Listen to a few performance podcasters, and you'll be simple to think that a nap is a powerful tool: not just a quick fix after a bad night’s sleep, but a path towards enhanced cognition, improved mood and possibly a faster 5k run time. Premier League footballers are all at it – and so are professional piano players, mixed martial artists & high-profile executives. However, if you lack a room for napping or a job that permits regular snoozing, can there *honestly* sufficient advantages to a burst of shut-eye to justify the kerfuffle? Does there exist a reliable way to get to sleep quickly enough? Plus, is it possible to really guarantee you will arise feeling refreshed, instead of groggy?
Exploring Your Reasons for Napping
“There are three key drivers for napping in the adult population,” says a professor of circadian rhythm researcher. “One is termed make-up sleep, that is what happens when you’ve had a lack of sleep overnight. The second is prophylactic napping, where you are pre-empting a sleep deficit in the future, for example during on night shifts. Finally, there's “appetitive drive”, which simply is about desire: you have a chance to doze in the daytime, and it feels nice to do it.”
The primary task to consider, so, is consider your nap motivation. “Daytime sleep can be really helpful when nighttime sleep is disturbed due to causes you cannot change – for example, for caring for an infant, or recovering after being ill or heavy physical exertion,” explains a sleep physiologist. “Yet when you take a nap because your night sleep seems unreliable or poor, that is frequently a signal your sleep drive is not at the level it should be. In those cases, daytime sleep can turn into part of the issue, instead of the fix. Use napping for brief periods for temporary issues – the priority should still be a strong and predictable night’s sleep.”
The Optimal Snooze Time
This implies that naps must not be long enough to disrupt your overnight rest, and ideally should not occur after about 3pm (contingent on what time you sleep in the evening). What's a reasonable length? Advice differs. In one of the most referenced research about napping, experts found that astronauts had improvements of over 50% in alertness and a 34% boost in task performance following a nap of 26 minutes (technically, this included an initial six-minute nodding-off period). “I recommend using an alarm for half an hour or less – many individuals are asleep quickly,” notes a sleep expert. “There is plenty of recommendations about the perfect length of minutes, yet that often cause people to feel more anxious above all – and the most counterproductive thing one can do when attempting to nod off is worry about it.”
If you’re going to nap for a longer period, avoid the 45 to 60 minute range that promotes sleep grogginess, that spaced-out feeling upon waking. “Research suggests it’s better to opt for a longer nap lasting 60-90 minutes than a medium-length one,” explains the sleep scientist. “Forty-five minutes is sufficient to send you into deep sleep making it more likely to feel disoriented upon awakening – whereas if you extend it a bit longer to a full sleep cycle, it's likely you'll to finish a natural sleep cycle and will probably awaken feeling more rejuvenated. Though if you’re sleeping for an hour and a half, it can influence your sleep that night.”
Finding an Ideal Sleep Space
When it comes to precise methods, advice differs. Some experts propose employing comparable habits one would use to encourage quality nighttime sleep: a quiet room, a cozy bed and as much darkness as is feasible. Alternatively, experts propose that it's fine to merely snooze on a couch in whatever light happens to be around – both to discourage that groggy feeling and to maintain your sleeping quarters as the place your brain links with nighttime rest. “Napping is notoriously difficult to command,” says a specialist. “Lacking the urge to sleep, it becomes harder to recline and basically instruct yourself to go to sleep. There’s got to be some drive there to initiate sleep in the first place. For me, it's possible to nap in full light and awaken on my own without an alarm, but what helps many individuals is to look for a moment that they’re naturally slightly tired and calmly allow sleep to come.”
Experimentation is key, and if options are scarce – for example, when aiming to fit in 40 winks during a commute or at the office – it is perfectly fine with bringing sleep aids. “In my work with footballers, I recommend that they don’t get used to sleeping in their bed, since they’re going to have|they will
