Listen to enough productivity experts, making it simple to believe that napping is a powerful tool: more than a quick fix after poor sleep, but a path towards enhanced cognition, a brighter outlook and maybe a faster 5k run time. Premier League athletes do it regularly – along with concert pianists, UFC champions and business leaders. But if you haven’t got a special sleep space or employment that allows regular snoozing, are there *really* enough benefits to a short sleep to merit the kerfuffle? Does there exist a dependable method to nod off promptly? And can you really guarantee you will get up feeling better, not worse?
Exploring Your Reasons for Napping
“Experts note three main reasons for taking a nap in the adult population,” says a professor of circadian rhythm researcher. “The first is termed compensatory napping, essentially the action you take following insufficient sleep the night before. The second is pre-emptive sleep, where you are anticipating a sleep deficit ahead, such as if you’re working on night shifts. Finally, there's “hedonic napping”, which basically is about the wish: there is an opportunity to nap in the afternoon, and it feels nice to do it.”
The primary task to consider, so, is to examine your reason for napping. “Napping can be truly beneficial when overnight rest gets interrupted because of factors beyond your control – such as, for a new parent, or if you are healing from sickness or heavy physical exertion,” explains a sleep expert. “Yet when you nap since your night sleep seems unreliable or unreliable, that’s often a signal your body's sleep pressure is not at the level it should be. In those cases, daytime sleep can turn into part of the problem, instead of the fix. Utilize daytime sleep for brief periods to address immediate needs – the main goal should still be a robust and regular sleep at night.”
The Perfect Nap Duration
This implies that naps shouldn’t be too extended to interfere with your overnight rest, and best should not occur post-3 p.m. (depending on the time you go to bed overnight). What's a reasonable length? Advice differs. In one of the most-cited studies regarding daytime sleep, researchers at Nasa found that astronauts experienced improvements of over 50% in alertness plus a 34% rise in performance following a nap of 26 minutes (technically, this included a six-minute long nodding-off period). “My advice is using an alarm for half an hour or less – many individuals are asleep quickly,” says a sleep expert. “There’s a lot of guidance out there regarding the ideal number for sleeping, however, that can make people feel more stressed than anything else – and the least helpful action you can possibly do while aiming to fall asleep is to be anxious.”
If you plan to sleep for longer, avoid the 45 to 60 minute range that promotes sleep grogginess, that disoriented sensation when you awaken. “The science would say it is preferable to have an extended nap of one to one and a half hours rather than a mid-length nap,” notes the sleep scientist. “Forty-five minutes is sufficient to send you into slow-wave sleep making it more likely to feel sluggish when you wake up – whereas if you nap for a little longer to 60 or 90 minutes, you’re likely to be completing a full cycle and are likely to get up feeling more rejuvenated. Though if you nap for a long period, it can influence the quality of your sleep later that night.”
Establishing the Perfect Snooze Setting
When it comes to exact methodologies, advice differs. A few professionals suggest using similar routines you use to foster restful sleep: a quiet room, a supportive surface and minimal light as possible. Others suggest that it's fine to just doze on the sofa in whatever light happens to be around – to prevent that groggy feeling and to “protect” your sleeping quarters as the environment your brain links with proper sleep. “Falling asleep is notoriously difficult to will,” says an expert. “If you don’t have any drowsiness, it becomes harder to lie down and practically instruct yourself to nod off. You need some drive present to start the process to begin with. For me, it's possible to take a nap in broad daylight and wake up naturally without a timer, but what helps most folks is to anticipate an instance when they are naturally slightly tired and just gently ease into sleep.”
Experimentation is key, and if you have few options – for instance, if attempting to fit in a quick nap on a train or in a work pod – it's acceptable with bringing some accessories. “Coaching footballers, I recommend that they not rely on napping in bed, since they’re going to have|they will
