Tune into plenty of self-improvement gurus, making it tempting to believe that a nap is a superpower: not just a quick fix following a bad night’s sleep, but a path towards enhanced cognition, a brighter outlook and perhaps improved athletic performance. Professional footballers swear by it – as do professional piano players, mixed martial artists and business leaders. Yet, when you haven’t got a room for napping or employment that permits daytime sleep, are there *really* sufficient advantages to a short sleep to justify the kerfuffle? Can you find a dependable method to get to sleep quickly enough? Plus, is it possible to really guarantee you will get up feeling better, not worse?
Identifying The Reasons for Napping
“Experts note three key drivers for napping in the adult population,” explains a leading sleep and circadian science professor. “Firstly, there's known as make-up sleep, that is what you do following a lack of sleep overnight. Secondly, there's prophylactic napping, where you are pre-empting sleep loss in the future, for example during graveyard shifts. The third reason is “appetitive drive”, which simply comes down to desire: you get a chance to doze in the daytime, and it feels nice to indulge.”
The initial step to do, then, is to think about your reason for napping. “Naps can be truly beneficial when overnight rest is being disrupted due to causes outside your control – such as, when you are caring for an infant, or you’re recovering from illness or intense exercise,” explains a sleep physiologist. “However, if you’re napping since your sleep at night is unstable or poor, that is frequently a signal your need for sleep is not at the level it should be. In such situations, daytime sleep can turn into a contributing factor, instead of the fix. Utilize daytime sleep as a short-term solution for temporary issues – the focus should still be a robust and regular night’s sleep.”
The Ideal Nap Length
Therefore that daytime sleep ought not to be long enough to interfere with your overnight rest, and ideally should not occur in the late afternoon (contingent on the time you sleep at night). How long is sensible? Recommendations vary. In one of the most referenced research on the subject, researchers at Nasa noted that astronauts showed improvements of over 50% in alertness and a 34% increase in performance post a 26-minute snooze (to be precise, this involved a six-minute long nodding-off period). “My advice is setting a timer for half an hour or less – most people doze off in under ten minutes,” explains a sleep expert. “There is plenty of guidance out there regarding the optimal amount for sleeping, but that tends to cause people to feel more worried above all – and the worst thing you can possibly do while aiming to nod off is to be anxious.”
If you plan to nap for a longer period, steer clear of the 45 to 60 minute range that induces sleep grogginess, that disoriented sensation upon waking. “The science suggests it’s better to take an extended nap lasting 60-90 minutes compared to a medium-length nap,” says the sleep scientist. “Three-quarters of an hour is long enough to send you into a deep sleep stage and you’re more likely to feel sluggish when you wake up – while if you nap for a bit longer to 60 or 90 minutes, you’re likely to finish a full cycle and will probably get up feeling more rejuvenated. But if you nap for an hour and a half, it will affect your sleep that night.”
Finding an Ideal Sleep Space
Regarding specific techniques, suggestions are diverse. A few professionals propose using the same protocol you use to encourage a good night’s sleep: a silent space, a cozy bed and maximum darkness as possible. Alternatively, experts propose that one could simply nap in a chair with ambient lighting happens to be around – to prevent sleep inertia and to maintain your bedroom as the place you associate with *real* sleep. “Napping is something really tricky to command,” notes a sleep coach. “Lacking any sleepiness, it becomes harder to recline and basically tell yourself to go to sleep. There’s got to be some drive available to initiate sleep to begin with. For me, it's possible to nap during the day and awaken on my own without a timer, though, what aids a lot of people is to anticipate a time that they’re naturally slightly tired and just gently ease into sleep.”
Trying different approaches is valuable, and when your choices are limited – such as, if attempting to fit in a quick nap on a train or in a soundproof office pod – it's acceptable with bringing some accessories. “In my work with footballers, I suggest that they avoid becoming accustomed to napping in bed, as they’re going to have|they will
