Hear enough self-improvement podcasters, and you'll be simple to convince yourself that dozing is a secret weapon: not just a sticking plaster after poor sleep, but a shortcut to enhanced cognition, a brighter outlook and possibly a faster 5k run time. Elite footballers are all at it – and so are professional piano players, mixed martial artists & high-profile executives. Yet, when you don't have a special sleep space or employment that allows regular snoozing, can there *honestly* worthwhile perks to a short sleep to justify the kerfuffle? Does there exist a surefire technique to nod off promptly? And can you truly ensure you’ll wake up feeling refreshed, instead of groggy?
Exploring The Nap Motivation
“There are three main reasons for napping in the adult population,” explains a leading sleep and circadian science specialist. “Firstly, there's termed recovery napping, that is the action you take after experiencing poor sleep the previous night. Secondly, there's pre-emptive sleep, which involves preparing for insufficient sleep ahead, such as if you’re working overnight shifts. Finally, there's “appetitive drive”, which simply comes down to desire: you have a chance to doze in the daytime, and it feels nice to do it.”
The first thing to consider, therefore, is consider your nap motivation. “Naps can be truly beneficial when nighttime sleep is being disrupted because of factors you cannot change – such as, for a parent of a newborn, or you’re recovering after being ill or strenuous activity,” states a sleep specialist. “However, if you take a nap because your sleep at night is unstable or poor, that can be an indicator your need for sleep is not where it should be. In those cases, daytime sleep can turn into a contributing factor, instead of the fix. Utilize daytime sleep as a short-term solution to address immediate needs – the focus ought to remain a robust and regular sleep at night.”
The Optimal Nap Duration
This means that daytime sleep must not be long enough to affect your overnight rest, and best should not occur after about 3pm (contingent on what time you sleep in the evening). What's a reasonable length? Guidelines are mixed. In one of a prominent study about napping, experts discovered that astronauts showed improvements of over 50% in vigilance and a 34% boost in performance following a nap of 26 minutes (technically, this involved an initial six-minute nodding-off period). “I’d suggest using an alarm for 20-30 minutes – the majority fall asleep within 10 minutes,” explains a sleep coach. “There’s a lot of guidance out there concerning the ideal number of minutes, but that tends to make people feel more anxious than anything else – and the worst thing you can possibly do when attempting to fall asleep is worry about it.”
Should you decide to nap for a longer period, steer clear of the 45 to 60 minute range that promotes that sluggish feeling, that foggy state upon waking. “Studies would say it’s better to take a lengthier snooze of 60 to 90 minutes compared to a medium-length nap,” notes the sleep scientist. “Three-quarters of an hour is long enough to put you into deep sleep and you’re more likely to feel groggy when you wake up – whereas if you nap for a bit longer to an hour or 90 minutes, you’re likely to be on the end a natural sleep cycle and will probably awaken feeling more refreshed. Though if you're dozing for 90 minutes, it will affect your sleep later that night.”
Creating the Perfect Sleep Space
When it comes to precise methods, suggestions are diverse. Certain specialists recommend adopting similar routines you use to foster quality nighttime sleep: a quiet room, a supportive surface and maximum darkness as is feasible. Some advise that it's fine to simply nap in a chair in whatever light is available – to avoid sleep inertia and to preserve your bedroom as the environment you associate with nighttime rest. “Sleep is notoriously difficult to command,” explains an expert. “Without any sleepiness, it is more challenging to lie down and essentially tell yourself to go to sleep. There’s got to be some drive there to initiate sleep initially. For me, it's possible to nap in broad daylight and awaken on my own without a timer, though, what aids most folks is to wait for a moment that they’re naturally feeling a bit drowsy and just gently relax into it.”
Trying different approaches is valuable, and should your choices are limited – for example, if you’re trying to squeeze in some shut-eye on a train or in a work pod – it is perfectly fine to use sleep aids. “In my work with professional sportspeople, I suggest that they don’t get used to their own bed for naps, since they’re going to have|they will
