Listen to a few productivity experts, making it tempting to convince yourself that dozing is a powerful tool: more than a quick fix after poor sleep, but a shortcut to a better memory, improved mood and maybe a faster 5k run time. Elite footballers are all at it – and so are musicians, UFC champions and media moguls. But if you don't have a dedicated nap-room or a job that allows frequent naps, can there *honestly* sufficient advantages to a quick nap for it to be worth the kerfuffle? Does there exist a dependable method to nod off promptly? And can you really guarantee you will get up feeling refreshed, rather than worse?
Exploring Your Nap Motivation
“We can identify three main reasons for daytime sleep for many people,” says a professor of circadian rhythm researcher. “One is termed recovery napping, that is what happens after experiencing poor sleep overnight. The second is prophylactic napping, where you are pre-empting sleep loss coming up, for instance when working graveyard shifts. Finally, there's “pleasure-based sleep”, which essentially boils down to wanting: you have an opportunity to nap in the daytime, and it's pleasant to do it.”
The initial step to undertake, therefore, is to think about why you want to nap. “Daytime sleep can be truly beneficial when nighttime sleep gets interrupted due to causes beyond your control – such as, when you are a new parent, or recovering from sickness or heavy physical exertion,” says a sleep expert. “Yet when you’re napping as your nighttime sleep is unstable or broken, that is frequently a sign your sleep drive is not where it needs to be. In those cases, naps can become part of the issue, not the solution. Use napping as a temporary measure for temporary issues – the priority must always be a robust and regular night’s sleep.”
The Optimal Snooze Time
Therefore that naps ought not to be sufficiently lengthy to affect your overnight rest, and ideally shouldn’t take place post-3 p.m. (based on when you sleep overnight). What duration is wise? Advice differs. Among a prominent study on the subject, researchers at Nasa discovered that space travelers had up to a 54% increase in vigilance and a 34% increase in performance after a 26-minute nap (to be precise, this involved an initial six-minute falling asleep phase). “I recommend using an alarm for 20 to 30 minutes – many individuals are asleep in under ten minutes,” says a sleep coach. “You'll find much advice around concerning the optimal amount of minutes, however, that can lead individuals to become more anxious than anything else – and the least helpful action you can possibly do while aiming to fall asleep is to be anxious.”
If you plan to take an extended nap, bypass the period between 45 and 60 minutes that promotes sleep inertia, that foggy state when you awaken. “Research indicates it’s better to opt for a lengthier snooze of one to one and a half hours than a medium-length one,” explains the expert. “45 minutes is long enough to put you into slow-wave sleep and you’re more likely to feel disoriented when you get up – however, if you extend it slightly longer to an hour or 90 minutes, you’re likely to finish of a sleep cycle and are likely to wake up feeling more alert. However, if you’re sleeping for an hour and a half, it may impact how you sleep later that night.”
Finding the Right Sleep Space
As for precise methods, recommendations vary. Some experts suggest adopting the same protocol you use to encourage restful sleep: a peaceful area, a cozy bed and minimal light as you can manage. Alternatively, experts propose that one could simply nap on the sofa in the existing light is present – to prevent post-nap grogginess and to maintain your bedroom as the environment you associate with nighttime rest. “Sleep is quite challenging to force,” notes a sleep coach. “If you don’t have any sleepiness, it is more challenging to recline and basically instruct yourself to nod off. There must be some sleep pressure present to initiate sleep to begin with. Personally, I can often nap during the day and naturally wake up alarm-free, however, what assists most folks is to wait for a moment that they’re naturally feeling a bit drowsy and calmly allow sleep to come.”
It’s worth experimenting, and if you have few options – for instance, if you’re trying to fit in 40 winks during a commute or in a soundproof office pod – it's acceptable to use some accessories. “In my work with professional sportspeople, I advise that they avoid becoming accustomed to sleeping in their bed, since they’re going to have|they will
