Hear plenty of performance gurus, and it’s tempting to think that napping is a superpower: rather than a quick fix after poor sleep, but a path towards improved recall, improved mood and possibly improved athletic performance. Premier League athletes swear by it – along with professional piano players, fighters and business leaders. However, if you haven’t got a room for napping or a job that permits regular snoozing, are there *really* sufficient advantages to a quick nap for it to be worth the effort? Is there a dependable method to fall asleep fast? And can you truly ensure you will get up feeling better, instead of groggy?
Exploring The Nap Motivation
“Experts note three main reasons for taking a nap among most adults,” explains a leading sleep and circadian science researcher. “The first is what we call make-up sleep, which is what happens after experiencing insufficient sleep overnight. Secondly, there's pre-emptive sleep, when you are preparing for sleep loss ahead, for example during graveyard shifts. The third is called “appetitive drive”, which basically comes down to desire: you get a chance to nap in the daytime, and it's pleasant to do it.”
The first thing to undertake, so, is to think about why you want to nap. “Daytime sleep can be genuinely useful when night sleeping is being disrupted for reasons you cannot change – for example, if you’re a new parent, or if you are healing from sickness or heavy physical exertion,” explains a sleep physiologist. “But if you nap because your sleep at night feels fragile or unreliable, that can be an indicator your need for sleep is not where it should be. In such situations, daytime sleep can turn into part of the issue, instead of the fix. Utilize daytime sleep for brief periods for short-term problems – the focus should still be a strong and predictable night’s sleep.”
The Optimal Nap Duration
Therefore that daytime sleep shouldn’t be too extended to interfere with your overnight rest, and preferably shouldn’t take place after about 3pm (based on when you go to bed in the evening). What's a reasonable length? Guidelines are mixed. In one of a prominent study regarding daytime sleep, researchers at Nasa noted that space travelers had up to a 54% increase in alertness and a 34% boost in performance post a 26-minute snooze (to be precise, this involved a six-minute long nodding-off period). “I’d suggest using an alarm for 20-30 minutes – the majority are asleep within 10 minutes,” explains a sleep expert. “You'll find much recommendations concerning the perfect length of minutes, yet that often cause people to feel more stressed than anything – and the worst thing one can do when attempting to nod off is to stress over it.”
If you plan to take an extended nap, bypass the period between 45 and 60 minutes that encourages sleep inertia, that spaced-out feeling upon waking. “Studies suggests it's more effective to have a longer nap of 60 to 90 minutes rather than a mid-length nap,” explains the professor. “Three-quarters of an hour is sufficient to send you into deep sleep and it is more probable to feel groggy upon awakening – while if you nap for slightly longer to a full sleep cycle, it's likely you'll to be completing of a sleep cycle and will probably wake up feeling more alert. Though if you nap for an hour and a half, it will affect your sleep that night.”
Finding the Perfect Snooze Setting
When it comes to precise methods, recommendations vary. Certain specialists propose using the same protocol you’d use to foster restful sleep: a silent space, a comfortable bed and as much darkness as is feasible. Some advise that you should just doze in a chair in whatever light happens to be around – to prevent that groggy feeling and to preserve your bedroom as the environment you associate with proper sleep. “Falling asleep is something really tricky to will,” explains a sleep coach. “Lacking any sleepiness, it becomes harder to recline and practically tell yourself to nod off. There’s got to be some sleep pressure present to start the process to begin with. I can usually take a nap in broad daylight and naturally wake up without a timer, however, what assists a lot of people is to look for a moment where they feel naturally somewhat sleepy and then simply relax into it.”
Experimentation is key, and should your choices are limited – such as, if you’re trying to grab a quick nap during a commute or in a work pod – it's acceptable to employ a few tools. “Coaching elite athletes, I advise that they don’t get used to napping in bed, as they’re going to have|they will
