Listen to a few self-improvement podcasters, making it easy to think that napping is a powerful tool: rather than a band-aid following poor sleep, but a route towards enhanced cognition, better spirits and possibly improved athletic performance. Elite soccer players are all at it – and so are musicians, fighters and business leaders. However, if you don't have a room for napping or a job that allows regular snoozing, is it *truly* enough benefits to a quick nap for it to be worth the hassle? Does there exist a surefire technique to get to sleep quickly enough? And can you really guarantee you will arise feeling improved, not worse?
Identifying Your Drive to Snooze
“Experts note three key drivers for taking a nap among most adults,” says a professor of sleep science professor. “One is known as compensatory napping, that is what happens when you’ve had a lack of sleep overnight. Another is preparatory napping, when you are pre-empting a sleep deficit coming up, for example if you’re working graveyard shifts. Finally, there's “pleasure-based sleep”, which essentially boils down to wanting: there is a chance to sleep during the day, and it feels nice to indulge.”
The primary task to do, so, is consider your nap motivation. “Daytime sleep can be genuinely useful when overnight rest is being disrupted because of factors beyond your control – such as, for a parent of a newborn, or if you are healing after being ill or heavy physical exertion,” says a sleep specialist. “Yet when you take a nap since your nighttime sleep is unstable or unreliable, that is frequently a signal your sleep drive is not where required. Under those circumstances, daytime sleep can turn into a contributing factor, instead of the fix. Employ naps as a short-term solution to address immediate needs – the focus must always be a solid and consistent overnight rest.”
The Optimal Nap Duration
Therefore that daytime sleep must not be sufficiently lengthy to disrupt your sleep at night, and preferably are not recommended after about 3pm (based on what time you go to bed in the evening). What duration is wise? Recommendations vary. Among the most-cited studies regarding daytime sleep, space agency scientists found that astronauts showed improvements of over 50% in alertness and a 34% boost in task performance post a 26-minute snooze (technically, this involved a six-minute long sleep onset time). “I recommend using an alarm for 20 to 30 minutes – the majority doze off quickly,” notes a specialist. “There is plenty of recommendations regarding the ideal number for sleeping, but that tends to make people feel more stressed than anything – and the most counterproductive thing one can do when trying to get to sleep is to stress over it.”
Should you decide to nap for a longer period, bypass the period between 45 and 60 minutes that promotes sleep inertia, that disoriented sensation when you awaken. “The science would say it’s better to opt for an extended nap of 60 to 90 minutes rather than a mid-length nap,” notes the sleep scientist. “Forty-five minutes is sufficient to send you into a deep sleep stage making it more likely to feel disoriented when you wake up – while if you extend it a little longer to 60 or 90 minutes, it's likely you'll to be on the end of a sleep cycle and will probably awaken feeling more refreshed. However, if you nap for a long period, it can influence how you sleep that night.”
Creating the Perfect Sleep Space
Regarding precise methods, advice differs. Some experts propose employing the same protocol one would use to foster quality nighttime sleep: a silent space, a cozy bed and maximum darkness as possible. Some advise that one could simply nap on the sofa with ambient lighting is available – to prevent post-nap grogginess and to maintain your bedroom as the space you associate with *real* sleep. “Napping is quite challenging to will,” explains a specialist. “Lacking any sleepiness, it is tougher to lie down and basically instruct yourself to go to sleep. You need some drive present to bring the sleep on to begin with. Personally, I can often snooze in full light and awaken on my own without an alarm, however, what assists many individuals is to look for a moment that they’re naturally somewhat sleepy and calmly allow sleep to come.”
Trying different approaches is valuable, and should options are scarce – for instance, when aiming to grab 40 winks on a train or at the office – it is perfectly fine to employ some accessories. “When I’m working with elite athletes, I suggest that they don’t get used to sleeping in their bed, since they’re going to have|they will
