Hear a few self-improvement experts, and it’s simple to believe that napping is a powerful tool: rather than a band-aid following restless night, but a shortcut towards improved recall, a brighter outlook and perhaps a faster 5k run time. Premier League athletes are all at it – as do musicians, fighters & high-profile executives. But if you haven’t got a room for napping or a career that encourages frequent naps, can there *honestly* enough benefits to a burst of shut-eye to merit the kerfuffle? Can you find a dependable method to get to sleep quickly enough? Plus, is it possible to really guarantee you will arise feeling better, rather than worse?
Understanding Your Nap Motivation
“There are three main reasons for daytime sleep for many people,” notes a leading sleep science professor. “The first is known as recovery napping, which is what happens after experiencing insufficient sleep overnight. Secondly, there's preparatory napping, where you are anticipating insufficient sleep ahead, for example if you’re working on night shifts. The third reason is “pleasure-based sleep”, which simply is about the wish: you get an opportunity to doze in the daytime, and it feels nice to nap.”
The initial step to consider, therefore, is consider why you want to nap. “Naps can be truly beneficial when nighttime sleep gets interrupted due to causes beyond your control – such as, when you are a parent of a newborn, or if you are healing from sickness or strenuous activity,” explains a sleep specialist. “But if you nap as your nighttime sleep feels fragile or broken, that is frequently a signal your sleep drive is not where it should be. Under those circumstances, napping can become a contributing factor, instead of the fix. Employ naps as a short-term solution to address immediate needs – the main goal should still be a robust and regular night’s sleep.”
The Optimal Snooze Time
Therefore that napping must not be too extended to affect your sleep at night, and best shouldn’t take place post-3 p.m. (based on when you sleep at night). How long is sensible? Advice differs. From the most referenced research on the subject, researchers at Nasa noted that space travelers experienced a boost of up to 54% in attentiveness and a 34% boost in cognitive performance following a nap of 26 minutes (in detail, this included a six-minute long falling asleep phase). “I’d suggest setting a timer for 20-30 minutes – the majority doze off within 10 minutes,” says a sleep coach. “There is plenty of advice around about the optimal amount of time, but that tends to make people feel more stressed above all – and the worst thing you can possibly do when trying to get to sleep is to stress over it.”
If you’re going to sleep for longer, steer clear of the 45-60 minute window that induces sleep grogginess, that foggy state when you awaken. “The science suggests it’s better to take a longer nap of 60 to 90 minutes than a medium-length one,” says the professor. “Forty-five minutes is enough time to send you into a deep sleep stage and you’re more likely to feel disoriented when you wake up – whereas if you take it slightly longer to an hour or 90 minutes, you’re likely to be completing of a sleep cycle and should get up feeling more refreshed. Though if you're dozing for an hour and a half, it may impact your sleep in the evening.”
Establishing the Perfect Snooze Setting
Regarding exact methodologies, suggestions are diverse. Certain specialists recommend employing comparable habits one would use to encourage a good night’s sleep: a silent space, a supportive surface and maximum darkness as is feasible. Some advise that you should merely snooze on a couch in whatever light is available – both to discourage post-nap grogginess and to “protect” your bed as the environment your brain links with nighttime rest. “Falling asleep is notoriously difficult to force,” says an expert. “If you don’t have any drowsiness, it is more challenging to get comfortable and practically command yourself to fall asleep. You need some sleep pressure present to start the process initially. For me, it's possible to snooze during the day and awaken on my own without a timer, however, what assists a lot of people is to look for a moment where they feel naturally feeling a bit drowsy and calmly allow sleep to come.”
Trying different approaches is valuable, and should you have few options – for instance, if you’re trying to fit in a quick nap during a commute or at the office – there’s nothing wrong to use sleep aids. “Coaching professional sportspeople, I suggest that they avoid becoming accustomed to their own bed for naps, since they’re going to have|they will
