Hear enough productivity experts, making it easy to think that a nap is a superpower: not just a band-aid following a bad night’s sleep, but a route to enhanced cognition, better spirits and perhaps a faster 5k run time. Premier League footballers do it regularly – as do concert pianists, mixed martial artists & media moguls. But if you don't have a room for napping or a job that allows daytime sleep, are there *really* worthwhile perks to a quick nap to justify the kerfuffle? Does there exist a dependable method to nod off promptly? Furthermore, can you honestly promise you will get up feeling refreshed, not worse?
Exploring The Nap Motivation
“There are three main reasons for daytime sleep in the adult population,” notes an expert sleep science specialist. “One is what we call compensatory napping, which is what you do when you’ve had poor sleep overnight. Secondly, there's preparatory napping, when you are anticipating insufficient sleep ahead, for instance when working on night shifts. The third is called “pleasure-based sleep”, which essentially is about the wish: there is a moment to sleep in the daytime, and it's pleasant to indulge.”
The initial step to do, then, is to examine why you want to nap. “Naps can be really helpful when overnight rest gets interrupted because of factors beyond your control – for example, if you’re a parent of a newborn, or if you are healing from illness or strenuous activity,” says a sleep specialist. “However, if you’re napping because your night sleep seems unreliable or broken, that is frequently a sign your sleep drive is not at the level required. In those cases, daytime sleep can turn into part of the problem, instead of the fix. Employ naps as a short-term solution for short-term problems – the priority must always be a robust and regular sleep at night.”
The Perfect Snooze Time
This means that naps ought not to be too extended to affect your nighttime sleep, and preferably are not recommended in the late afternoon (based on the time you retire overnight). How long is sensible? Guidelines are mixed. In one of a prominent study regarding daytime sleep, space agency scientists discovered that space travelers had improvements of over 50% in attentiveness and a 34% boost in performance after a 26-minute nap (technically, this counted a six-minute sleep onset time). “I recommend using an alarm for 20 to 30 minutes – most people fall asleep in under ten minutes,” explains a sleep coach. “There’s a lot of guidance out there about the optimal amount for sleeping, but that tends to make people feel more anxious than anything else – and the most counterproductive thing one can do when trying to nod off is to be anxious.”
Should you decide to nap for a longer period, bypass the period between 45 and 60 minutes that promotes that sluggish feeling, that foggy state when you awaken. “Research indicates it's more effective to take an extended nap of one to one and a half hours compared to a medium-length nap,” says the expert. “45 minutes is sufficient to plunge you into slow-wave sleep and you’re more likely to feel disoriented when you wake up – whereas if you nap for slightly longer to a full sleep cycle, it's likely you'll to finish a natural sleep cycle and are likely to awaken feeling more alert. But if you're dozing for a long period, it can influence your sleep that night.”
Finding the Perfect Sleep Space
When it comes to exact methodologies, advice differs. A few professionals propose employing similar routines one would use to promote restful sleep: a silent space, a comfortable bed and as much darkness as is feasible. Others suggest that you should just doze on the sofa in the existing light is available – both to discourage post-nap grogginess and to maintain your sleeping quarters as the space your mind associates with proper sleep. “Falling asleep is quite challenging to command,” says an expert. “Lacking the urge to sleep, it is tougher to get comfortable and basically command yourself to go to sleep. There must be some drive present to initiate sleep in the first place. For me, it's possible to take a nap in full light and wake up naturally alarm-free, though, what aids many individuals is to look for an instance that they’re naturally feeling a bit drowsy and then simply allow sleep to come.”
Trying different approaches is valuable, and if your choices are limited – such as, if you’re trying to grab a quick nap while traveling or at the office – it's acceptable to use a few tools. “When I’m working with elite athletes, I suggest that they not rely on their own bed for naps, as they’re going to have|they will
