Listen to plenty of performance podcasters, and it’s simple to believe that dozing is a powerful tool: more than a band-aid after a bad night’s sleep, but a shortcut to improved recall, improved mood and maybe a faster 5k run time. Elite athletes are all at it – along with musicians, fighters and high-profile executives. But if you haven’t got a special sleep space or a job that permits regular snoozing, are there *really* worthwhile perks to a quick nap for it to be worth the kerfuffle? Can you find a dependable method to nod off promptly? And can you really guarantee you will get up feeling refreshed, not worse?
Identifying The Drive to Snooze
“Experts note three main reasons for daytime sleep among most adults,” notes an expert sleep science researcher. “The first is what we call make-up sleep, essentially the action you take following insufficient sleep overnight. Secondly, there's prophylactic napping, which involves anticipating sleep loss coming up, such as during graveyard shifts. The third is called “hedonic napping”, which essentially comes down to the wish: there is a chance to sleep in the afternoon, and it's enjoyable to do it.”
The first thing to do, therefore, is to think about why you want to nap. “Naps can be genuinely useful when overnight rest is being disrupted because of factors you cannot change – for example, if you’re a parent of a newborn, or if you are healing from illness or intense exercise,” states a sleep physiologist. “However, if you nap since your night sleep is unstable or unreliable, that’s often a sign your need for sleep is not where it needs to be. Under those circumstances, daytime sleep can turn into part of the problem, not the solution. Employ naps as a temporary measure for short-term problems – the main goal ought to remain a solid and consistent sleep at night.”
The Ideal Nap Length
This implies that daytime sleep shouldn’t be too extended to interfere with your nighttime sleep, and ideally should not occur in the late afternoon (based on when you sleep in the evening). What's a reasonable length? Guidelines are mixed. Among a prominent study regarding daytime sleep, space agency scientists found that crew members experienced a boost of up to 54% in alertness plus a 34% rise in cognitive performance after a 26-minute nap (in detail, this involved a six-minute falling asleep phase). “My advice is using an alarm for half an hour or less – the majority doze off quickly,” notes a sleep expert. “There’s a lot of guidance out there regarding the perfect length of minutes, but that tends to cause people to feel more worried than anything – and the most counterproductive thing you can do when attempting to fall asleep is to be anxious.”
If you plan to nap for a longer period, bypass the 45-60 minute window that induces sleep grogginess, that foggy state when you awaken. “The science would say it’s better to have an extended nap lasting 60-90 minutes than a medium-length one,” notes the professor. “45 minutes is sufficient to send you into a deep sleep stage and you’re more likely to feel groggy upon awakening – whereas if you extend it slightly longer to 60 or 90 minutes, you will probably to be completing a natural sleep cycle and will probably wake up feeling more alert. Though if you nap for 90 minutes, it can influence your sleep later that night.”
Finding the Right Nap Environment
Regarding exact methodologies, recommendations vary. A few professionals suggest adopting comparable habits you’d use to promote a good night’s sleep: a silent space, a cozy bed and as much darkness as is feasible. Alternatively, experts propose that it's fine to just doze on the sofa in whatever light happens to be around – to prevent sleep inertia and to maintain your bed as the environment your mind associates with proper sleep. “Falling asleep is quite challenging to force,” explains a sleep coach. “If you don’t have any drowsiness, it is tougher to recline and practically command yourself to nod off. There must be some drive available to initiate sleep initially. Personally, I can often nap in full light and awaken on my own alarm-free, though, what aids a lot of people is to anticipate an instance where they feel naturally slightly tired and calmly relax into it.”
It’s worth experimenting, and when you have few options – for instance, if you’re trying to grab 40 winks during a commute or in a soundproof office pod – it's acceptable to use sleep aids. “In my work with footballers, I advise that they not rely on napping in bed, since they’re going to have|they will
