Hear a few performance experts, and you'll be easy to believe that dozing is a superpower: rather than a band-aid after poor sleep, but a route to enhanced cognition, improved mood and possibly a faster 5k run time. Professional footballers are all at it – and so are professional piano players, UFC champions and media moguls. But if you don't have a dedicated nap-room or employment 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 nod off promptly? Plus, is it possible to honestly promise you will arise feeling improved, instead of groggy?
Understanding The Nap Motivation
“There are three main reasons for napping in the adult population,” notes a leading sleep science specialist. “One is termed make-up sleep, which is what happens when you’ve had a lack of sleep the previous night. The second is prophylactic napping, where you are anticipating sleep loss ahead, such as when working on night shifts. The third reason is “pleasure-based sleep”, which essentially is about the wish: you have an opportunity to doze in the daytime, and it feels nice to nap.”
The first thing to do, therefore, is to examine your reason for napping. “Naps can be genuinely useful when overnight rest is being disrupted due to causes you cannot change – for instance, for caring for an infant, or if you are healing from sickness or heavy physical exertion,” says a sleep specialist. “However, if you take a nap since your sleep at night seems unreliable or broken, that is frequently an indicator your need for sleep is not as strong as required. In those cases, napping can become a contributing factor, rather than the answer. Employ naps as a short-term solution for short-term problems – the main goal should still be a solid and consistent sleep at night.”
The Ideal Nap Length
Therefore that naps shouldn’t be sufficiently lengthy to affect your nighttime sleep, and best shouldn’t take place after about 3pm (contingent on when you sleep at night). How long is sensible? Recommendations vary. Among the most-cited studies regarding daytime sleep, researchers at Nasa discovered that crew members experienced a boost of up to 54% in attentiveness and a 34% increase in performance after a 26-minute nap (in detail, this included a six-minute long nodding-off period). “I recommend setting a timer for half an hour or less – the majority fall asleep in under ten minutes,” says a sleep expert. “There is plenty of recommendations about the optimal amount of minutes, but that tends to cause people to feel more stressed than anything else – and the most counterproductive thing one can do when trying to fall asleep is to stress over it.”
Should you decide to nap for a longer period, bypass the 45-60 minute window that encourages that sluggish feeling, that foggy state upon waking. “The science indicates it's more effective to opt for a longer nap of one to one and a half hours compared to a medium-length nap,” notes the sleep scientist. “Forty-five minutes is enough time to put you into deep sleep and you’re more likely to feel sluggish upon awakening – however, if you nap for slightly longer to a full sleep cycle, it's likely you'll to be on the end a full cycle and will probably wake up feeling more alert. But if you nap for 90 minutes, it will affect how you sleep later that night.”
Finding an Ideal Sleep Space
When it comes to precise methods, recommendations vary. A few professionals suggest using the same protocol you’d use to foster quality nighttime sleep: a peaceful area, a supportive surface and maximum darkness as is feasible. Some advise that it's fine to merely snooze in a chair in whatever light is available – to prevent that groggy feeling and to preserve your bedroom as the space you associate with *real* sleep. “Napping is notoriously difficult to force,” explains an expert. “Lacking any sleepiness, it becomes harder to lie down and essentially instruct yourself to fall asleep. There must be some sleep pressure available to initiate sleep initially. I can usually take a nap in full light and wake up naturally without an alarm, though, what aids a lot of people is to look for a time when they are naturally feeling a bit drowsy and just gently relax into it.”
Experimentation is key, and when your choices are limited – such as, when aiming to squeeze in 40 winks on a train or in a soundproof office pod – it is perfectly fine to use sleep aids. “When I’m working with elite athletes, I recommend that they not rely on napping in bed, as they’re going to have|they will
