Tune into enough productivity gurus, and it’s simple to think that a nap is a powerful tool: rather than a band-aid following a bad night’s sleep, but a path to improved recall, improved mood and maybe a faster 5k run time. Premier League soccer players do it regularly – as do professional piano players, fighters & business leaders. Yet, when you lack a dedicated nap-room or a career that encourages frequent naps, can there *honestly* enough benefits to a short sleep for it to be worth the kerfuffle? Does there exist a surefire technique to nod off promptly? Furthermore, can you honestly promise you will arise feeling improved, rather than worse?
Understanding Your Nap Motivation
“We can identify three primary motivations for daytime sleep among most adults,” explains an expert sleep science specialist. “One is what we call make-up sleep, which is the action you take following insufficient sleep the previous night. Secondly, there's pre-emptive sleep, when you are preparing for a sleep deficit coming up, for instance if you’re working graveyard shifts. The third reason is “pleasure-based sleep”, which basically comes down to desire: you have an opportunity to nap in the daytime, and it's pleasant to do it.”
The first thing to consider, therefore, is to think about your reason for napping. “Napping can be really helpful when night sleeping is disturbed due to causes you cannot change – such as, for a new parent, or if you are healing from sickness or intense exercise,” states a sleep specialist. “However, if you nap as your nighttime sleep feels fragile or unreliable, that can be a sign your need for sleep is not where it should be. Under those circumstances, napping can become part of the problem, not the solution. Utilize daytime sleep for brief periods for short-term problems – the focus should still be a strong and predictable overnight rest.”
The Perfect Nap Duration
Therefore that napping ought not to be long enough to affect your overnight rest, and best shouldn’t take place post-3 p.m. (depending on what time you retire overnight). How long is sensible? Guidelines are mixed. Among the most-cited studies about napping, space agency scientists noted that astronauts experienced up to a 54% increase in vigilance and a 34% boost in performance following a nap of 26 minutes (in detail, this counted an initial six-minute sleep onset time). “I recommend setting a timer for 20-30 minutes – many individuals doze off within 10 minutes,” notes a specialist. “There is plenty of guidance out there concerning the optimal amount of minutes, however, that can lead individuals to become more anxious than anything – and the most counterproductive thing you can do when trying to get to sleep is to be anxious.”
If you plan to nap for a longer period, steer clear of the period between 45 and 60 minutes that promotes that sluggish feeling, that foggy state upon waking. “Research suggests it's more effective to take a longer nap of one to one and a half hours than a medium-length one,” notes the professor. “Three-quarters of an hour is enough time to put you into a deep sleep stage making it more likely to feel sluggish when you wake up – however, if you nap for a little longer to a full sleep cycle, you’re likely to be completing a full cycle and will probably get up feeling more rejuvenated. However, if you’re sleeping for a long period, it may impact the quality of your sleep in the evening.”
Establishing the Perfect Snooze Setting
When it comes to exact methodologies, advice differs. A few professionals propose using similar routines you’d use to encourage quality nighttime sleep: a peaceful area, a supportive surface and as much darkness as you can manage. Others suggest that it's fine to simply nap on the sofa in the existing light happens to be around – to avoid post-nap grogginess and to maintain your bedroom as the place your mind associates with proper sleep. “Sleep is quite challenging to command,” explains a sleep coach. “Lacking any sleepiness, it becomes harder to recline and basically tell yourself to fall asleep. There’s got to be some sleep pressure available to start the process in the first place. I can usually take a nap during the day and awaken on my own without an alarm, however, what assists many individuals is to wait for a moment where they feel naturally feeling a bit drowsy and just gently relax into it.”
Experimentation is key, and when you have few options – for instance, if attempting to grab a quick nap on a train or in a work pod – it is perfectly fine to use sleep aids. “Coaching professional sportspeople, I advise that they don’t get used to their own bed for naps, since they’re going to have|they will
