Hear plenty of productivity gurus, making it simple to convince yourself that napping is a superpower: not just a quick fix following poor sleep, but a route to a better memory, better spirits and maybe improved athletic performance. Professional athletes are all at it – and so are concert pianists, UFC champions & media moguls. Yet, when you don't have a dedicated nap-room or a career that permits daytime sleep, are there *really* enough benefits to a burst of shut-eye to justify the kerfuffle? Is there a dependable method to get to sleep quickly enough? Furthermore, can you truly ensure you will get up feeling better, rather than worse?
Understanding Your Drive to Snooze
“There are three primary motivations for taking a nap for many people,” explains a professor of sleep and circadian science specialist. “Firstly, there's what we call compensatory napping, that is the action you take after experiencing a lack of sleep overnight. Secondly, there's prophylactic napping, where you are pre-empting insufficient sleep ahead, for instance if you’re working overnight shifts. The third reason is “appetitive drive”, which essentially comes down to desire: you get a moment to sleep during the day, and it's enjoyable to do it.”
The initial step to do, therefore, is consider your reason for napping. “Naps can be really helpful when nighttime sleep is being disrupted due to causes you cannot change – for instance, when you are a new parent, or you’re recovering after being ill or strenuous activity,” says a sleep specialist. “But if you’re napping because your nighttime sleep is unstable or poor, that is frequently an indicator your body's sleep pressure is not as strong as it should be. In such situations, naps can become part of the issue, instead of the fix. Use napping as a temporary measure for temporary issues – the focus must always be a solid and consistent sleep at night.”
The Perfect Nap Length
This means that naps ought not to be sufficiently lengthy to affect your overnight rest, and preferably shouldn’t take place after about 3pm (contingent on the time you sleep in the evening). What's a reasonable length? Advice differs. From a prominent study regarding daytime sleep, researchers at Nasa noted that crew members showed a boost of up to 54% in vigilance plus a 34% rise in performance after a 26-minute nap (technically, this included a six-minute nodding-off period). “My advice is setting a timer for 20-30 minutes – most people doze off within 10 minutes,” explains a sleep expert. “You'll find much recommendations regarding the ideal number for sleeping, but that tends to cause people to feel more anxious than anything else – and the least helpful action you can possibly do when trying to fall asleep is to stress over it.”
If you’re going to take an extended nap, bypass the 45 to 60 minute range that promotes sleep inertia, that disoriented sensation when you wake. “The science would say it’s better to opt for a lengthier snooze lasting 60-90 minutes compared to a medium-length nap,” explains the expert. “45 minutes is long enough to put you into a deep sleep stage and it is more probable to feel sluggish upon awakening – however, if you nap for a little longer to a full sleep cycle, it's likely you'll to be on the end a full cycle and should wake up feeling more alert. Though if you're dozing for 90 minutes, it can influence the quality of your sleep that night.”
Establishing the Right Sleep Space
When it comes to precise methods, recommendations vary. Certain specialists recommend using comparable habits one would use to encourage quality nighttime sleep: a peaceful area, a supportive surface and maximum darkness as possible. Others suggest that you should simply nap in a chair in the existing light is present – both to discourage post-nap grogginess and to “protect” your bedroom as the space you associate with nighttime rest. “Falling asleep is quite challenging to will,” notes an expert. “If you don’t have any sleepiness, it becomes harder to recline and essentially command yourself to nod off. There’s got to be some sleep pressure there to bring the sleep on initially. I can usually snooze during the day and wake up naturally alarm-free, though, what aids a lot of people is to wait for a moment that they’re naturally slightly tired and then simply allow sleep to come.”
It’s worth experimenting, and should options are scarce – such as, when aiming to grab 40 winks while traveling or in a work pod – it's acceptable to employ sleep aids. “Coaching footballers, I advise that they not rely on their own bed for naps, because they’re going to have|they will
