Listen to enough performance experts, and it’s easy to convince yourself that napping is a secret weapon: not just a band-aid after a bad night’s sleep, but a shortcut towards improved recall, better spirits and maybe quicker running times. Professional athletes swear by it – as do concert pianists, UFC champions and media moguls. However, if you lack a special sleep space or employment that allows frequent naps, is it *truly* worthwhile perks to a short sleep for it to be worth the hassle? Does there exist a dependable method to nod off promptly? And can you really guarantee you will arise feeling refreshed, rather than worse?
Understanding Your Nap Motivation
“Experts note three main reasons for daytime sleep for many people,” says an expert circadian rhythm professor. “One is what we call make-up sleep, that is the action you take when you’ve had insufficient sleep overnight. Secondly, there's preparatory napping, when you are preparing for sleep loss in the future, such as when working overnight shifts. Finally, there's “pleasure-based sleep”, which essentially is about wanting: you have a chance to doze in the daytime, and it feels nice to nap.”
The initial step to undertake, so, is to think about your reason for napping. “Napping can be truly beneficial when night sleeping gets interrupted because of factors outside your control – for example, if you’re caring for an infant, or if you are healing from illness or heavy physical exertion,” explains a sleep expert. “Yet when you’re napping because your sleep at night feels fragile or poor, that is frequently an indicator your body's sleep pressure is not where it should be. Under those circumstances, daytime sleep can turn into part of the problem, instead of the fix. Utilize daytime sleep as a short-term solution for short-term problems – the priority ought to remain a solid and consistent night’s sleep.”
The Ideal Nap Length
This implies that naps shouldn’t be sufficiently lengthy to interfere with your nighttime sleep, and ideally should not occur in the late afternoon (based on the time you go to bed overnight). How long is sensible? Advice differs. In one of the most-cited studies regarding daytime sleep, experts noted that crew members experienced improvements of over 50% in attentiveness plus a 34% rise in cognitive performance after a 26-minute nap (to be precise, this involved a six-minute long falling asleep phase). “I recommend setting an alarm for 20-30 minutes – the majority doze off in under ten minutes,” notes a sleep coach. “There is plenty of advice around concerning the ideal number of minutes, however, that can cause people to feel more stressed than anything – and the most counterproductive thing one can do when attempting to nod off is to be anxious.”
If you’re going to sleep for longer, avoid the 45 to 60 minute range that encourages that sluggish feeling, that disoriented sensation when you awaken. “Research indicates it’s better to have a longer nap of one to one and a half hours rather than a mid-length nap,” notes the sleep scientist. “Forty-five minutes is enough time to put you into a deep sleep stage and it is more probable to feel sluggish upon awakening – however, if you extend it slightly longer to a full sleep cycle, you will probably to be on the end a natural sleep cycle and will probably get up feeling more refreshed. But if you nap for an hour and a half, it can influence the quality of your sleep in the evening.”
Establishing the Perfect Nap Environment
As for precise methods, recommendations vary. Some experts propose adopting the same protocol one would use to promote quality nighttime sleep: a peaceful area, a cozy bed and maximum darkness as is feasible. Some advise that one could just doze in a chair with ambient lighting is available – both to discourage post-nap grogginess and to maintain your bed as the place your brain links with proper sleep. “Falling asleep is notoriously difficult to force,” says a sleep coach. “Without any sleepiness, it becomes harder to lie down and essentially command yourself to nod off. There must be some sleep pressure there to start the process in the first place. Personally, I can often take a nap in broad daylight and naturally wake up without an alarm, but what helps many individuals is to anticipate an instance that they’re naturally somewhat sleepy and calmly ease into sleep.”
It’s worth experimenting, and when your choices are limited – for instance, if you’re trying to fit in a quick nap on a train or in a soundproof office pod – it is perfectly fine with bringing sleep aids. “In my work with footballers, I suggest that they don’t get used to their own bed for naps, since they’re going to have|they will
