Listen to enough performance gurus, making it simple to convince yourself that napping is a secret weapon: rather than a quick fix following restless night, but a route towards improved recall, improved mood and maybe quicker running times. Elite soccer players do it regularly – and so are musicians, UFC champions & media moguls. But if you haven’t got a dedicated nap-room or employment that allows daytime sleep, are there *really* enough benefits to a burst of shut-eye to justify the effort? Can you find a surefire technique to get to sleep quickly enough? Plus, is it possible to really guarantee you’ll wake up feeling better, not worse?
Understanding The Reasons for Napping
“We can identify three key drivers for napping among most adults,” notes a leading sleep and circadian science specialist. “The first is what we call recovery napping, which is the action you take after experiencing a lack of sleep the previous night. The second is prophylactic napping, when you are pre-empting insufficient sleep coming up, for instance when working overnight shifts. The third is called “pleasure-based sleep”, which simply is about wanting: you get a moment to doze in the daytime, and it's pleasant to indulge.”
The first thing to do, therefore, is to examine your reason for napping. “Napping can be truly beneficial when nighttime sleep is being disrupted due to causes you cannot change – such as, if you’re caring for an infant, or if you are healing from illness or heavy physical exertion,” explains a sleep physiologist. “However, if you take a nap because your sleep at night feels fragile or poor, that is frequently 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 issue, not the solution. Use napping as a short-term solution for temporary issues – the main goal should still be a solid and consistent sleep at night.”
The Perfect Nap Length
This means that naps must not be too extended to affect your sleep at night, and best should not occur in the late afternoon (depending on when you go to bed at night). How long is sensible? Recommendations vary. In one of a prominent study on the subject, space agency scientists discovered that space travelers had up to a 54% increase in attentiveness and a 34% boost in cognitive performance post a 26-minute snooze (technically, this involved an initial six-minute sleep onset time). “I’d suggest setting an alarm for half an hour or less – many individuals are asleep in under ten minutes,” says a specialist. “You'll find much guidance out there concerning the perfect length of time, yet that often lead individuals to become more anxious above all – and the most counterproductive thing you can do when trying to nod off is to stress over it.”
If you plan to take an extended nap, bypass the 45 to 60 minute range that encourages sleep inertia, that spaced-out feeling when you awaken. “Research indicates it is preferable to take a longer nap lasting 60-90 minutes compared to a medium-length nap,” explains the expert. “Three-quarters of an hour is long enough to plunge you into deep sleep and it is more probable to feel sluggish when you wake up – however, if you nap for slightly longer to an hour or 90 minutes, you will probably to be completing of a sleep cycle and are likely to wake up feeling more refreshed. However, if you’re sleeping for an hour and a half, it may impact your sleep that night.”
Creating the Perfect Nap Environment
As for precise methods, recommendations vary. Some experts recommend using comparable habits you use to foster restful sleep: a silent space, a supportive surface and maximum darkness as possible. Others suggest that one could merely snooze on the sofa in the existing light happens to be around – both to discourage post-nap grogginess and to maintain your bed as the place your mind associates with proper sleep. “Napping is notoriously difficult to force,” notes an expert. “Lacking any drowsiness, it is more challenging to recline and practically command yourself to go to sleep. There must be some drive available to bring the sleep on to begin with. Personally, I can often nap during the day and wake up naturally without a timer, however, what assists a lot of people is to look for an instance that they’re naturally slightly tired and just gently relax into it.”
It’s worth experimenting, and if your choices are limited – such as, if attempting to fit in some shut-eye during a commute or in a soundproof office pod – it's acceptable with bringing a few tools. “In my work with professional sportspeople, I advise that they avoid becoming accustomed to sleeping in their bed, because they’re going to have|they will
