Tune into plenty of productivity experts, and it’s tempting to convince yourself that napping is a superpower: not just a sticking plaster following poor sleep, but a path to a better memory, improved mood and maybe improved athletic performance. Professional footballers are all at it – and so are concert pianists, fighters & business leaders. But if you haven’t got a dedicated nap-room or a job that encourages frequent naps, is it *truly* enough benefits to a burst of shut-eye for it to be worth the effort? Does there exist a reliable way to fall asleep fast? And can you honestly promise you will get up feeling improved, instead of groggy?
Understanding Your Drive to Snooze
“There are three key drivers for daytime sleep in the adult population,” notes an expert circadian rhythm researcher. “The first is known as recovery napping, which is the action you take after experiencing insufficient sleep the night before. Another is preparatory napping, which involves anticipating insufficient sleep in the future, for instance if you’re working on night shifts. The third is called “pleasure-based sleep”, which simply boils down to wanting: you have an opportunity to nap in the daytime, and it feels nice to nap.”
The primary task to do, then, is consider your nap motivation. “Daytime sleep can be really helpful when night sleeping gets interrupted because of factors beyond your control – for instance, if you’re a new parent, or you’re recovering after being ill or strenuous activity,” says a sleep specialist. “However, if you’re napping as your nighttime sleep seems unreliable or poor, that is frequently an indicator your need for sleep is not as strong as it needs to be. In such situations, daytime sleep can turn into part of the issue, not the solution. Employ naps as a short-term solution for temporary issues – the focus must always be a strong and predictable sleep at night.”
The Perfect Nap Length
This implies that daytime sleep shouldn’t be sufficiently lengthy to interfere with your nighttime sleep, and best should not occur in the late afternoon (depending on what time you sleep at night). What's a reasonable length? Recommendations vary. In one of a prominent study regarding daytime sleep, experts found that space travelers showed up to a 54% increase in attentiveness and a 34% increase in cognitive performance following a nap of 26 minutes (in detail, this involved a six-minute long nodding-off period). “I recommend setting an alarm for half an hour or less – most people are asleep quickly,” says a sleep coach. “You'll find much recommendations concerning the optimal amount for sleeping, yet that often cause people to feel more worried than anything else – and the most counterproductive thing you can do when trying to nod off is to be anxious.”
If you plan to sleep for longer, steer clear of the 45 to 60 minute range that promotes sleep inertia, that spaced-out feeling when you wake. “Studies would say it's more effective to have a lengthier snooze of 60 to 90 minutes rather than a mid-length nap,” says the professor. “45 minutes is enough time to send you into deep sleep making it more likely to feel disoriented when you wake up – whereas if you take it a bit longer to a full sleep cycle, it's likely you'll to be on the end a full cycle and are likely to awaken feeling more alert. But if you nap for 90 minutes, it can influence your sleep in the evening.”
Finding the Right Sleep Space
As for specific techniques, suggestions are diverse. Some experts propose using similar routines you use to encourage a good night’s sleep: a quiet room, a supportive surface and as much darkness as is feasible. Others suggest that you should simply nap in a chair in whatever light is available – to avoid post-nap grogginess and to “protect” your sleeping quarters as the place your brain links with proper sleep. “Sleep is something really tricky to command,” says an expert. “Without the urge to sleep, it becomes harder to get comfortable and essentially tell yourself to fall asleep. There must be some sleep pressure available to initiate sleep to begin with. For me, it's possible to nap in full light and wake up naturally without a timer, though, what aids most folks is to wait for an instance that they’re naturally somewhat sleepy and then simply relax into it.”
Trying different approaches is valuable, and should you have few options – for instance, if you’re trying to squeeze in some shut-eye during a commute or in a work pod – there’s nothing wrong to use some accessories. “Coaching elite athletes, I advise that they avoid becoming accustomed to their own bed for naps, since they’re going to have|they will
