Hear a few self-improvement experts, and it’s easy to think that napping is a secret weapon: more than a quick fix after a bad night’s sleep, but a shortcut to a better memory, better spirits and possibly a faster 5k run time. Professional athletes swear by it – along with musicians, UFC champions & high-profile executives. However, if you haven’t got a special sleep space or employment that encourages regular snoozing, can there *honestly* enough benefits to a quick nap for it to be worth the hassle? Is there a dependable method to nod off promptly? Plus, is it possible to honestly promise you will get up feeling better, instead of groggy?
Understanding Your Drive to Snooze
“There are three key drivers for daytime sleep for many people,” notes a professor of sleep science specialist. “The first is termed recovery napping, which is what happens after experiencing insufficient sleep the night before. Another is prophylactic napping, where you are pre-empting sleep loss in the future, for example if you’re working on night shifts. The third reason is “hedonic napping”, which basically boils down to wanting: you have a moment to sleep in the daytime, and it's enjoyable to nap.”
The primary task to consider, so, is to think about your nap motivation. “Daytime sleep can be genuinely useful when nighttime sleep is disturbed due to causes beyond your control – for instance, when you are a parent of a newborn, or recovering from sickness or strenuous activity,” explains a sleep physiologist. “However, if you nap because your nighttime sleep seems unreliable or unreliable, that can be an indicator your body's sleep pressure is not as strong as it needs to be. In those cases, naps can become part of the problem, instead of the fix. Use napping for brief periods for temporary issues – the focus must always be a robust and regular sleep at night.”
The Ideal Snooze Time
This implies that napping must not be long enough to interfere with your sleep at night, and ideally should not occur post-3 p.m. (contingent on when you sleep at night). What's a reasonable length? Guidelines are mixed. From the most referenced research on the subject, experts found that space travelers showed improvements of over 50% in alertness plus a 34% rise in task performance post a 26-minute snooze (in detail, this included a six-minute long nodding-off period). “I recommend setting a timer for half an hour or less – the majority doze off within 10 minutes,” says a sleep expert. “You'll find much advice around regarding the optimal amount of time, but that tends to cause people to feel more worried than anything else – and the least helpful action you can possibly do while aiming to nod off is worry about it.”
Should you decide to take an extended nap, bypass the period between 45 and 60 minutes that promotes sleep inertia, that foggy state when you wake. “Research would say it’s better to take a lengthier snooze lasting 60-90 minutes rather than a mid-length nap,” says the expert. “45 minutes is sufficient to plunge you into deep sleep and you’re more likely to feel sluggish when you get up – whereas if you nap for a bit longer to a full sleep cycle, you’re likely to be on the end of a sleep cycle and are likely to wake up feeling more alert. However, if you nap for an hour and a half, it can influence the quality of your sleep that night.”
Creating an Ideal Nap Environment
Regarding exact methodologies, recommendations vary. A few professionals suggest adopting the same protocol you use to encourage quality nighttime sleep: a peaceful area, a cozy bed and as much darkness as you can manage. Alternatively, experts propose that it's fine to merely snooze on the sofa in whatever light happens to be around – both to discourage sleep inertia and to maintain your bedroom as the place your mind associates with nighttime rest. “Falling asleep is quite challenging to force,” notes an expert. “Lacking any drowsiness, it is more challenging to recline and basically instruct yourself to nod off. You need some sleep pressure available to start the process initially. Personally, I can often take a nap in full light and awaken on my own without a timer, but what helps most folks is to anticipate a moment that they’re naturally feeling a bit drowsy and calmly ease into sleep.”
Experimentation is key, and should you have few options – for instance, if attempting to fit in some shut-eye during a commute or in a soundproof office pod – it's acceptable to use some accessories. “When I’m working with footballers, I advise that they don’t get used to their own bed for naps, since they’re going to have|they will
