Listen to enough productivity gurus, and you'll be easy to believe that a nap is a powerful tool: rather than a band-aid following poor sleep, but a shortcut towards enhanced cognition, a brighter outlook and maybe improved athletic performance. Premier League soccer players are all at it – along with concert pianists, fighters and business leaders. Yet, when you haven’t got a special sleep space or employment that allows daytime sleep, can there *honestly* sufficient advantages to a quick nap to merit the hassle? Is there a reliable way to get to sleep quickly enough? And can you really guarantee you will get up feeling improved, rather than worse?
Exploring Your Reasons for Napping
“We can identify three primary motivations for daytime sleep for many people,” says an expert sleep science specialist. “Firstly, there's known as make-up sleep, that is the action you take after experiencing insufficient sleep the night before. The second is pre-emptive sleep, when you are pre-empting a sleep deficit coming up, such as during on night shifts. The third is called “hedonic napping”, which basically comes down to the wish: you have a chance to doze in the daytime, and it feels nice to nap.”
The primary task to undertake, so, is to examine your nap motivation. “Naps can be truly beneficial when nighttime sleep gets interrupted because of factors beyond your control – for instance, when you are a parent of a newborn, or recovering from illness or heavy physical exertion,” says a sleep physiologist. “But if you take a nap as your sleep at night seems unreliable or poor, that’s often an indicator your need for sleep is not as strong as required. In such situations, naps can become part of the issue, not the solution. Use napping as a temporary measure for short-term problems – the focus ought to remain a solid and consistent sleep at night.”
The Perfect Nap Duration
This implies that daytime sleep must not be too extended to affect your sleep at night, and ideally shouldn’t take place in the late afternoon (depending on the time you sleep overnight). What duration is wise? Recommendations vary. In one of the most referenced research about napping, researchers at Nasa found that crew members had a boost of up to 54% in attentiveness and a 34% increase in cognitive performance after a 26-minute nap (in detail, this counted an initial six-minute sleep onset time). “I recommend setting an alarm for 20-30 minutes – most people fall asleep within 10 minutes,” explains a sleep expert. “There’s a lot of recommendations about the optimal amount of minutes, but that tends to make people feel more stressed above all – and the least helpful action one can do when trying to fall asleep is worry about it.”
Should you decide to sleep for longer, bypass the 45 to 60 minute range that induces that sluggish feeling, that disoriented sensation when you wake. “Studies would say it is preferable to opt for a longer nap lasting 60-90 minutes than a medium-length one,” says the expert. “Three-quarters of an hour is sufficient to plunge you into deep sleep making it more likely to feel sluggish when you wake up – however, if you nap for a bit longer to 60 or 90 minutes, you’re likely to be on the end a natural sleep cycle and are likely to get up feeling more rejuvenated. However, if you're dozing for 90 minutes, it can influence how you sleep that night.”
Creating the Perfect Nap Environment
As for exact methodologies, suggestions are diverse. A few professionals propose employing similar routines you use to promote a good night’s sleep: a quiet room, a supportive surface and as much darkness as is feasible. Others suggest that it's fine to simply nap on the sofa in the existing light happens to be around – both to discourage sleep inertia and to maintain your sleeping quarters as the space your mind associates with *real* sleep. “Sleep is something really tricky to command,” explains a sleep coach. “Without the urge to sleep, it is tougher to lie down and basically command yourself to fall asleep. There must be a natural inclination there to start the process in the first place. I can usually snooze in broad daylight and awaken on my own without an alarm, though, what aids most folks is to anticipate a moment where they feel naturally feeling a bit drowsy and then simply relax into it.”
It’s worth experimenting, and when options are scarce – for example, if attempting to fit in a quick nap on a train or at the office – it is perfectly fine with bringing sleep aids. “When I’m working with elite athletes, I advise that they avoid becoming accustomed to sleeping in their bed, since they’re going to have|they will
