Tune into plenty of productivity gurus, making it easy to believe that a nap is a secret weapon: rather than a sticking plaster after poor sleep, but a path towards a better memory, better spirits and possibly quicker running times. Premier League soccer players are all at it – as do professional piano players, mixed martial artists & media moguls. However, if you haven’t got a room for napping or a career that encourages frequent naps, are there *really* sufficient advantages to a burst of shut-eye for it to be worth the kerfuffle? Does there exist a surefire technique to get to sleep quickly enough? Furthermore, can you really guarantee you will get up feeling improved, not worse?
Identifying The Nap Motivation
“We can identify three key drivers for taking a nap in the adult population,” says a leading sleep science specialist. “One is termed recovery napping, that is what you do after experiencing poor sleep the night before. Secondly, there's preparatory napping, which involves anticipating sleep loss coming up, for instance when working on night shifts. Finally, there's “pleasure-based sleep”, which essentially boils down to the wish: there is a moment to sleep in the afternoon, and it's pleasant to nap.”
The primary task to undertake, then, is to think about why you want to nap. “Naps can be genuinely useful when overnight rest is being disrupted due to causes beyond your control – such as, when you are a new parent, or recovering from illness or intense exercise,” explains a sleep physiologist. “Yet when you take a nap since your nighttime sleep feels fragile or unreliable, that can be an indicator your sleep drive is not where required. In those cases, naps can become a contributing factor, instead of the fix. Utilize daytime sleep for brief periods to address immediate needs – the main goal ought to remain a solid and consistent night’s sleep.”
The Optimal Nap Length
This means that naps shouldn’t be sufficiently lengthy to interfere with your sleep at night, and best are not recommended in the late afternoon (depending on the time you retire at night). What duration is wise? Recommendations vary. From the most referenced research regarding daytime sleep, space agency scientists found that crew members had improvements of over 50% in alertness plus a 34% rise in task performance after a 26-minute nap (to be precise, this included a six-minute sleep onset time). “My advice is setting a timer for 20-30 minutes – many individuals are asleep within 10 minutes,” notes a sleep coach. “You'll find much guidance out there about the optimal amount for sleeping, yet that often cause people to feel more stressed than anything else – and the most counterproductive thing one can do when trying to fall asleep is worry about it.”
Should you decide to sleep for longer, bypass the 45-60 minute window that induces that sluggish feeling, that disoriented sensation when you wake. “Research suggests it is preferable to take a lengthier snooze of one to one and a half hours compared to a medium-length nap,” notes the professor. “45 minutes is sufficient to send you into slow-wave sleep and you’re more likely to feel groggy when you wake up – whereas if you extend it a bit longer to 60 or 90 minutes, you’re likely to finish of a sleep cycle and will probably awaken feeling more rejuvenated. Though if you nap for a long period, it will affect the quality of your sleep that night.”
Finding the Perfect Nap Environment
As for specific techniques, suggestions are diverse. A few professionals recommend adopting comparable habits you use to promote restful sleep: a quiet room, a cozy bed and maximum darkness as is feasible. Some advise that one could just doze on the sofa in the existing light happens to be around – both to discourage sleep inertia and to maintain your bedroom as the environment you associate with *real* sleep. “Sleep is notoriously difficult to force,” explains a sleep coach. “Lacking any drowsiness, it is tougher to recline and essentially command yourself to nod off. You need some sleep pressure there to bring the sleep on in the first place. I can usually take a nap during the day and naturally wake up without a timer, however, what assists a lot of people is to wait for a moment when they are naturally feeling a bit drowsy and then simply ease into sleep.”
Experimentation is key, and if you have few options – for instance, if you’re trying to fit in 40 winks on a train or at the office – there’s nothing wrong with bringing a few tools. “When I’m working with elite athletes, I advise that they not rely on their own bed for naps, as they’re going to have|they will
