Listen to enough self-improvement gurus, making it tempting to think that a nap is a superpower: rather than a band-aid following a bad night’s sleep, but a path to improved recall, better spirits and possibly quicker running times. Premier League footballers swear by it – as do concert pianists, mixed martial artists and high-profile executives. Yet, when you lack a room for napping or employment that encourages daytime sleep, are there *really* sufficient advantages to a quick nap for it to be worth the effort? Can you find a dependable method to nod off promptly? Plus, is it possible to truly ensure you will get up feeling better, instead of groggy?
Exploring Your Nap Motivation
“We can identify three key drivers for daytime sleep among most adults,” explains a leading circadian rhythm specialist. “The first is termed make-up sleep, that is what happens following a lack of sleep the night before. Secondly, there's preparatory napping, where you are pre-empting insufficient sleep in the future, for instance if you’re working overnight shifts. Finally, there's “pleasure-based sleep”, which basically boils down to the wish: you have a moment to sleep in the daytime, and it feels nice to indulge.”
The initial step to undertake, then, is consider your nap motivation. “Daytime sleep can be genuinely useful when nighttime sleep gets interrupted for reasons beyond your control – for instance, if you’re a parent of a newborn, or you’re recovering from illness or intense exercise,” states a sleep physiologist. “However, if you nap because your sleep at night feels fragile or poor, that is frequently a signal your body's sleep pressure is not where it needs to be. In such situations, daytime sleep can turn into part of the issue, instead of the fix. Use napping for brief periods for short-term problems – the priority ought to remain a solid and consistent sleep at night.”
The Optimal Nap Length
This means that daytime sleep must not be long enough to disrupt your sleep at night, and ideally shouldn’t take place after about 3pm (based on what time you retire overnight). What duration is wise? Guidelines are mixed. Among a prominent study on the subject, experts discovered that space travelers had improvements of over 50% in vigilance and a 34% increase in cognitive performance after a 26-minute nap (technically, this included a six-minute falling asleep phase). “I recommend setting a timer for 20-30 minutes – most people doze off within 10 minutes,” says a sleep expert. “You'll find much recommendations about the ideal number of minutes, but that tends to cause people to feel more anxious than anything – and the most counterproductive thing one can do when attempting to fall asleep is to stress over it.”
If you’re going to nap for a longer period, avoid the 45-60 minute window that induces sleep grogginess, that foggy state upon waking. “Research suggests it’s better to take a lengthier snooze of one to one and a half hours than a medium-length one,” explains the expert. “45 minutes is long enough to plunge you into a deep sleep stage and it is more probable to feel groggy when you wake up – whereas if you extend it a little longer to 60 or 90 minutes, you’re likely to be completing a natural sleep cycle and will probably wake up feeling more refreshed. Though if you're dozing for a long period, it will affect the quality of your sleep that night.”
Creating an Ideal Nap Environment
As for specific techniques, suggestions are diverse. Certain specialists propose employing similar routines you’d use to promote quality nighttime sleep: a quiet room, a supportive surface and as much darkness as you can manage. Others suggest that it's fine to merely snooze on the sofa with ambient lighting happens to be around – both to discourage that groggy feeling and to “protect” your bed as the place your mind associates with *real* sleep. “Sleep is quite challenging to command,” explains a specialist. “Without the urge to sleep, it is more challenging to lie down and practically command yourself to nod off. There must be a natural inclination present to start the process in the first place. I can usually nap during the day and awaken on my own without a timer, however, what assists most folks is to look for a moment when they are naturally feeling a bit drowsy and just gently relax into it.”
It’s worth experimenting, and should you have few options – for instance, when aiming to fit in some shut-eye on a train or in a work pod – there’s nothing wrong to use sleep aids. “In my work with footballers, I suggest that they avoid becoming accustomed to their own bed for naps, since they’re going to have|they will
