Tune into plenty of self-improvement gurus, and it’s simple to convince yourself that napping is a secret weapon: not just a band-aid after a bad night’s sleep, but a route to enhanced cognition, a brighter outlook and possibly a faster 5k run time. Premier League soccer players do it regularly – and so are concert pianists, mixed martial artists and media moguls. But if you don't have a dedicated nap-room or a career that allows daytime sleep, can there *honestly* enough benefits to a short sleep for it to be worth the effort? Does there exist a surefire technique to fall asleep fast? And can you honestly promise you will arise feeling better, rather than worse?
Exploring Your Reasons for Napping
“We can identify three primary motivations for daytime sleep for many people,” explains a professor of sleep science researcher. “Firstly, there's what we call make-up sleep, essentially what you do when you’ve had a lack of sleep overnight. The second is prophylactic napping, when you are pre-empting a sleep deficit coming up, for example when working overnight shifts. The third is called “appetitive drive”, which simply boils down to the wish: you have a moment to nap in the daytime, and it's pleasant to indulge.”
The initial step to do, therefore, is to think about your reason for napping. “Napping can be really helpful when nighttime sleep is being disrupted for reasons outside your control – such as, for caring for an infant, or if you are healing after being ill or intense exercise,” states a sleep specialist. “Yet when you’re napping because your sleep at night is unstable or broken, that can be a signal your sleep drive is not as strong as required. In those cases, naps can become part of the issue, instead of the fix. Use napping for brief periods for short-term problems – the main goal must always be a strong and predictable overnight rest.”
The Optimal Snooze Time
This implies that daytime sleep must not be too extended to interfere with your nighttime sleep, and ideally are not recommended post-3 p.m. (depending on when you go to bed overnight). What duration is wise? Guidelines are mixed. In one of the most referenced research on the subject, researchers at Nasa discovered that astronauts experienced a boost of up to 54% in alertness and a 34% increase in cognitive performance following a nap of 26 minutes (technically, this involved an initial six-minute falling asleep phase). “I’d suggest using an alarm for 20-30 minutes – the majority doze off within 10 minutes,” notes a sleep coach. “There is plenty of guidance out there about the ideal number of time, however, that can cause people to feel more anxious than anything else – and the worst thing you can possibly do when attempting to nod off is worry about it.”
Should you decide to nap for a longer period, bypass the period between 45 and 60 minutes that encourages sleep grogginess, that spaced-out feeling when you awaken. “Studies suggests it is preferable to opt for a lengthier snooze of 60 to 90 minutes compared to a medium-length nap,” says the professor. “Forty-five minutes is long enough to put you into a deep sleep stage and it is more probable to feel disoriented when you get up – however, if you extend it slightly longer to a full sleep cycle, you will probably to be on the end of a sleep cycle and should awaken feeling more refreshed. However, if you're dozing for 90 minutes, it may impact your sleep in the evening.”
Creating the Perfect Snooze Setting
As for exact methodologies, recommendations vary. Certain specialists recommend adopting similar routines you use to promote a good night’s sleep: a peaceful area, a supportive surface and minimal light as possible. Others suggest that it's fine to just doze on the sofa in whatever light is available – to prevent post-nap grogginess and to maintain your bed as the place you associate with nighttime rest. “Sleep is something really tricky to command,” says a sleep coach. “Without any sleepiness, it becomes harder to recline and basically instruct yourself to nod off. You need some sleep pressure available to start the process to begin with. Personally, I can often take a nap in full light and naturally wake up without a timer, though, what aids most folks is to look for an instance that they’re naturally somewhat sleepy and calmly ease into sleep.”
Trying different approaches is valuable, and should options are scarce – for instance, if you’re trying to fit in a quick nap during a commute or in a work pod – there’s nothing wrong with bringing some accessories. “When I’m working with elite athletes, I advise that they avoid becoming accustomed to sleeping in their bed, because they’re going to have|they will
