Tune into enough productivity podcasters, and it’s tempting to believe that a nap is a secret weapon: more than a band-aid following a bad night’s sleep, but a route to improved recall, improved mood and perhaps improved athletic performance. Elite footballers are all at it – and so are musicians, UFC champions and media moguls. Yet, when you don't have a special sleep space or a career that allows daytime sleep, is it *truly* sufficient advantages to a quick nap for it to be worth the kerfuffle? Is there a surefire technique to fall asleep fast? Furthermore, can you honestly promise you’ll wake up feeling refreshed, instead of groggy?
Exploring Your Reasons for Napping
“Experts note three main reasons for taking a nap among most adults,” notes a professor of sleep science researcher. “The first is termed make-up sleep, which is the action you take after experiencing poor sleep overnight. The second is prophylactic napping, where you are pre-empting a sleep deficit coming up, for example during overnight shifts. The third reason is “pleasure-based sleep”, which essentially boils down to wanting: you have a chance to nap in the daytime, and it feels nice to indulge.”
The first thing to undertake, so, is to examine your nap motivation. “Daytime sleep can be truly beneficial when night sleeping is being disrupted because of factors beyond your control – such as, when you are a parent of a newborn, or recovering from illness or intense exercise,” explains a sleep specialist. “Yet when you take a nap since your nighttime sleep seems unreliable or unreliable, that is frequently a sign your need for sleep is not where it should be. In such situations, daytime sleep can turn into part of the problem, rather than the answer. Employ naps as a temporary measure to address immediate needs – the focus should still be a solid and consistent overnight rest.”
The Optimal Nap Length
This means that naps ought not to be too extended to disrupt your sleep at night, and ideally shouldn’t take place post-3 p.m. (contingent on the time you retire at night). What's a reasonable length? Advice differs. Among the most-cited studies on the subject, space agency scientists noted that crew members had improvements of over 50% in alertness and a 34% boost in task performance after a 26-minute nap (to be precise, this involved a six-minute long sleep onset time). “I’d suggest setting an alarm for 20 to 30 minutes – the majority are asleep quickly,” says a sleep expert. “There’s a lot of recommendations concerning the ideal number for sleeping, yet that often make people feel more worried above all – and the most counterproductive thing you can do while aiming to fall asleep is to stress over it.”
If you’re going to nap for a longer period, bypass the 45-60 minute window that promotes sleep inertia, that spaced-out feeling when you wake. “Studies would say it’s better to take an extended nap of one to one and a half hours rather than a mid-length nap,” notes the sleep scientist. “Forty-five minutes is enough time to send you into deep sleep making it more likely to feel disoriented when you get up – however, if you take it a little longer to 60 or 90 minutes, it's likely you'll to be on the end a full cycle and should get up feeling more rejuvenated. But if you're dozing for an hour and a half, it will affect the quality of your sleep in the evening.”
Establishing the Right Sleep Space
Regarding specific techniques, recommendations vary. A few professionals propose adopting comparable habits you’d use to promote restful sleep: a silent space, a cozy bed and minimal light as you can manage. Alternatively, experts propose that one could merely snooze in a chair with ambient lighting is available – to avoid that groggy feeling and to preserve your bedroom as the environment your mind associates with nighttime rest. “Napping is notoriously difficult to command,” explains an expert. “Without the urge to sleep, it is tougher to lie down and basically instruct yourself to go to sleep. There must be some sleep pressure present to initiate sleep in the first place. I can usually nap during the day and awaken on my own without a timer, though, what aids most folks is to look for a moment when they are naturally slightly tired and calmly relax into it.”
It’s worth experimenting, and should options are scarce – such as, when aiming to squeeze in some shut-eye during a commute or in a work pod – it's acceptable to employ some accessories. “In my work with professional sportspeople, I recommend that they avoid becoming accustomed to napping in bed, as they’re going to have|they will
