Tune into enough performance gurus, making it simple to believe that napping is a superpower: not just a sticking plaster following a bad night’s sleep, but a route to improved recall, a brighter outlook and maybe quicker running times. Professional footballers swear by it – along with concert pianists, fighters & high-profile executives. But if you lack a special sleep space or a career that allows regular snoozing, are there *really* sufficient advantages to a burst of shut-eye to merit the hassle? Can you find a reliable way to fall asleep fast? Furthermore, can you honestly promise you will get up feeling better, rather than worse?
Exploring Your Drive to Snooze
“We can identify three key drivers for napping for many people,” notes a professor of circadian rhythm researcher. “The first is termed compensatory napping, which is the action you take when you’ve had a lack of sleep the previous night. Another is prophylactic napping, where you are pre-empting a sleep deficit in the future, for example if you’re working overnight shifts. Finally, there's “pleasure-based sleep”, which simply comes down to desire: you have a moment to doze during the day, and it's pleasant to do it.”
The initial step to do, therefore, is consider your reason for napping. “Daytime sleep can be truly beneficial when nighttime sleep is being disrupted because of factors you cannot change – for instance, if you’re caring for an infant, or if you are healing from illness or intense exercise,” states a sleep physiologist. “However, if you take a nap because your nighttime sleep is unstable or broken, that can be a signal your need for sleep is not at the level it should be. In those cases, naps can become a contributing factor, instead of the fix. Use napping as a temporary measure for short-term problems – the priority should still be a robust and regular sleep at night.”
The Perfect Nap Duration
This implies that daytime sleep shouldn’t be too extended to affect your nighttime sleep, and preferably shouldn’t take place in the late afternoon (contingent on when you go to bed overnight). What duration is wise? Guidelines are mixed. In one of the most-cited studies about napping, experts noted that crew members had up to a 54% increase in alertness and a 34% boost in cognitive performance post a 26-minute snooze (in detail, this counted a six-minute long nodding-off period). “My advice is setting an alarm for 20 to 30 minutes – the majority fall asleep within 10 minutes,” notes a sleep expert. “You'll find much recommendations about the optimal amount of time, however, that can cause people to feel more stressed than anything else – and the most counterproductive thing you can possibly do while aiming to nod off is to be anxious.”
If you’re going to nap for a longer period, avoid the 45 to 60 minute range that encourages sleep inertia, that spaced-out feeling upon waking. “Research indicates it’s better to have an extended nap lasting 60-90 minutes rather than a mid-length nap,” says the professor. “Forty-five minutes is sufficient to send you into a deep sleep stage and it is more probable to feel sluggish when you get up – however, if you nap for a little longer to 60 or 90 minutes, you’re likely to be on the end a full cycle and will probably get up feeling more rejuvenated. However, if you nap for a long period, it can influence the quality of your sleep in the evening.”
Creating the Right Snooze Setting
As for specific techniques, recommendations vary. Certain specialists recommend employing comparable habits you’d use to encourage restful sleep: a peaceful area, a cozy bed and maximum darkness as is feasible. Others suggest that one could just doze on the sofa with ambient lighting happens to be around – to avoid sleep inertia and to preserve your bedroom as the space your brain links with nighttime rest. “Sleep is quite challenging to command,” says a sleep coach. “Without the urge to sleep, it becomes harder to get comfortable and essentially command yourself to go to sleep. There must be some sleep pressure present to bring the sleep on to begin with. Personally, I can often nap in full light and naturally wake up without a timer, though, what aids a lot of people is to wait for a moment that they’re naturally somewhat sleepy and then simply allow sleep to come.”
Experimentation is key, and should options are scarce – such as, when aiming to squeeze in 40 winks during a commute or at the office – there’s nothing wrong to use a few tools. “In my work with professional sportspeople, I suggest that they don’t get used to their own bed for naps, as they’re going to have|they will
