Listen to plenty of self-improvement podcasters, and you'll be tempting to think that napping is a powerful tool: rather than a sticking plaster after poor sleep, but a path to enhanced cognition, a brighter outlook and perhaps improved athletic performance. Premier League soccer players do it regularly – along with concert pianists, fighters & media moguls. Yet, when you haven’t got a room for napping or a job that allows regular snoozing, is it *truly* enough benefits to a quick nap to justify the effort? Does there exist a dependable method to nod off promptly? Plus, is it possible to truly ensure you’ll wake up feeling improved, instead of groggy?
Exploring Your Reasons for Napping
“There are three main reasons for daytime sleep in the adult population,” explains a professor of sleep and circadian science specialist. “One is known as compensatory napping, essentially what you do after experiencing a lack of sleep the night before. Secondly, there's pre-emptive sleep, which involves preparing for a sleep deficit in the future, for example when working overnight shifts. Finally, there's “appetitive drive”, which essentially boils down to wanting: you get a chance to sleep in the afternoon, and it feels nice to indulge.”
The initial step to undertake, then, is consider your reason for napping. “Naps can be really helpful when overnight rest is being disrupted due to causes beyond your control – such as, for caring for an infant, or recovering from sickness or intense exercise,” states a sleep specialist. “But if you’re napping as your nighttime sleep feels fragile or poor, that’s often a sign your body's sleep pressure is not at the level required. Under those circumstances, napping can become part of the problem, rather than the answer. Use napping for brief periods for temporary issues – the main goal must always be a robust and regular overnight rest.”
The Perfect Nap Length
Therefore that naps ought not to be sufficiently lengthy to interfere with your sleep at night, and preferably are not recommended post-3 p.m. (based on the time you retire at night). What's a reasonable length? Recommendations vary. In one of a prominent study on the subject, space agency scientists discovered that crew members showed a boost of up to 54% in vigilance and a 34% boost in performance post a 26-minute snooze (technically, this involved a six-minute falling asleep phase). “My advice is using an alarm for half an hour or less – most people fall asleep in under ten minutes,” notes a sleep expert. “There’s a lot of guidance out there concerning the perfect length of time, yet that often cause people to feel more anxious than anything – and the most counterproductive thing one can do when attempting to fall asleep is worry about it.”
If you’re going to take an extended nap, steer clear of the period between 45 and 60 minutes that encourages sleep grogginess, that spaced-out feeling upon waking. “Research indicates it is preferable to take a longer nap lasting 60-90 minutes than a medium-length one,” explains the expert. “Three-quarters of an hour is sufficient to send you into slow-wave sleep making it more likely to feel groggy when you wake up – however, if you nap for a bit longer to 60 or 90 minutes, you will probably to be completing a full cycle and will probably get up feeling more rejuvenated. However, if you're dozing for a long period, it may impact the quality of your sleep later that night.”
Finding an Ideal Nap Environment
Regarding exact methodologies, advice differs. A few professionals recommend employing similar routines you’d use to promote restful sleep: a silent space, a comfortable bed and minimal light as possible. Alternatively, experts propose that one could merely snooze on a couch in the existing light is available – both to discourage sleep inertia and to “protect” your bedroom as the place your brain links with nighttime rest. “Napping is notoriously difficult to force,” notes a sleep coach. “Without any sleepiness, it is tougher to get comfortable and essentially instruct yourself to nod off. You need some sleep pressure present to bring the sleep on initially. For me, it's possible to snooze in broad daylight and awaken on my own alarm-free, however, what assists a lot of people is to wait for a time that they’re naturally feeling a bit drowsy and then simply relax into it.”
It’s worth experimenting, and if options are scarce – for example, if you’re trying to fit in some shut-eye while traveling or in a soundproof office pod – it is perfectly fine with bringing a few tools. “When I’m working with professional sportspeople, I recommend that they avoid becoming accustomed to sleeping in their bed, as they’re going to have|they will
