Tune into plenty of self-improvement experts, making it simple to think that a nap is a secret weapon: rather than a band-aid after restless night, but a shortcut towards a better memory, better spirits and possibly improved athletic performance. Elite soccer players swear by it – and so are professional piano players, UFC champions & business leaders. However, if you don't have a special sleep space or employment that allows frequent naps, can there *honestly* sufficient advantages to a burst of shut-eye to justify the hassle? Does there exist a surefire technique to get to sleep quickly enough? And can you truly ensure you will arise feeling better, not worse?
Identifying Your Reasons for Napping
“We can identify three primary motivations for daytime sleep among most adults,” notes a leading circadian rhythm specialist. “The first is termed compensatory napping, essentially what happens after experiencing poor sleep the night before. Secondly, there's prophylactic napping, which involves pre-empting insufficient sleep coming up, such as during overnight shifts. The third is called “appetitive drive”, which simply boils down to the wish: there is a moment to doze during the day, and it's pleasant to nap.”
The first thing to consider, therefore, is to examine your reason for napping. “Naps can be genuinely useful when overnight rest is being disrupted because of factors you cannot change – for example, for a new parent, or recovering from sickness or heavy physical exertion,” states a sleep expert. “However, if you take a nap as your nighttime sleep is unstable or unreliable, that is frequently an indicator your sleep drive is not at the level it should be. In such situations, daytime sleep can turn into a contributing factor, instead of the fix. Employ naps for brief periods for temporary issues – the main goal should still be a strong and predictable night’s sleep.”
The Ideal Snooze Time
This means that daytime sleep must not be sufficiently lengthy to disrupt your overnight rest, and best are not recommended in the late afternoon (depending on what time you go to bed overnight). What duration is wise? Advice differs. Among a prominent study on the subject, space agency scientists discovered that space travelers had improvements of over 50% in alertness plus a 34% rise in task performance post a 26-minute snooze (to be precise, this involved a six-minute sleep onset time). “I’d suggest using an alarm for half an hour or less – most people are asleep in under ten minutes,” explains a sleep expert. “There is plenty of advice around concerning the optimal amount of minutes, but that tends to cause people to feel more worried than anything – and the least helpful action you can do while aiming to get to sleep is to be anxious.”
If you plan to take an extended nap, avoid the 45-60 minute window that promotes sleep inertia, that spaced-out feeling upon waking. “Studies indicates it's more effective to take a longer nap of one to one and a half hours rather than a mid-length nap,” notes the expert. “Three-quarters of an hour is enough time to put you into slow-wave sleep making it more likely to feel disoriented when you get up – however, if you take it slightly longer to an hour or 90 minutes, you will probably to be completing of a sleep cycle and should get up feeling more alert. However, if you're dozing for an hour and a half, it will affect how you sleep in the evening.”
Finding the Perfect Sleep Space
As for exact methodologies, recommendations vary. Some experts propose using the same protocol you use to encourage quality nighttime sleep: a peaceful area, a supportive surface and minimal light as is feasible. Some advise that one could simply nap in a chair in the existing light is present – to avoid post-nap grogginess and to maintain your bed as the environment your mind associates with nighttime rest. “Napping is notoriously difficult to force,” says a sleep coach. “Lacking the urge to sleep, it is more challenging to recline and practically command yourself to nod off. There’s got to be some drive present to initiate sleep to begin with. I can usually take a nap during the day and naturally wake up alarm-free, but what helps most folks is to anticipate an instance when they are naturally slightly tired and calmly ease into sleep.”
Experimentation is key, and should options are scarce – for example, when aiming to fit in 40 winks during a commute or in a work pod – it is perfectly fine to employ sleep aids. “Coaching professional sportspeople, I advise that they don’t get used to their own bed for naps, as they’re going to have|they will
