Hear a few productivity podcasters, making it tempting to believe that dozing is a powerful tool: not just a sticking plaster following restless night, but a path to improved recall, a brighter outlook and possibly improved athletic performance. Professional athletes do it regularly – along with professional piano players, mixed martial artists and media moguls. But if you haven’t got a room for napping or a career that encourages daytime sleep, can there *honestly* sufficient advantages to a burst of shut-eye for it to be worth the effort? Does there exist a dependable method to get to sleep quickly enough? And can you truly ensure you will get up feeling improved, rather than worse?
Exploring Your Nap Motivation
“Experts note three main reasons for taking a nap in the adult population,” says a professor of circadian rhythm researcher. “Firstly, there's what we call compensatory napping, which is the action you take after experiencing insufficient sleep overnight. Another is pre-emptive sleep, which involves pre-empting sleep loss in the future, for example when working graveyard shifts. The third is called “pleasure-based sleep”, which simply boils down to wanting: there is a chance to nap in the afternoon, and it's enjoyable to do it.”
The primary task to undertake, then, is consider your reason for napping. “Daytime sleep can be really helpful when night sleeping gets interrupted due to causes beyond your control – for example, for caring for an infant, or recovering after being ill or strenuous activity,” says a sleep expert. “Yet when you nap because your sleep at night feels fragile or unreliable, that is frequently a signal your sleep drive is not at the level it needs to be. Under those circumstances, daytime sleep can turn into part of the issue, not the solution. Employ naps as a short-term solution for short-term problems – the priority should still be a solid and consistent night’s sleep.”
The Perfect Snooze Time
This implies that napping shouldn’t be too extended to disrupt your nighttime sleep, and ideally are not recommended in the late afternoon (based on when you sleep in the evening). What's a reasonable length? Recommendations vary. From the most referenced research about napping, space agency scientists discovered that astronauts showed a boost of up to 54% in alertness and a 34% increase in performance after a 26-minute nap (technically, this counted an initial six-minute sleep onset time). “I recommend using an alarm for half an hour or less – many individuals fall asleep within 10 minutes,” explains a specialist. “You'll find much recommendations about the optimal amount of minutes, but that tends to make people feel more stressed than anything else – and the most counterproductive thing you can do while aiming to fall asleep is to be anxious.”
Should you decide to sleep for longer, avoid the 45-60 minute window that encourages that sluggish feeling, that spaced-out feeling upon waking. “Research suggests it's more effective to have an extended nap of one to one and a half hours than a medium-length one,” explains the professor. “Forty-five minutes is long enough to plunge you into deep sleep making it more likely to feel groggy upon awakening – while if you take it a little longer to 60 or 90 minutes, you will probably to be on the end a full cycle and will probably awaken feeling more rejuvenated. Though if you nap for a long period, it can influence your sleep in the evening.”
Establishing an Ideal Sleep Space
Regarding precise methods, recommendations vary. A few professionals propose employing the same protocol you’d use to encourage a good night’s sleep: a silent space, a supportive surface and as much darkness as is feasible. Alternatively, experts propose that it's fine to merely snooze on a couch with ambient lighting is present – to avoid post-nap grogginess and to preserve your sleeping quarters as the place your brain links with nighttime rest. “Napping is quite challenging to force,” notes a sleep coach. “Without any drowsiness, it is more challenging to lie down and basically command yourself to go to sleep. You need a natural inclination present to initiate sleep to begin with. Personally, I can often take a nap during the day and wake up naturally alarm-free, though, what aids most folks is to anticipate an instance when they are naturally slightly tired and calmly allow sleep to come.”
Trying different approaches is valuable, and when options are scarce – for example, when aiming to fit in a quick nap while traveling or in a work pod – it is perfectly fine to use sleep aids. “In my work with footballers, I recommend that they avoid becoming accustomed to napping in bed, because they’re going to have|they will
