Listen to enough self-improvement experts, and it’s tempting to believe that a nap is a secret weapon: rather than a band-aid following a bad night’s sleep, but a shortcut towards improved recall, improved mood and possibly a faster 5k run time. Premier League footballers swear by it – along with musicians, mixed martial artists and business leaders. However, if you haven’t got a room for napping or a job that allows frequent naps, can there *honestly* worthwhile perks to a burst of shut-eye to merit the kerfuffle? Does there exist a surefire technique to fall asleep fast? And can you really guarantee you will get up feeling better, instead of groggy?
Understanding Your Reasons for Napping
“There are three primary motivations for daytime sleep among most adults,” says a leading circadian rhythm specialist. “Firstly, there's termed make-up sleep, which is the action you take after experiencing poor sleep the previous night. The second is prophylactic napping, where you are anticipating sleep loss in the future, such as during overnight shifts. The third reason is “appetitive drive”, which essentially is about desire: you get a moment to doze during the day, and it feels nice to do it.”
The first thing to do, then, is consider your nap motivation. “Napping can be really helpful when overnight rest is disturbed due to causes you cannot change – such as, if you’re a parent of a newborn, or recovering from sickness or strenuous activity,” explains a sleep physiologist. “However, if you’re napping because your nighttime sleep seems unreliable or unreliable, that is frequently a sign your need for sleep is not as strong as required. In such situations, naps can become a contributing factor, rather than the answer. Utilize daytime sleep for brief periods to address immediate needs – the priority should still be a solid and consistent overnight rest.”
The Optimal Nap Duration
Therefore that napping ought not to be long enough to affect your nighttime sleep, and best should not occur in the late afternoon (depending on when you retire in the evening). How long is sensible? Guidelines are mixed. From a prominent study about napping, researchers at Nasa discovered that space travelers had improvements of over 50% in alertness plus a 34% rise in task performance post a 26-minute snooze (in detail, this involved a six-minute long nodding-off period). “My advice is setting a timer for half an hour or less – most people are asleep quickly,” says a sleep expert. “There is plenty of recommendations about the perfect length for sleeping, yet that often lead individuals to become more stressed than anything – and the least helpful action you can possibly do while aiming to fall asleep is worry about it.”
Should you decide to take an extended nap, bypass the 45 to 60 minute range that induces sleep inertia, that foggy state upon waking. “Studies indicates it's more effective to have a lengthier snooze of 60 to 90 minutes than a medium-length one,” notes the professor. “45 minutes is long enough to send you into a deep sleep stage and it is more probable to feel sluggish when you get up – while if you extend it a little longer to an hour or 90 minutes, you will probably to finish of a sleep cycle and will probably get up feeling more rejuvenated. However, if you’re sleeping for a long period, it may impact how you sleep in the evening.”
Finding an Ideal Sleep Space
As for specific techniques, suggestions are diverse. A few professionals propose adopting similar routines you use to promote restful sleep: a silent space, a comfortable bed and maximum darkness as possible. Alternatively, experts propose that it's fine to simply nap on a couch in whatever light happens to be around – both to discourage post-nap grogginess and to “protect” your bed as the space you associate with proper sleep. “Falling asleep is something really tricky to command,” says a sleep coach. “If you don’t have the urge to sleep, it is tougher to get comfortable and basically instruct yourself to go to sleep. There’s got to be some drive available to start the process in the first place. I can usually nap in broad daylight and wake up naturally without a timer, but what helps many individuals is to look for a time when they are naturally slightly tired and calmly allow sleep to come.”
It’s worth experimenting, and if options are scarce – for instance, when aiming to grab some shut-eye during a commute or at the office – there’s nothing wrong with bringing a few tools. “In my work with professional sportspeople, I advise that they don’t get used to sleeping in their bed, as they’re going to have|they will
