”

During this year’s Mozilla Summit, Perch will be the communication of choice from October 4th to 6th in Brussels, Santa Clara, and Toronto.

The Power of the Nap

December 27, 2013 / Elliot Chan / Leave a comment

Don’t be lazy; find time to rest

By Elliot Chan, Opinions Editor

Formerly published in the Other Press. Oct. 2013

The current state of naps

Siesta: the Spanish word for a rest or nap, normally taking place after lunch in the early afternoon.

The daily ritual travelled across the globe generations ago, and is practiced in most Latin countries, including Philippines, Ecuador, and other tropical and subtropical nations. Often attributed to the warm climate, countries that engage in siestas don’t have standard North American nine to five working hours, because it’s simply too hot.

In Spain, a normal working day starts at 9 a.m. and ends at 8 p.m. with a three-hour siesta period in between. During that time, shops and offices shut down—at least, that was the custom until 2008, when the country found itself in debt. Due to recession and an unstable economy, most Spaniards no longer partake in the routine nap, for fear of lost profit. So, like large families, maiden names, and circumcision, siestas are another dying tradition.

Meanwhile, the North American workaholic mentality is growing strong. Competition is stiff in every aspect of life. Students and employees alike are becoming sleep-deprived due to increasing workload, stress, and anxiety.

The 2013 Sleep in America Polls conducted by the National Sleep Foundation reported that 40 per cent of those polled have less than seven hours of sleep nightly, and those that get eight hours are severely dropping. With 30 per cent saying they have less sleep than needed, and five per cent saying they never have a good night’s sleep, it’s clear sleep-deprivation is becoming problematic, if not an epidemic. It’s not news that being well-rested is important, but how can we stop the habitual bitching and finally get some rest?

The benefits of naps

First and foremost, a quality nap doesn’t make up for an insufficient or poor night of sleep. At its best, napping can spark alertness, improve cognitive thinking, alter mood, and enhance performance.

As monophasic sleepers, humans have one period of wakefulness and one period of sleep during the course of a day, unlike the more than 85 per cent of mammals which are polyphasic sleepers and sleep for short intervals throughout the day.

Although a short nap can’t replace REM sleep, a study by NASA on tired military pilots and astronauts showed that a 40-minute nap can improve performance by 34 per cent and alertness by 100 per cent. Naps that are accompanied by dreams are often a sign of sleep-deprivation and over-exhaustion.

Napping is often associated with laziness, unhealthiness, and a lack of motivation, but this is not the case. Moderate napping will help both the inactive and the ambitious sustain mental and physical stamina. If napping is the only thing you accomplish today, consider it a little vacation, not an admission of defeat.

The art of napping

Sleep inertia is one of the main detriments of midday naps: coming out of a slumber at 5 p.m. feeling groggy and disoriented isn’t uncommon, and many who choose to nap over-indulge, leading to counterproductive results.

In a study conducted by the research journal Sleep, examiners tested different napping durations and concluded that the most beneficial length is 10 to 20 minutes. These catnaps can give a boost of energy and help with cognitive performance. However, studies have shown that an hour-long nap is more beneficial to cognitive memory—such as recalling facts, places, and faces—even though it might cause grogginess at first.

There are three main types of naps: planned naps, emergency naps, and habitual naps; from there they branch off into subcategories, catering to the sleeper’s needs.

Planned naps include power naps, catnaps, and caffeine naps, appealing to students or business professionals who just need a little pick-me-up during the latter part of the day. Also known as preparatory napping, planned naps are taken before the sleeper is even tired. This technique works best for those who know that they’ll be up later than usual. In addition, planned naps can relieve stress, relax and rejuvenate the body, and improve alertness.

Caffeine napping is a peculiar napping strategy that involves drinking coffee before lying down for a 10 to 20 minute nap. This method often requires proper timing to be effective—otherwise nappers will simply be lying in bed with an abnormal heart rate feeling restless.

Although all-nighters are unhealthy, sometimes they are unavoidable. Students who are planning on a long night should try grabbing some shut-eye in the middle of the day. Experts recommend a restorative nap between 90 and 180 minutes, which allows the sleeper’s brain to go through at least one sleep cycle. After cramming for an exam or finalizing a project, consider sandwiching the working hours with restorative naps, so the body and mind can recover.

Emergency naps are as important as they sound. These naps are taken when fatigue is inhibiting a person’s ability to participate in certain activities. Drivers and operators of heavy machinery should always be well-rested. A study by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute indicates that fatigue causes 20 per cent of car crashes, while the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports an average of 1,550 reported fatalities and 71,000 injuries a year. Although there are no real methods of determining sleepiness as the main cause for accidents—drowsiness tends to be self-reported, unlike a Breathalyzer for driving under the influence—it’s clear that driving while fatigued is an issue. If you’re driving, pull over to the side, rest up, and hit the road at a later time.

Habitual naps are akin to siestas and are greatly beneficial to people of all ages. But there are certain habits nappers shouldn’t take up, and that is the “sleep until you wake” habit. Taking a nap when you are bored is not a healthy practice, even if you do it every day. Doing so may cause a lot of harm to a normal sleeping schedule, zap energy, and diminish mood.

There are no hard rules to napping. Every person’s sleep cycle is a bit different. By anticipating the scenario after waking up, though, each person can design a nap that will yield the most positive outcome.

Combatting the need to nap

According to the National Sleep Foundation, some estimates show that people sleep about 20 per cent less than they did a century ago. But napping isn’t essential; it’s a treat. Getting a standard eight hours is all it takes to fight the endless battle for quality sleep and the war against fatigue.

However, there are many factors hindering our rest in this modern age. In the 2011 Sleep in America Poll, 95 per cent of participants admitted to using some type of electronic device before sleeping. Staring at an artificial light—like computer screens, cellphones, and TVs—between dusk and bedtime suppresses the release of melatonin, a sleep-promoting hormone. Although a night light or computer screen might keep the bogeyman away, a dark room with fresh air is optimal for welcoming sleep.

Food with high calcium and protein will promote sleep better than high fat and sugar. Altogether, avoid large meals. A heavy meal will make you lethargic, but it won’t help you to doze off. Whole-grain bread, pastas, nuts, and seeds are the best options.

Napping, like sleep, is all about routine and timing. Tune into your body and identify those moments of tiredness. Incorporate naps no closer than five hours before your regular sleeping schedule. If you choose to nap, embrace it. Positive association with naps will make it easier to fall asleep and reenergize the spirit. Feeling guilty about napping will keep you awake and suck your morale dry. Set an alarm, make post-nap plans, or ask a friend to call or text you. Wake up, stretch, and allow your body and mind to reengage with the senses—smell, listen, hear, and see.

Siestas might be a fading cultural tradition, but napping isn’t going anywhere. As long as there are deadlines and commitments, there will be little certificates of comfort at the end of the grind. A desk, a couch, or a bed—just some place to kick up our heels, recharge, and wake up to our full potential.