Tune into plenty of productivity podcasters, and you'll be tempting to believe that dozing is a secret weapon: more than a quick fix after restless night, but a path towards a better memory, improved mood and perhaps improved athletic performance. Premier League footballers do it regularly – along with musicians, mixed martial artists & media moguls. Yet, when you lack a special sleep space or a job that permits regular snoozing, are there *really* enough benefits to a quick nap for it to be worth the effort? Does there exist a reliable way to fall asleep fast? Plus, is it possible to honestly promise you will get up feeling better, not worse?
Identifying Your Reasons for Napping
“Experts note three primary motivations for taking a nap among most adults,” notes a professor of circadian rhythm specialist. “One is termed compensatory napping, that is what you do following a lack of sleep the previous night. Another is prophylactic napping, when you are pre-empting insufficient sleep coming up, such as during graveyard shifts. The third is called “appetitive drive”, which basically comes down to wanting: there is a chance to nap during the day, and it's enjoyable to indulge.”
The initial step to undertake, then, is consider your reason for napping. “Napping can be truly beneficial when night sleeping gets interrupted due to causes you cannot change – for example, for caring for an infant, or recovering after being ill or heavy physical exertion,” explains a sleep specialist. “Yet when you take a nap as your nighttime sleep is unstable or poor, that’s often an indicator your sleep drive is not at the level it should be. In such situations, naps can become part of the problem, instead of the fix. Utilize daytime sleep as a temporary measure for temporary issues – the focus should still be a robust and regular overnight rest.”
The Ideal Snooze Time
Therefore that naps must not be too extended to disrupt your overnight rest, and ideally are not recommended post-3 p.m. (based on what time you sleep overnight). How long is sensible? Guidelines are mixed. Among the most-cited studies on the subject, space agency scientists found that astronauts experienced a boost of up to 54% in alertness plus a 34% rise in cognitive performance following a nap of 26 minutes (technically, this involved an initial six-minute nodding-off period). “I recommend setting a timer for half an hour or less – the majority doze off within 10 minutes,” notes a sleep expert. “You'll find much guidance out there regarding the ideal number of time, yet that often cause people to feel more worried than anything – and the worst thing you can possibly do when trying to get to sleep is to stress over it.”
If you plan to take an extended nap, bypass the 45 to 60 minute range that promotes sleep grogginess, that foggy state upon waking. “The science suggests it is preferable to opt for a lengthier snooze of one to one and a half hours rather than a mid-length nap,” notes the professor. “Three-quarters of an hour is sufficient to put you into slow-wave sleep and it is more probable to feel disoriented when you wake up – however, if you take it slightly longer to 60 or 90 minutes, it's likely you'll to be completing a full cycle and should wake up feeling more alert. However, if you nap for an hour and a half, it can influence how you sleep later that night.”
Creating the Perfect Snooze Setting
Regarding precise methods, recommendations vary. Certain specialists propose employing the same protocol you’d use to promote restful sleep: a peaceful area, a comfortable bed and maximum darkness as you can manage. Others suggest that you should simply nap on a couch in whatever light is present – to avoid sleep inertia and to maintain your sleeping quarters as the space you associate with nighttime rest. “Falling asleep is notoriously difficult to will,” notes a sleep coach. “If you don’t have any drowsiness, it becomes harder to recline and essentially tell yourself to go to sleep. You need some drive available to bring the sleep on initially. I can usually snooze in broad daylight and awaken on my own alarm-free, though, what aids many individuals is to wait for an instance when they are naturally slightly tired and calmly relax into it.”
Trying different approaches is valuable, and should options are scarce – for example, when aiming to fit in some shut-eye during a commute or in a soundproof office pod – there’s nothing wrong with bringing a few tools. “Coaching professional sportspeople, I recommend that they avoid becoming accustomed to napping in bed, because they’re going to have|they will