I love a happy accident.

See I've been working from home since 2014.

Meaning my athleisure collection was already stacked by the time COVID came around.

Sometime during COVID, I unconsciously typed in the numbers 22 minutes and 22 seconds into my phone alarm. For whatever reason - that's the amount of rest my body told me it needed that afternoon.

And so the 22 min/ 22 sec nap was born.

Medical professionals have been talking about the benefits of naps since the 1930s. But none of that research captured what I stumbled onto by accident.

When I first took these naps, they were a remedy for cognitive fatigue. 

My eyes strained from computering and an inability to complete a thought. So I recharged my battery.

But soon, I started taking a small problem or stuck point into the nap with me.

Instead of just closing my eyes and checking out, I'd bring along whatever issue was eating at me that day. A client challenge. A creative block. A decision I couldn't make.

That's when everything changed.

The Master Builder

The number 22 carries serious symbolic weight.

In numerology, it's called the "Master Builder" - the number of turning vision into structure, chaos into clarity.

It’s exactly what happens during these 22:22 sessions.

When I lay down, I take a couple of deep breaths and just think about the problem from a distance - allowing me to detach and observe from a fresh vantage point.

What’s fascinating is the high percentage of success.

Coming out of these naps, I think and execute like a sharpshooter vs. the un-napped sprayer and prayer.

Automagically, I'm more decisive and can resolve stuck points where I saw ghosts less than 30 minutes before.

22.22 is the breakthrough drug.

NASA also backs up the power of strategic naps. Their study showed 26-minute naps gave pilots a 54% increase in alertness and 34% boost in performance. 

But they weren't sleeping with the enemy.

Sleep Your Way to the Middle

Here's what research tells us: 

Dyslexic adults expend 5x more mental effort than neurotypicals on cognitive tasks - even when our performance looks "normal." 

We're running hotter, faster, and burning through mental reserves.

But here's our advantage: We're natural holistic thinkers.

While others get stuck in linear problem-solving loops, you can step back and see the whole picture. 22:22 leverages this strength perfectly.

The process:

1. Identify your "enemy" problem

2. Set timer for 22 minutes, 22 seconds (or your sweet spot)

3. Lie down, breathe deep

4. Hold the problem lightly in your mind

5. Let mental distance do its work

No Sleeping on the Job

Although you might be feeling left out, those of you who can't nap at work - don't worry.

The technique is flexible:

Conference Room Reset: Book a 30-minute room, close your eyes, same process. Even without sleep, the intentional pause + mental reset works.

Car Cocoon: Drive to a quiet parking spot during lunch. Your mobile breakthrough chamber.

Walking Meditation: 22-minute walk with your problem "in tow." Movement + mental distance often works even better for kinesthetic dyslexic minds.

The key isn't the nap - it's the intentional mental distance from the noise. 

Sleep Your Way to the Top

What I love about this breakthrough drug is how it reframes our relationship with problems. 

Instead of wrestling them into submission, we're inviting them to dance.

We're not avoiding the issues; we're giving our dyslexic brain the bandwidth it needs to work its magic.

Shift

Next time a problem is eating at you - try sleeping with it. 

Give yourself 22/22 and turn that enemy into an ally.

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