Listen to enough self-improvement podcasters, making it easy to believe that a nap is a superpower: rather than a sticking plaster after poor sleep, but a path to enhanced cognition, improved mood and possibly a faster 5k run time. Professional footballers swear by it – along with concert pianists, mixed martial artists & business leaders. But if you haven’t got a room for napping or a job that permits daytime sleep, are there *really* worthwhile perks to a quick nap to merit the kerfuffle? Is there a dependable method to fall asleep fast? And can you honestly promise you will arise feeling refreshed, instead of groggy?
Identifying The Nap Motivation
“We can identify three key drivers for daytime sleep among most adults,” notes a professor of sleep and circadian science researcher. “The first is known as recovery napping, that is what you do when you’ve had poor sleep overnight. The second is preparatory napping, which involves pre-empting a sleep deficit in the future, for example during overnight shifts. The third is called “appetitive drive”, which essentially is about desire: you get an opportunity to nap in the afternoon, and it feels nice to do it.”
The initial step to consider, so, is to think about why you want to nap. “Naps can be genuinely useful when nighttime sleep gets interrupted because of factors beyond your control – for instance, when you are caring for an infant, or recovering from sickness or intense exercise,” explains a sleep physiologist. “But if you nap as your nighttime sleep is unstable or broken, that’s often a sign your body's sleep pressure is not where it needs to be. Under those circumstances, napping can become part of the issue, rather than the answer. Use napping for brief periods to address immediate needs – the focus ought to remain a strong and predictable sleep at night.”
The Ideal Nap Length
This means that naps ought not to be long enough to affect your sleep at night, and ideally should not occur after about 3pm (contingent on the time you retire in the evening). How long is sensible? Guidelines are mixed. From a prominent study on the subject, space agency scientists found that space travelers had improvements of over 50% in attentiveness plus a 34% rise in performance following a nap of 26 minutes (in detail, this included a six-minute long nodding-off period). “I recommend using an alarm for half an hour or less – the majority doze off within 10 minutes,” notes a sleep coach. “You'll find much recommendations concerning the optimal amount for sleeping, however, that can cause people to feel more stressed than anything else – and the most counterproductive thing you can possibly do when trying to get to sleep is to be anxious.”
Should you decide to sleep for longer, steer clear of the 45 to 60 minute range that promotes that sluggish feeling, that foggy state when you awaken. “Studies indicates it's more effective to opt for a lengthier snooze of 60 to 90 minutes compared to a medium-length nap,” notes the professor. “45 minutes is long enough to put you into deep sleep making it more likely to feel sluggish upon awakening – whereas if you nap for a bit longer to a full sleep cycle, you will probably to finish a natural sleep cycle and should awaken feeling more rejuvenated. However, if you’re sleeping for a long period, it may impact your sleep later that night.”
Finding the Right Nap Environment
When it comes to specific techniques, recommendations vary. A few professionals suggest using comparable habits one would use to encourage a good night’s sleep: a peaceful area, a cozy bed and as much darkness as you can manage. Alternatively, experts propose that one could just doze on the sofa in the existing light is present – to avoid sleep inertia and to “protect” your sleeping quarters as the place you associate with nighttime rest. “Sleep is notoriously difficult to force,” says a specialist. “Without the urge to sleep, it becomes harder to recline and essentially instruct yourself to nod off. There’s got to be a natural inclination present to bring the sleep on initially. Personally, I can often nap in broad daylight and naturally wake up without an alarm, but what helps a lot of people is to wait for a moment that they’re naturally slightly tired and then simply allow sleep to come.”
It’s worth experimenting, and when you have few options – for example, if attempting to grab a quick nap on a train or at the office – there’s nothing wrong to employ a few tools. “Coaching elite athletes, I advise that they avoid becoming accustomed to their own bed for naps, since they’re going to have|they will
