Tune into plenty of productivity podcasters, and you'll be simple to think that dozing is a superpower: not just a quick fix after restless night, but a path to a better memory, a brighter outlook and perhaps improved athletic performance. Premier League soccer players do it regularly – as do professional piano players, mixed martial artists and high-profile executives. However, if you don't have a room for napping or employment that allows daytime sleep, are there *really* enough benefits to a quick nap to merit the hassle? Does there exist a dependable method to nod off promptly? And can you truly ensure you will get up feeling refreshed, rather than worse?
Understanding The Reasons for Napping
“We can identify three primary motivations for daytime sleep for many people,” says an expert circadian rhythm professor. “One is what we call make-up sleep, which is what you do following a lack of sleep overnight. Secondly, there's pre-emptive sleep, where you are pre-empting sleep loss coming up, such as during on night shifts. The third reason is “hedonic napping”, which essentially comes down to the wish: there is a moment to nap in the afternoon, and it's pleasant to do it.”
The first thing to undertake, so, is to examine why you want to nap. “Naps can be truly beneficial when night sleeping is being disrupted due to causes you cannot change – for instance, if you’re a parent of a newborn, or if you are healing from sickness or intense exercise,” states a sleep expert. “Yet when you’re napping since your nighttime sleep seems unreliable or broken, that can be an indicator your sleep drive is not at the level it should be. Under those circumstances, naps can become part of the issue, instead of the fix. Use napping as a temporary measure to address immediate needs – the main goal ought to remain a robust and regular sleep at night.”
The Optimal Snooze Time
This implies that naps ought not to be long enough to disrupt your sleep at night, and best should not occur after about 3pm (depending on the time you retire in the evening). How long is sensible? Guidelines are mixed. From a prominent study about napping, space agency scientists noted that crew members had improvements of over 50% in vigilance and a 34% boost in performance after a 26-minute nap (in detail, this counted a six-minute long sleep onset time). “I recommend using an alarm for half an hour or less – most people fall asleep in under ten minutes,” says a sleep expert. “You'll find much guidance out there concerning the perfect length for sleeping, yet that often lead individuals to become more stressed above all – and the worst thing one can do when attempting to get to sleep is worry about it.”
If you plan to sleep for longer, steer clear of the period between 45 and 60 minutes that promotes sleep inertia, that disoriented sensation upon waking. “Studies indicates it’s better to opt for a lengthier snooze of 60 to 90 minutes compared to a medium-length nap,” says the sleep scientist. “Forty-five minutes is enough time to send you into a deep sleep stage and you’re more likely to feel groggy when you get up – however, if you take it slightly longer to an hour or 90 minutes, you’re likely to finish a natural sleep cycle and are likely to awaken feeling more alert. However, if you’re sleeping for a long period, it may impact the quality of your sleep later that night.”
Establishing the Right Nap Environment
As for precise methods, suggestions are diverse. Certain specialists propose employing similar routines one would use to promote restful sleep: a silent space, a comfortable bed and minimal light as possible. Some advise that it's fine to just doze in a chair in whatever light is available – to avoid sleep inertia and to “protect” your bedroom as the space your mind associates with nighttime rest. “Falling asleep is quite challenging to will,” explains a specialist. “If you don’t have any drowsiness, it is more challenging to get comfortable and basically tell yourself to nod off. You need some sleep pressure available to initiate sleep to begin with. For me, it's possible to nap in broad daylight and awaken on my own without a timer, but what helps many individuals is to anticipate a time where they feel naturally somewhat sleepy and just gently relax into it.”
Experimentation is key, and should your choices are limited – for instance, when aiming to fit in a quick nap while traveling or in a soundproof office pod – it's acceptable to employ sleep aids. “Coaching professional sportspeople, I suggest that they don’t get used to napping in bed, as they’re going to have|they will
