Hear plenty of productivity gurus, and you'll be easy to think that napping is a superpower: not just a quick fix following a bad night’s sleep, but a shortcut towards a better memory, better spirits and maybe improved athletic performance. Professional soccer players swear by it – and so are concert pianists, UFC champions and high-profile executives. Yet, when you don't have a room for napping or a job that encourages regular snoozing, can there *honestly* sufficient advantages to a burst of shut-eye for it to be worth the hassle? Can you find a reliable way to nod off promptly? Plus, is it possible to honestly promise you will arise feeling refreshed, rather than worse?
Identifying The Nap Motivation
“Experts note three key drivers for taking a nap for many people,” explains a leading sleep science researcher. “Firstly, there's what we call recovery napping, essentially what you do following poor sleep the night before. Another is pre-emptive sleep, where you are preparing for sleep loss coming up, such as when working overnight shifts. The third is called “pleasure-based sleep”, which simply is about the wish: you have a moment to doze in the afternoon, and it feels nice to nap.”
The primary task to consider, then, is to think about why you want to nap. “Naps can be really helpful when night sleeping is being disrupted due to causes outside your control – such as, for a new parent, or if you are healing from sickness or intense exercise,” states a sleep specialist. “But if you nap as your night sleep is unstable or unreliable, that is frequently a sign your body's sleep pressure is not as strong as required. In such situations, naps can become part of the issue, instead of the fix. Employ naps for brief periods for temporary issues – the priority should still be a strong and predictable overnight rest.”
The Optimal Nap Length
This implies that daytime sleep must not be sufficiently lengthy to disrupt your nighttime sleep, and preferably shouldn’t take place post-3 p.m. (contingent on when you go to bed overnight). How long is sensible? Guidelines are mixed. Among the most referenced research on the subject, experts discovered that astronauts had a boost of up to 54% in attentiveness and a 34% increase in cognitive performance after a 26-minute nap (technically, this counted a six-minute nodding-off period). “I’d suggest using an alarm for 20-30 minutes – most people are asleep in under ten minutes,” notes a sleep coach. “There is plenty of advice around about the perfect length of minutes, but that tends to cause people to feel more anxious above all – and the worst thing you can do while aiming to get to sleep is to be anxious.”
Should you decide to take an extended nap, avoid the 45-60 minute window that encourages sleep grogginess, that spaced-out feeling when you wake. “Studies indicates it is preferable to opt for a lengthier snooze lasting 60-90 minutes compared to a medium-length nap,” says the expert. “Forty-five minutes is sufficient to send you into slow-wave sleep and you’re more likely to feel groggy when you get up – whereas if you nap for slightly longer to a full sleep cycle, it's likely you'll to be completing a natural sleep cycle and will probably get up feeling more rejuvenated. However, if you're dozing for a long period, it will affect your sleep in the evening.”
Creating the Right Sleep Space
Regarding precise methods, advice differs. A few professionals suggest adopting similar routines one would use to promote a good night’s sleep: a silent space, a supportive surface and maximum darkness as is feasible. Alternatively, experts propose that it's fine to simply nap on the sofa with ambient lighting happens to be around – both to discourage sleep inertia and to “protect” your bedroom as the environment your brain links with proper sleep. “Sleep is something really tricky to will,” explains a sleep coach. “Without the urge to sleep, it is tougher to recline and essentially command yourself to nod off. There must be some drive there to bring the sleep on initially. For me, it's possible to snooze in broad daylight and awaken on my own without a timer, though, what aids a lot of people is to wait for a moment when they are naturally feeling a bit drowsy and just gently relax into it.”
It’s worth experimenting, and should you have few options – such as, if attempting to squeeze in a quick nap during a commute or at the office – there’s nothing wrong to employ a few tools. “In my work with footballers, I recommend that they avoid becoming accustomed to napping in bed, as they’re going to have|they will
