Listen to a few productivity podcasters, and it’s tempting to convince yourself that napping is a secret weapon: more than a sticking plaster following a bad night’s sleep, but a path to improved recall, better spirits and perhaps a faster 5k run time. Elite soccer players do it regularly – and so are concert pianists, fighters & high-profile executives. But if you lack a special sleep space or a job that allows frequent naps, can there *honestly* enough benefits to a quick nap for it to be worth the effort? Does there exist a reliable way to get to sleep quickly enough? Furthermore, can you truly ensure you’ll wake up feeling refreshed, instead of groggy?
Understanding The Drive to Snooze
“There are three main reasons for daytime sleep among most adults,” notes a leading sleep science researcher. “The first is what we call compensatory napping, that is the action you take following a lack of sleep overnight. Another is pre-emptive sleep, which involves anticipating a sleep deficit in the future, for example if you’re working overnight shifts. The third reason is “pleasure-based sleep”, which simply is about desire: you have an opportunity to sleep in the daytime, and it's enjoyable to indulge.”
The first thing to do, therefore, is consider your nap motivation. “Napping can be genuinely useful when nighttime sleep gets interrupted due to causes you cannot change – for instance, when you are a parent of a newborn, or you’re recovering from sickness or strenuous activity,” states a sleep specialist. “Yet when you take a nap as your nighttime sleep seems unreliable or poor, that’s often an indicator your sleep drive is not at the level it needs to be. In such situations, napping can become part of the issue, not the solution. Use napping as a temporary measure for short-term problems – the priority ought to remain a strong and predictable overnight rest.”
The Perfect Nap Duration
Therefore that daytime sleep must not be long enough to disrupt your overnight rest, and best are not recommended after about 3pm (contingent on the time you sleep at night). What duration is wise? Guidelines are mixed. In one of the most referenced research regarding daytime sleep, researchers at Nasa discovered that astronauts experienced improvements of over 50% in attentiveness and a 34% increase in performance following a nap of 26 minutes (to be precise, this involved a six-minute long nodding-off period). “My advice is setting a timer for 20 to 30 minutes – most people fall asleep within 10 minutes,” says a sleep coach. “You'll find much guidance out there concerning the ideal number for sleeping, but that tends to lead individuals to become more worried above all – and the most counterproductive thing you can do when attempting to get to sleep is worry about it.”
Should you decide to sleep for longer, avoid the period between 45 and 60 minutes that promotes sleep inertia, that foggy state when you awaken. “The science indicates it is preferable to have a lengthier snooze lasting 60-90 minutes rather than a mid-length nap,” says the expert. “Forty-five minutes is enough time to put you into a deep sleep stage making it more likely to feel sluggish when you get up – while if you extend it slightly longer to 60 or 90 minutes, you will probably to finish of a sleep cycle and are likely to wake up feeling more alert. Though if you’re sleeping for a long period, it may impact the quality of your sleep that night.”
Finding the Perfect Sleep Space
Regarding precise methods, suggestions are diverse. Some experts propose employing similar routines you use to foster a good night’s sleep: a quiet room, a supportive surface and as much darkness as possible. Alternatively, experts propose that one could simply nap on the sofa in the existing light is present – to avoid that groggy feeling and to preserve your bedroom as the space your brain links with nighttime rest. “Napping is notoriously difficult to command,” says a sleep coach. “If you don’t have any drowsiness, it is tougher to lie down and essentially command yourself to nod off. There’s got to be a natural inclination available to start the process initially. For me, it's possible to snooze in broad daylight and awaken on my own without a timer, though, what aids a lot of people is to wait for an instance when they are naturally feeling a bit drowsy and then simply ease into sleep.”
Trying different approaches is valuable, and should you have few options – such as, if you’re trying to grab some shut-eye on a train or at the office – it's acceptable to use some accessories. “When I’m working with elite athletes, I advise that they not rely on napping in bed, since they’re going to have|they will
