Tune into a few productivity gurus, making it easy to believe that a nap is a superpower: more than a sticking plaster following poor sleep, but a shortcut towards improved recall, a brighter outlook and maybe quicker running times. Professional athletes do it regularly – as do professional piano players, UFC champions and high-profile executives. However, if you haven’t got a dedicated nap-room or a job that permits frequent naps, are there *really* worthwhile perks to a short sleep to justify the kerfuffle? Can you find a surefire technique to nod off promptly? Furthermore, can you honestly promise you’ll wake up feeling improved, instead of groggy?
Understanding The Reasons for Napping
“Experts note three main reasons for taking a nap in the adult population,” explains an expert circadian rhythm professor. “The first is known as make-up sleep, essentially what happens following a lack of sleep the previous night. Another is pre-emptive sleep, where you are anticipating a sleep deficit in the future, for instance when working graveyard shifts. Finally, there's “pleasure-based sleep”, which simply is about the wish: you have a chance to nap during the day, and it feels nice to do it.”
The initial step to do, therefore, is to examine your reason for napping. “Daytime sleep can be truly beneficial when nighttime sleep is disturbed for reasons outside your control – for instance, if you’re a parent of a newborn, or you’re recovering from illness or strenuous activity,” says a sleep expert. “But if you’re napping as your night sleep feels fragile or broken, that’s often a sign your body's sleep pressure is not at the level it needs to be. In such situations, naps can become part of the problem, instead of the fix. Employ naps for brief periods to address immediate needs – the priority ought to remain a strong and predictable night’s sleep.”
The Ideal Snooze Time
Therefore that naps must not be long enough to affect your sleep at night, and preferably are not recommended post-3 p.m. (based on what time you sleep in the evening). What's a reasonable length? Recommendations vary. From a prominent study regarding daytime sleep, researchers at Nasa discovered that crew members experienced up to a 54% increase in attentiveness plus a 34% rise in cognitive performance after a 26-minute nap (to be precise, this counted a six-minute long nodding-off period). “I’d suggest using an alarm for 20-30 minutes – most people doze off within 10 minutes,” says a sleep expert. “There’s a lot of recommendations about the optimal amount of time, but that tends to lead individuals to become more worried than anything – and the most counterproductive thing you can possibly do when attempting to nod off is to be anxious.”
If you plan to sleep for longer, bypass the 45 to 60 minute range that induces sleep grogginess, that foggy state when you wake. “The science would say it's more effective to have a longer nap lasting 60-90 minutes than a medium-length one,” notes the sleep scientist. “45 minutes is long enough to put you into deep sleep making it more likely to feel groggy upon awakening – while if you extend it a little longer to an hour or 90 minutes, you’re likely to be completing a natural sleep cycle and should wake up feeling more alert. However, if you're dozing for an hour and a half, it can influence the quality of your sleep that night.”
Creating the Right Nap Environment
When it comes to precise methods, suggestions are diverse. Certain specialists propose employing the same protocol you use to foster quality nighttime sleep: a silent space, a comfortable bed and minimal light as possible. Others suggest that you should just doze on a couch in the existing light happens to be around – both to discourage sleep inertia and to preserve your bed as the space your brain links with nighttime rest. “Sleep is notoriously difficult to force,” notes a specialist. “Without the urge to sleep, it becomes harder to recline and essentially instruct yourself to fall asleep. There’s got to be some drive there to bring the sleep on to begin with. Personally, I can often take a nap during the day and awaken on my own without a timer, however, what assists most folks is to anticipate an instance when they are naturally feeling a bit drowsy and calmly ease into sleep.”
Experimentation is key, and should options are scarce – for instance, when aiming to fit in 40 winks during a commute or at the office – it's acceptable with bringing a few tools. “In my work with footballers, I advise that they not rely on their own bed for naps, since they’re going to have|they will
