Tune into plenty of performance podcasters, and it’s simple to convince yourself that napping is a powerful tool: rather than a sticking plaster following restless night, but a path to enhanced cognition, better spirits and perhaps a faster 5k run time. Premier League footballers do it regularly – and so are professional piano players, fighters and media moguls. Yet, when you don't have a room for napping or a job that permits frequent naps, can there *honestly* enough benefits to a quick nap to justify the effort? Can you find a surefire technique to get to sleep quickly enough? And can you really guarantee you will arise feeling better, rather than worse?
Identifying The Nap Motivation
“We can identify three main reasons for napping among most adults,” says an expert circadian rhythm professor. “The first is known as compensatory napping, that is what you do when you’ve had insufficient sleep the previous night. Another is prophylactic napping, when you are anticipating a sleep deficit ahead, for instance during on night shifts. Finally, there's “appetitive drive”, which basically comes down to desire: there is a chance to sleep in the daytime, and it's enjoyable to nap.”
The initial step to undertake, so, is to think about your reason for napping. “Daytime sleep can be genuinely useful when night sleeping is being disrupted for reasons beyond your control – such as, when you are a new parent, or recovering after being ill or heavy physical exertion,” says a sleep expert. “But if you’re napping as your night sleep feels fragile or poor, that can be an indicator your sleep drive is not at the level it needs to be. In those cases, naps can become part of the problem, not the solution. Utilize daytime sleep for brief periods for temporary issues – the focus must always be a strong and predictable overnight rest.”
The Perfect Nap Duration
Therefore that napping shouldn’t be sufficiently lengthy to disrupt your overnight rest, and ideally should not occur after about 3pm (contingent on what time you retire in the evening). What's a reasonable length? Guidelines are mixed. Among the most-cited studies about napping, researchers at Nasa found that space travelers experienced improvements of over 50% in vigilance and a 34% increase in performance post a 26-minute snooze (technically, this counted an initial six-minute falling asleep phase). “I’d suggest setting an alarm for 20 to 30 minutes – most people are asleep in under ten minutes,” notes a sleep expert. “There is plenty of guidance out there about the optimal amount of minutes, but that tends to lead individuals to become more stressed than anything – and the worst thing you can possibly do when trying to fall asleep is worry about it.”
If you plan to sleep for longer, bypass the 45-60 minute window that encourages sleep inertia, that spaced-out feeling when you wake. “Studies would say it's more effective to take a longer nap of one to one and a half hours compared to a medium-length nap,” explains the expert. “Forty-five minutes is long enough to put you into slow-wave sleep and you’re more likely to feel disoriented when you get up – however, if you take it slightly longer to 60 or 90 minutes, you’re likely to finish a full cycle and should get up feeling more alert. But if you’re sleeping for 90 minutes, it can influence your sleep that night.”
Establishing the Perfect Sleep Space
As for precise methods, advice differs. Certain specialists suggest adopting the same protocol you use to foster restful sleep: a silent space, a cozy bed and minimal light as possible. Some advise that you should just doze on a couch in whatever light happens to be around – to prevent post-nap grogginess and to preserve your bedroom as the environment your mind associates with nighttime rest. “Falling asleep is notoriously difficult to force,” explains an expert. “If you don’t have any sleepiness, it is more challenging to recline and basically tell yourself to go to sleep. There must be some sleep pressure available to bring the sleep on to begin with. Personally, I can often nap during the day and awaken on my own without an alarm, but what helps most folks is to anticipate a time that they’re naturally feeling a bit drowsy and just gently relax into it.”
It’s worth experimenting, and if options are scarce – for example, if attempting to fit in some shut-eye while traveling or in a work pod – it is perfectly fine to employ sleep aids. “In my work with footballers, I suggest that they not rely on sleeping in their bed, because they’re going to have|they will
