Tune into enough productivity gurus, making it simple to think that a nap is a powerful tool: more than a quick fix following poor sleep, but a route towards enhanced cognition, a brighter outlook and maybe quicker running times. Elite athletes are all at it – and so are professional piano players, mixed martial artists & business leaders. Yet, when you haven’t got a dedicated nap-room or a career that encourages frequent naps, is it *truly* sufficient advantages to a short sleep to justify the hassle? Can you find a reliable way to fall asleep fast? And can you really guarantee you will arise feeling refreshed, not worse?
Understanding Your Nap Motivation
“Experts note three primary motivations for daytime sleep for many people,” notes a professor of circadian rhythm specialist. “One is what we call make-up sleep, essentially what happens after experiencing insufficient sleep the previous night. Another is pre-emptive sleep, where you are anticipating insufficient sleep coming up, such as during on night shifts. The third is called “pleasure-based sleep”, which simply boils down to wanting: you get a chance to doze in the daytime, and it feels nice to do it.”
The initial step to do, therefore, is to think about your reason for napping. “Naps can be genuinely useful when overnight rest gets interrupted because of factors you cannot change – for instance, for a parent of a newborn, or recovering after being ill or strenuous activity,” says a sleep expert. “But if you’re napping because your sleep at night seems unreliable or poor, that can be a signal your need for sleep is not as strong as required. In those cases, napping can become part of the issue, not the solution. Employ naps as a short-term solution for short-term problems – the focus should still be a strong and predictable sleep at night.”
The Ideal Nap Length
This means that daytime sleep must not be too extended to affect your nighttime sleep, and best shouldn’t take place after about 3pm (contingent on what time you go to bed in the evening). What duration is wise? Advice differs. In one of a prominent study regarding daytime sleep, experts discovered that crew members had improvements of over 50% in vigilance and a 34% boost in performance post a 26-minute snooze (technically, this involved a six-minute long nodding-off period). “I’d suggest using an alarm for 20 to 30 minutes – the majority fall asleep in under ten minutes,” notes a sleep expert. “There’s a lot of advice around regarding the optimal amount of minutes, yet that often lead individuals to become more worried than anything – and the worst thing one can do when attempting to get to sleep is to be anxious.”
Should you decide to nap for a longer period, steer clear of the 45-60 minute window that promotes sleep grogginess, that foggy state when you awaken. “The science indicates it’s better to take a lengthier snooze of 60 to 90 minutes compared to a medium-length nap,” explains the professor. “Three-quarters of an hour is sufficient to put you into slow-wave sleep and it is more probable to feel disoriented upon awakening – whereas if you nap for slightly longer to 60 or 90 minutes, you’re likely to be on the end a full cycle and will probably wake up feeling more alert. Though if you're dozing for a long period, it can influence the quality of your sleep that night.”
Creating the Right Snooze Setting
Regarding specific techniques, advice differs. Some experts propose using the same protocol you’d use to promote quality nighttime sleep: a quiet room, a comfortable bed and maximum darkness as you can manage. Some advise that one could simply nap on the sofa with ambient lighting is present – to prevent sleep inertia and to “protect” your sleeping quarters as the place your brain links with *real* sleep. “Sleep is notoriously difficult to will,” notes a sleep coach. “Without any drowsiness, it is tougher to get comfortable and basically instruct yourself to go to sleep. There must be a natural inclination present to start the process to begin with. For me, it's possible to snooze during the day and awaken on my own without a timer, but what helps a lot of people is to wait for an instance when they are naturally somewhat sleepy and just gently relax into it.”
Trying different approaches is valuable, and when you have few options – for example, if you’re trying to squeeze in a quick nap while traveling or at the office – it is perfectly fine to employ a few tools. “In my work with professional sportspeople, I suggest that they don’t get used to napping in bed, since they’re going to have|they will
