Tune into enough self-improvement experts, making it easy to believe that a nap is a powerful tool: more than a band-aid after restless night, but a path to enhanced cognition, a brighter outlook and possibly a faster 5k run time. Professional footballers do it regularly – along with concert pianists, fighters & business leaders. However, if you don't have a dedicated nap-room or a job that encourages frequent naps, can there *honestly* worthwhile perks to a quick nap to merit the effort? Does there exist a dependable method to nod off promptly? And can you really guarantee you will arise feeling refreshed, rather than worse?
Exploring Your Nap Motivation
“Experts note three main reasons for taking a nap in the adult population,” says a professor of sleep science specialist. “One is what we call recovery napping, essentially what happens when you’ve had insufficient sleep the previous night. The second is pre-emptive sleep, which involves pre-empting sleep loss in the future, for instance when working on night shifts. The third reason is “hedonic napping”, which simply is about wanting: there is a chance to sleep in the daytime, and it feels nice to do it.”
The first thing to do, therefore, is to think about your reason for napping. “Daytime sleep can be genuinely useful when nighttime sleep is being disrupted because of factors beyond your control – for instance, if you’re a parent of a newborn, or if you are healing after being ill or intense exercise,” explains a sleep expert. “However, if you’re napping since your sleep at night feels fragile or unreliable, that is frequently a signal your need for sleep is not at the level required. Under those circumstances, napping can become part of the problem, instead of the fix. Use napping as a temporary measure to address immediate needs – the priority must always be a solid and consistent night’s sleep.”
The Optimal Nap Length
This means that daytime sleep must not be sufficiently lengthy to interfere with your sleep at night, and preferably should not occur in the late afternoon (based on when you sleep overnight). How long is sensible? Recommendations vary. Among a prominent study on the subject, space agency scientists found that crew members experienced a boost of up to 54% in attentiveness and a 34% increase in task performance following a nap of 26 minutes (technically, this counted a six-minute long falling asleep phase). “I’d suggest using an alarm for 20-30 minutes – most people doze off quickly,” explains a sleep coach. “There’s a lot of recommendations about the perfect length of minutes, yet that often cause people to feel more stressed than anything – and the worst thing one can do when attempting to fall asleep is worry about it.”
If you’re going to sleep for longer, bypass the 45-60 minute window that encourages sleep grogginess, that foggy state upon waking. “Studies suggests it's more effective to take a longer nap of 60 to 90 minutes rather than a mid-length nap,” says the professor. “Three-quarters of an hour is enough time to plunge you into slow-wave sleep and you’re more likely to feel groggy when you get up – whereas if you extend it a bit longer to an hour or 90 minutes, you will probably to finish a full cycle and will probably wake up feeling more rejuvenated. Though if you're dozing for 90 minutes, it can influence your sleep that night.”
Creating an Ideal Sleep Space
When it comes to exact methodologies, suggestions are diverse. A few professionals suggest using the same protocol you’d use to promote a good night’s sleep: a silent space, a comfortable bed and maximum darkness as possible. Alternatively, experts propose that it's fine to simply nap in a chair with ambient lighting happens to be around – to avoid sleep inertia and to maintain your bedroom as the environment your mind associates with nighttime rest. “Napping is quite challenging to force,” says an expert. “If you don’t have any drowsiness, it is tougher to recline and practically command yourself to go to sleep. There must be a natural inclination available to start the process initially. For me, it's possible to snooze in broad daylight and naturally wake up without an alarm, however, what assists most folks is to anticipate an instance when they are naturally feeling a bit drowsy and then simply relax into it.”
Trying different approaches is valuable, and when you have few options – for example, if you’re trying to fit in some shut-eye while traveling or in a work pod – it is perfectly fine to employ some accessories. “Coaching elite athletes, I recommend that they not rely on sleeping in their bed, as they’re going to have|they will
