Tune into plenty of performance podcasters, making it simple to believe that dozing is a powerful tool: rather than a quick fix following a bad night’s sleep, but a shortcut towards a better memory, a brighter outlook and possibly improved athletic performance. Professional footballers swear by it – as do professional piano players, fighters and business leaders. But if you lack a room for napping or a career that encourages regular snoozing, are there *really* sufficient advantages to a quick nap to merit the kerfuffle? Can you find a surefire technique to fall asleep fast? Plus, is it possible to honestly promise you’ll wake up feeling refreshed, rather than worse?
Exploring The Reasons for Napping
“There are three primary motivations for daytime sleep for many people,” says a professor of circadian rhythm researcher. “Firstly, there's what we call recovery napping, that is what you do after experiencing a lack of sleep the night before. The second is pre-emptive sleep, which involves anticipating sleep loss ahead, for example during graveyard shifts. Finally, there's “hedonic napping”, which essentially comes down to wanting: you have an opportunity to sleep in the daytime, and it's pleasant to nap.”
The primary task to consider, therefore, is to examine your nap motivation. “Naps can be genuinely useful when nighttime sleep is being disrupted due to causes outside your control – for instance, for a parent of a newborn, or recovering from illness or heavy physical exertion,” explains a sleep specialist. “Yet when you’re napping as your sleep at night feels fragile or poor, that is frequently a signal your need for sleep is not at the level it needs to be. In such situations, daytime sleep can turn into part of the issue, instead of the fix. Employ naps as a temporary measure for temporary issues – the focus ought to remain a strong and predictable sleep at night.”
The Ideal Nap Duration
Therefore that naps shouldn’t be sufficiently lengthy to affect your nighttime sleep, and preferably shouldn’t take place in the late afternoon (contingent on the time you retire overnight). What's a reasonable length? Guidelines are mixed. From the most-cited studies about napping, researchers at Nasa found that space travelers showed up to a 54% increase in attentiveness and a 34% boost in task performance following a nap of 26 minutes (to be precise, this counted a six-minute long nodding-off period). “I’d suggest using an alarm for half an hour or less – most people are asleep in under ten minutes,” says a sleep coach. “You'll find much advice around concerning the perfect length for sleeping, however, that can make people feel more anxious than anything – and the least helpful action one can do when attempting to nod off is worry about it.”
If you plan to take an extended nap, steer clear of the 45 to 60 minute range that promotes that sluggish feeling, that foggy state when you wake. “The science indicates it's more effective to opt for a longer nap lasting 60-90 minutes compared to a medium-length nap,” says the sleep scientist. “Three-quarters of an hour is sufficient to send you into a deep sleep stage and you’re more likely to feel groggy when you wake up – while if you take it slightly longer to an hour or 90 minutes, you will probably to be on the end a natural sleep cycle and will probably wake up feeling more alert. Though if you’re sleeping for an hour and a half, it can influence your sleep that night.”
Creating the Perfect Nap Environment
When it comes to specific techniques, suggestions are diverse. Some experts recommend adopting the same protocol you’d use to foster quality nighttime sleep: a quiet room, a cozy bed and as much darkness as is feasible. Alternatively, experts propose that you should merely snooze on a couch in the existing light is available – to avoid that groggy feeling and to preserve your bed as the environment your mind associates with proper sleep. “Sleep is quite challenging to will,” explains a sleep coach. “Without any sleepiness, it becomes harder to lie down and basically command yourself to go to sleep. There’s got to be a natural inclination present to initiate sleep in the first place. I can usually snooze during the day and naturally wake up alarm-free, however, what assists a lot of people is to look for a moment where they feel naturally slightly tired and just gently ease into sleep.”
Experimentation is key, and should options are scarce – such as, if attempting to grab a quick nap during a commute or in a soundproof office pod – there’s nothing wrong to use sleep aids. “When I’m working with professional sportspeople, I recommend that they not rely on napping in bed, as they’re going to have|they will
