Listen to enough performance experts, and you'll be simple to convince yourself that napping is a secret weapon: not just a quick fix after poor sleep, but a path towards improved recall, improved mood and maybe a faster 5k run time. Premier League soccer players swear by it – and so are professional piano players, mixed martial artists & media moguls. But if you don't have a dedicated nap-room or a job that allows frequent naps, is it *truly* sufficient advantages to a short sleep for it to be worth the effort? Is there a reliable way to nod off promptly? Furthermore, can you really guarantee you will get up feeling improved, instead of groggy?
Understanding The Drive to Snooze
“Experts note three key drivers for taking a nap for many people,” notes a leading sleep and circadian science specialist. “Firstly, there's what we call compensatory napping, essentially what happens when you’ve had insufficient sleep the night before. Secondly, there's prophylactic napping, which involves pre-empting insufficient sleep in the future, for instance during graveyard shifts. The third reason is “hedonic napping”, which simply boils down to desire: there is a moment to nap in the afternoon, and it feels nice to nap.”
The initial step to undertake, therefore, is to examine your nap motivation. “Naps can be truly beneficial when overnight rest is being disrupted because of factors outside your control – such as, when you are caring for an infant, or if you are healing after being ill or strenuous activity,” explains a sleep specialist. “Yet when you’re napping since your nighttime sleep seems unreliable or unreliable, that can be a sign your body's sleep pressure is not where it should be. Under those circumstances, napping can become part of the issue, not the solution. Utilize daytime sleep for brief periods for temporary issues – the priority must always be a robust and regular overnight rest.”
The Optimal Nap Duration
This means that napping shouldn’t be long enough to interfere with your nighttime sleep, and preferably are not recommended after about 3pm (depending on when you sleep overnight). What's a reasonable length? Advice differs. Among the most-cited studies about napping, experts noted that astronauts had a boost of up to 54% in alertness and a 34% increase in task performance post a 26-minute snooze (in detail, this included an initial six-minute nodding-off period). “I’d suggest setting a timer for 20-30 minutes – most people fall asleep quickly,” explains a sleep coach. “There’s a lot of advice around regarding the ideal number for sleeping, but that tends to cause people to feel more stressed than anything – and the most counterproductive thing one can do while aiming to fall asleep is to be anxious.”
If you’re going to nap for a longer period, steer clear of the period between 45 and 60 minutes that promotes sleep inertia, that disoriented sensation when you awaken. “Research would say it's more effective to take an extended nap of one to one and a half hours than a medium-length one,” explains the professor. “Three-quarters of an hour is sufficient to plunge you into slow-wave sleep and it is more probable to feel disoriented when you get up – whereas if you nap for slightly longer to 60 or 90 minutes, you will probably to be on the end of a sleep cycle and are likely to get up feeling more refreshed. But if you’re sleeping for a long period, it can influence the quality of your sleep that night.”
Finding the Right Snooze Setting
Regarding exact methodologies, advice differs. Certain specialists propose using similar routines you use to encourage restful sleep: a peaceful area, a comfortable bed and maximum darkness as you can manage. Some advise that one could just doze on the sofa in the existing light is available – to prevent sleep inertia and to maintain your bedroom as the space your mind associates with *real* sleep. “Sleep is quite challenging to will,” says a sleep coach. “Without any sleepiness, it is tougher to get comfortable and basically tell yourself to nod off. You need some drive present to start the process initially. For me, it's possible to take a nap during the day and naturally wake up alarm-free, though, what aids a lot of people is to anticipate an instance where they feel naturally somewhat sleepy and calmly ease into sleep.”
Experimentation is key, and when you have few options – for instance, if attempting to squeeze in a quick nap on a train or in a work pod – there’s nothing wrong to use a few tools. “Coaching professional sportspeople, I advise that they not rely on their own bed for naps, as they’re going to have|they will
