Hugo Fruehaf, one of the inventors of GPS, discusses the dark origins of GPS and how far we’ve come since. Plus: learn why quiet wakefulness makes it okay to take a nap without actually falling asleep.
Hugo Fruehaf, one of the inventors of GPS, discusses the dark origins of GPS and how far we’ve come since. Plus: learn why quiet wakefulness makes it okay to take a nap without actually falling asleep.
Benefits of Napping Without Actually Falling Asleep by Kelsey Donk
Additional resources from Hugo Fruehauf:
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Find episode transcript here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/gpss-past-and-future-w-hugo-fruehauf-and-why-its-ok-to-nap-without-falling-asleep
CODY: Hi! You’re about to get smarter in just a few minutes with Curiosity Daily from curiosity-dot-com. I’m Cody Gough.
ASHLEY: And I’m Ashley Hamer. Today, you’ll hear the last part of our interview with one of the inventors of GPS, Hugo Fruehaf [FROO-hoff], who’ll tell you about the dark origins of GPS and how far we’ve come since. But first, we’ll tell you why it’s okay to take a “nap” where you don’t actually fall asleep.
CODY: Let’s satisfy some curiosity.
Whenever I have a free minute for a quick nap, I take it. But sometimes I end up awake with my eyes closed, thinking about the nap time I’m wasting by not being able to sleep. If I don’t fall asleep at all, it feels like I failed. If this sounds familiar, I’ve got good news. New research says we shouldn’t get too stressed about actually sleeping during that nap. What scientists call 'quiet wakefulness' is good too.
Quiet wakefulness is probably something you already do. It’s resting with your eyes closed. It might not feel like you’re doing much when you “rest your eyes,” but the benefits of quiet wakefulness are actually pretty huge. The National Sleep Foundation says quiet wakefulness can give the brain and body a break. It can also reduce stress and boost your mood, alertness, creativity, mental clarity, and motivation.
Scientists say that just knowing that quiet wakefulness works is enough to make you feel refreshed. After all, feeling like a sleep failure is stressful, and stress is the opposite of what you want out of a nap. Knowing that you won’t ruin everything by just resting your eyes means your body will actually have time to rest and recover.
And according to some studies, quiet wakefulness is even better for productivity and alertness than naps are. After waking up from an afternoon nap, you’re liable to experience “sleep inertia” — that’s the groggy feeling that makes it hard to think clearly when you go back to work. But quiet wakefulness doesn’t require any recovery time.
Even cooler, researchers say the brain activity they see in people practicing quiet wakefulness is actually pretty similar to what you’d see during a nap. In other words, you get the same effect with less recovery time.
One note, though. As similar as they are, resting and sleeping are not the same thing. You do still need to get actual sleep. Quiet wakefulness can’t replace the eight hours of shuteye you’re supposed to get every night. Deep sleep is important for all sorts of things: processing emotions, regulating hormones, remembering new information, and repairing damaged cells, for starters. But if you just need a quick break, quiet wakefulness could be the ticket.
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GPS can help you navigate to where you want to go, and tell you what time it is to a billionth of a second. And the new applications for this technology that we’re coming up with every day mean that the Global Positioning System has a bright future. You know what wasn’t so bright? The BEGINNINGS of GPS. And today with that origin story is one of the inventors of GPS, Hugo Fruehauf [FROO-hoff]. We asked Hugo to walk us through what it was like developing GPS in the first place, where the idea even came from. And the story he told us is a little dark. Don’t worry! In a couple minutes, we’re gonna lighten things up by asking Hugo about some of his favorite things about GPS. He did help create it, after all. But first, here’s what Hugo told us when we asked him about the origins of GPS.
[CLIP 1:26]
[in-line CODY] Oh, so GPS was developed for military applications, was the primary motivating factor?
[CLIP 0:23]
Fortunately, the commercial sector came up with a LOT of super cool ways of tapping into GPS technology to make our lives better. And that’s one of the reasons Hugo was one four engineers who received the the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering in December, for inventing the technology. It’s been a long time since we launched those first GPS satellites into orbit, so we figured there are probably ways the technology’s been utilized that Hugo wouldn’t have predicted. So we wrapped up our interview with a fun question: what’s the most surprising GPS application to YOU to come out?
[CLIP 1:40]
[Cody in-line] “Well congratulations again to you and your colleagues on the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering. It’s just such an extraordinary achievement, and really well-deserved.”
[CLIP 0:21]
Once again, Hugo Fruehauf is one of the inventors of GPS. And you can find links to learn more about Hugo and the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering in today’s show notes.
Let’s do a quick recap of what we learned today
[ad lib optional]
CODY: Today’s first story was written by Kelsey Donk, and edited by Ashley Hamer, who’s the managing editor for Curiosity Daily.
ASHLEY: Today’s episode was produced and edited by Cody Gough.
CODY: Join us again tomorrow to learn something new in just a few minutes.
ASHLEY: And until then, stay curious!