Listen to a few productivity experts, making it simple to convince yourself that a nap is a secret weapon: more than a band-aid after poor sleep, but a path to enhanced cognition, a brighter outlook and perhaps improved athletic performance. Premier League footballers are all at it – along with concert pianists, mixed martial artists & media moguls. But if you haven’t got a dedicated nap-room or a career that encourages regular snoozing, is it *truly* enough benefits to a quick nap for it to be worth the kerfuffle? Is there a dependable method to fall asleep fast? And can you really guarantee you will arise feeling better, rather than worse?
Understanding Your Reasons for Napping
“Experts note three primary motivations for taking a nap for many people,” explains a leading circadian rhythm researcher. “Firstly, there's what we call recovery napping, that is what you do following insufficient sleep the night before. The second is prophylactic napping, where you are anticipating insufficient sleep in the future, such as if you’re working graveyard shifts. The third is called “hedonic napping”, which simply is about the wish: there is a chance to doze in the afternoon, and it feels nice to do it.”
The primary task to do, therefore, is to examine your nap motivation. “Naps can be really helpful when nighttime sleep gets interrupted for reasons beyond your control – for example, if you’re caring for an infant, or recovering from sickness or intense exercise,” says a sleep specialist. “Yet when you nap since your nighttime sleep is unstable or broken, that’s often an indicator your need for sleep is not at the level it needs to be. In those cases, napping can become part of the issue, instead of the fix. Use napping as a short-term solution for temporary issues – the priority ought to remain a solid and consistent overnight rest.”
The Optimal Nap Duration
This implies that daytime sleep shouldn’t be too extended to affect your sleep at night, and preferably shouldn’t take place after about 3pm (depending on the time you retire overnight). What's a reasonable length? Advice differs. From the most-cited studies on the subject, space agency scientists noted that astronauts experienced improvements of over 50% in alertness and a 34% boost in cognitive performance following a nap of 26 minutes (to be precise, this involved a six-minute long falling asleep phase). “I recommend setting a timer for 20-30 minutes – many individuals doze off within 10 minutes,” says a sleep coach. “There is plenty of recommendations about the optimal amount of minutes, yet that often cause people to feel more anxious than anything else – and the worst thing one can do while aiming to get to sleep is to stress over it.”
If you’re going to nap for a longer period, avoid the period between 45 and 60 minutes that induces sleep grogginess, that spaced-out feeling when you wake. “Research would say it's more effective to opt for a lengthier snooze lasting 60-90 minutes than a medium-length one,” notes the professor. “Forty-five minutes is long enough to send you into deep sleep and you’re more likely to feel sluggish when you get up – while if you extend it a little longer to 60 or 90 minutes, it's likely you'll to finish a full cycle and should wake up feeling more refreshed. But if you nap for 90 minutes, it can influence how you sleep that night.”
Establishing the Right Snooze Setting
Regarding precise methods, suggestions are diverse. Certain specialists propose employing similar routines you’d use to encourage quality nighttime sleep: a peaceful area, a supportive surface and maximum darkness as you can manage. Alternatively, experts propose that it's fine to just doze on a couch in the existing light is present – to avoid post-nap grogginess and to “protect” your bedroom as the space you associate with *real* sleep. “Napping is quite challenging to will,” says a sleep coach. “Without any drowsiness, it is tougher to recline and practically instruct yourself to go to sleep. There’s got to be some drive present to initiate sleep initially. For me, it's possible to nap in full light and awaken on my own alarm-free, but what helps most folks is to wait for a moment that they’re naturally slightly tired and calmly ease into sleep.”
It’s worth experimenting, and should you have few options – such as, when aiming to squeeze in a quick nap during a commute or at the office – there’s nothing wrong with bringing some accessories. “Coaching elite athletes, I advise that they not rely on their own bed for naps, because they’re going to have|they will
