Tune into enough self-improvement podcasters, and it’s easy to convince yourself that napping is a powerful tool: more than a quick fix following restless night, but a shortcut to improved recall, a brighter outlook and maybe improved athletic performance. Premier League athletes do it regularly – along with concert pianists, UFC champions & business leaders. However, if you haven’t got a special sleep space or a job that allows daytime sleep, are there *really* enough benefits to a burst of shut-eye for it to be worth the hassle? Does there exist a dependable method to fall asleep fast? Furthermore, can you truly ensure you will get up feeling better, rather than worse?
Understanding The Drive to Snooze
“We can identify three main reasons for daytime sleep among most adults,” explains a professor of circadian rhythm researcher. “Firstly, there's termed compensatory napping, which is the action you take following insufficient sleep overnight. The second is preparatory napping, where you are anticipating sleep loss coming up, such as during on night shifts. The third is called “appetitive drive”, which basically boils down to desire: there is a moment to nap in the afternoon, and it's enjoyable to indulge.”
The first thing to consider, then, is to examine why you want to nap. “Naps can be truly beneficial when nighttime sleep is being disrupted for reasons you cannot change – for instance, if you’re a parent of a newborn, or recovering after being ill or heavy physical exertion,” explains a sleep physiologist. “Yet when you’re napping since your sleep at night is unstable or unreliable, that is frequently a sign your body's sleep pressure is not at the level required. Under those circumstances, daytime sleep can turn into part of the issue, rather than the answer. Employ naps as a temporary measure for temporary issues – the priority must always be a strong and predictable sleep at night.”
The Ideal Nap Duration
This means that napping ought not to be long enough to affect your sleep at night, and best should not occur in the late afternoon (depending on the time you go to bed in the evening). What's a reasonable length? Guidelines are mixed. From the most referenced research regarding daytime sleep, space agency scientists noted that space travelers showed improvements of over 50% in vigilance plus a 34% rise in cognitive performance following a nap of 26 minutes (in detail, this involved a six-minute nodding-off period). “My advice is setting an alarm for 20 to 30 minutes – most people fall asleep within 10 minutes,” notes a sleep expert. “There is plenty of guidance out there concerning the perfect length of minutes, however, that can lead individuals to become more stressed than anything – and the most counterproductive thing one can do while aiming to nod off is to stress over it.”
If you’re going to take an extended nap, bypass the 45-60 minute window that encourages sleep inertia, that spaced-out feeling upon waking. “Studies would say it’s better to opt for a longer nap lasting 60-90 minutes compared to a medium-length nap,” notes the professor. “45 minutes is sufficient to plunge you into deep sleep making it more likely to feel disoriented upon awakening – whereas if you nap for slightly longer to an hour or 90 minutes, it's likely you'll to be completing of a sleep cycle and will probably get up feeling more rejuvenated. Though if you're dozing for an hour and a half, it can influence the quality of your sleep in the evening.”
Creating the Right Sleep Space
When it comes to precise methods, recommendations vary. Some experts suggest using the same protocol one would use to foster restful sleep: a silent space, a comfortable bed and maximum darkness as possible. Others suggest that one could merely snooze on the sofa in whatever light happens to be around – both to discourage post-nap grogginess and to “protect” your bedroom as the place your mind associates with proper sleep. “Napping is quite challenging to command,” says an expert. “Lacking the urge to sleep, it is more challenging to lie down and practically tell yourself to go to sleep. There must be some sleep pressure available to initiate sleep in the first place. I can usually take a nap in full light and awaken on my own alarm-free, though, what aids most folks is to anticipate a moment that they’re naturally somewhat sleepy and then simply allow sleep to come.”
Experimentation is key, and if you have few options – for example, if attempting to fit in a quick nap while traveling or in a work pod – it's acceptable to employ some accessories. “Coaching elite athletes, I suggest that they avoid becoming accustomed to their own bed for naps, because they’re going to have|they will
