Hear plenty of productivity gurus, and you'll be simple to think that napping is a powerful tool: not just a band-aid following a bad night’s sleep, but a shortcut towards improved recall, better spirits and perhaps a faster 5k run time. Elite soccer players are all at it – and so are professional piano players, fighters & business leaders. However, if you lack a room for napping or employment that permits regular snoozing, are there *really* enough benefits to a short sleep to merit the effort? Can you find a surefire technique to nod off promptly? Furthermore, can you honestly promise you will arise feeling better, rather than worse?
Understanding Your Nap Motivation
“Experts note three main reasons for taking a nap among most adults,” explains a leading circadian rhythm specialist. “The first is known as make-up sleep, essentially what you do following poor sleep overnight. Another is preparatory napping, when you are preparing for sleep loss ahead, such as during on night shifts. The third reason is “appetitive drive”, which basically is about the wish: there is a chance to doze in the daytime, and it's pleasant to nap.”
The primary task to consider, so, is to think about why you want to nap. “Daytime sleep can be really helpful when night sleeping is disturbed because of factors beyond your control – for instance, if you’re a parent of a newborn, or if you are healing from illness or intense exercise,” states a sleep specialist. “However, if you nap because your nighttime sleep seems unreliable or broken, that is frequently an indicator your body's sleep pressure is not as strong as it should be. In such situations, napping can become part of the problem, not the solution. Employ naps for brief periods for short-term problems – the priority should still be a solid and consistent sleep at night.”
The Ideal Snooze Time
This implies that daytime sleep shouldn’t be long enough to disrupt your nighttime sleep, and best should not occur post-3 p.m. (contingent on when you sleep overnight). What duration is wise? Guidelines are mixed. In one of a prominent study on the subject, space agency scientists discovered that crew members experienced a boost of up to 54% in vigilance and a 34% boost in task performance following a nap of 26 minutes (technically, this included a six-minute sleep onset time). “I’d suggest setting an alarm for 20-30 minutes – many individuals fall asleep within 10 minutes,” says a specialist. “There is plenty of recommendations about the ideal number for sleeping, however, that can cause people to feel more worried than anything else – and the least helpful action you can possibly do while aiming to fall asleep is to be anxious.”
Should you decide to take an extended nap, bypass the 45 to 60 minute range that encourages sleep inertia, that foggy state when you awaken. “The science indicates it is preferable to take a lengthier snooze of 60 to 90 minutes compared to a medium-length nap,” says the sleep scientist. “Forty-five minutes is sufficient to send you into deep sleep making it more likely to feel disoriented upon awakening – however, if you extend it a bit longer to 60 or 90 minutes, you’re likely to finish a natural sleep cycle and are likely to wake up feeling more refreshed. Though if you’re sleeping for a long period, it can influence how you sleep later that night.”
Creating an Ideal Sleep Space
Regarding specific techniques, suggestions are diverse. Some experts recommend using the same protocol one would use to promote restful sleep: a silent space, a supportive surface and minimal light as you can manage. Some advise that you should just doze in a chair with ambient lighting is present – to prevent sleep inertia and to “protect” your bed as the place your brain links with *real* sleep. “Falling asleep is quite challenging to command,” notes a sleep coach. “If you don’t have any drowsiness, it becomes harder to lie down and basically tell yourself to fall asleep. There must be a natural inclination available to start the process in the first place. Personally, I can often take a nap during the day and wake up naturally without a timer, but what helps most folks is to anticipate a moment where they feel naturally slightly tired and calmly allow sleep to come.”
Trying different approaches is valuable, and should options are scarce – such as, if you’re trying to squeeze in 40 winks on a train or in a work pod – it's acceptable to use some accessories. “In my work with footballers, I suggest that they don’t get used to sleeping in their bed, as they’re going to have|they will
