Listen to enough productivity gurus, and it’s simple to convince yourself that a nap is a superpower: more than a sticking plaster following a bad night’s sleep, but a shortcut towards a better memory, better spirits and perhaps a faster 5k run time. Elite soccer players swear by it – as do professional piano players, mixed martial artists and media moguls. Yet, when you don't have a room for napping or a job that encourages daytime sleep, can there *honestly* enough benefits to a burst of shut-eye for it to be worth the effort? Does there exist a dependable method to fall asleep fast? Plus, is it possible to truly ensure you’ll wake up feeling better, not worse?
Exploring Your Nap Motivation
“There are three key drivers for napping for many people,” notes a leading sleep and circadian science professor. “The first is termed compensatory napping, which is what happens after experiencing a lack of sleep overnight. Secondly, there's preparatory napping, which involves pre-empting a sleep deficit in the future, for instance during on night shifts. Finally, there's “appetitive drive”, which essentially boils down to the wish: you have an opportunity to doze in the daytime, and it feels nice to nap.”
The first thing to do, then, is to examine why you want to nap. “Napping can be truly beneficial when nighttime sleep gets interrupted due to causes you cannot change – for instance, for a parent of a newborn, or you’re recovering from sickness or strenuous activity,” says a sleep specialist. “But if you take a nap since your nighttime sleep feels fragile or poor, that is frequently a signal your sleep drive is not at the level it should be. In such situations, daytime sleep can turn into part of the issue, instead of the fix. Use napping for brief periods for short-term problems – the main goal ought to remain a solid and consistent night’s sleep.”
The Perfect Nap Length
Therefore that naps must not be too extended to affect your nighttime sleep, and preferably should not occur in the late afternoon (contingent on when you retire at night). How long is sensible? Advice differs. In one of the most referenced research regarding daytime sleep, experts found that astronauts experienced a boost of up to 54% in alertness and a 34% boost in cognitive performance after a 26-minute nap (technically, this involved a six-minute long nodding-off period). “I’d suggest setting an alarm for 20-30 minutes – the majority are asleep within 10 minutes,” says a sleep expert. “There’s a lot of advice around concerning the perfect length of minutes, yet that often cause people to feel more anxious than anything – and the worst thing one can do when attempting to nod off is to be anxious.”
Should you decide to nap for a longer period, bypass the period between 45 and 60 minutes that encourages that sluggish feeling, that spaced-out feeling upon waking. “Studies suggests it's more effective to take an extended nap of one to one and a half hours rather than a mid-length nap,” says the professor. “Forty-five minutes is long enough to plunge you into deep sleep making it more likely to feel groggy upon awakening – however, if you nap for slightly longer to an hour or 90 minutes, you’re likely to be on the end a natural sleep cycle and should get up feeling more refreshed. But if you nap for an hour and a half, it can influence the quality of your sleep in the evening.”
Finding the Right Nap Environment
Regarding specific techniques, advice differs. Some experts propose adopting similar routines you use to encourage a good night’s sleep: a silent space, a supportive surface and maximum darkness as you can manage. Some advise that it's fine to merely snooze in a chair in whatever light happens to be around – to avoid that groggy feeling and to “protect” your sleeping quarters as the environment your mind associates with *real* sleep. “Sleep is notoriously difficult to command,” says a sleep coach. “If you don’t have any sleepiness, it becomes harder to lie down and basically command yourself to nod off. You need some drive present to start the process initially. For me, it's possible to nap in broad daylight and naturally wake up without an alarm, however, what assists a lot of people is to anticipate an instance when they are naturally slightly tired and just gently allow sleep to come.”
It’s worth experimenting, and should options are scarce – such as, if you’re trying to squeeze in some shut-eye on a train or in a soundproof office pod – there’s nothing wrong to employ some accessories. “In my work with elite athletes, I advise that they don’t get used to napping in bed, as they’re going to have|they will
