Hear plenty of productivity experts, and it’s simple to think that a nap is a superpower: rather than a sticking plaster following a bad night’s sleep, but a path towards a better memory, improved mood and perhaps a faster 5k run time. Professional soccer players are all at it – and so are concert pianists, mixed martial artists & media moguls. Yet, when you lack a special sleep space or a career that permits regular snoozing, are there *really* worthwhile perks to a short sleep to merit the effort? Does there exist a surefire technique to get to sleep quickly enough? Furthermore, can you truly ensure you will get up feeling refreshed, not worse?
Identifying Your Reasons for Napping
“There are three primary motivations for daytime sleep for many people,” says a professor of sleep science researcher. “One is termed recovery napping, which is what happens following insufficient sleep the previous night. Secondly, there's preparatory napping, when you are pre-empting sleep loss ahead, such as during graveyard shifts. Finally, there's “hedonic napping”, which essentially comes down to wanting: there is an opportunity to doze in the afternoon, and it's enjoyable to do it.”
The first thing to undertake, then, is to think about your nap motivation. “Napping can be genuinely useful when overnight rest is disturbed due to causes outside your control – for example, for caring for an infant, or if you are healing after being ill or intense exercise,” states a sleep specialist. “However, if you’re napping as your night sleep is unstable or unreliable, that can be a sign your body's sleep pressure is not at the level required. In such situations, daytime sleep can turn into part of the issue, instead of the fix. Use napping as a short-term solution to address immediate needs – the focus must always be a strong and predictable overnight rest.”
The Perfect Nap Length
Therefore that naps ought not to be sufficiently lengthy to interfere with your overnight rest, and preferably should not occur in the late afternoon (based on when you sleep in the evening). What duration is wise? Advice differs. Among the most-cited studies regarding daytime sleep, researchers at Nasa discovered that space travelers had up to a 54% increase in attentiveness and a 34% increase in cognitive performance after a 26-minute nap (in detail, this counted a six-minute nodding-off period). “My advice is setting an alarm for 20-30 minutes – most people doze off in under ten minutes,” explains a sleep expert. “You'll find much recommendations regarding the ideal number of time, but that tends to make people feel more worried than anything else – and the least helpful action one can do while aiming to nod off is to stress over it.”
If you plan to nap for a longer period, steer clear of the 45 to 60 minute range that promotes that sluggish feeling, that spaced-out feeling when you wake. “Research suggests it is preferable to take an extended nap lasting 60-90 minutes than a medium-length one,” says the sleep scientist. “Forty-five minutes is sufficient to send you into deep sleep making it more likely to feel sluggish when you get up – whereas if you nap for slightly longer to 60 or 90 minutes, you will probably to be on the end of a sleep cycle and are likely to wake up feeling more alert. However, if you nap for a long period, it will affect your sleep in the evening.”
Creating the Perfect Nap Environment
Regarding specific techniques, recommendations vary. A few professionals recommend adopting comparable habits you’d use to encourage restful sleep: a quiet room, a cozy bed and maximum darkness as is feasible. Some advise that it's fine to simply nap on the sofa with ambient lighting is available – both to discourage post-nap grogginess and to preserve your bed as the place you associate with nighttime rest. “Napping is notoriously difficult to will,” notes an expert. “Without the urge to sleep, it is tougher to get comfortable and essentially tell yourself to fall asleep. There’s got to be some sleep pressure there to bring the sleep on to begin with. Personally, I can often take a nap in full light and awaken on my own without a timer, however, what assists most folks is to wait for an instance where they feel naturally slightly tired and calmly allow sleep to come.”
Trying different approaches is valuable, and if your choices are limited – for example, when aiming to grab a quick nap while traveling or at the office – it is perfectly fine with bringing a few tools. “When I’m working with elite athletes, I advise that they avoid becoming accustomed to napping in bed, since they’re going to have|they will
