Listen to enough performance gurus, making it simple to convince yourself that dozing is a secret weapon: not just a quick fix after restless night, but a shortcut to improved recall, improved mood and perhaps improved athletic performance. Professional athletes swear by it – and so are professional piano players, fighters & business leaders. But if you don't have a special sleep space or a career that permits regular snoozing, are there *really* worthwhile perks to a burst of shut-eye to merit the effort? Is there a surefire technique to nod off promptly? Plus, is it possible to honestly promise you’ll wake up feeling refreshed, rather than worse?
Understanding The Reasons for Napping
“We can identify three primary motivations for taking a nap in the adult population,” says a professor of sleep and circadian science specialist. “Firstly, there's what we call recovery napping, which is what happens following a lack of sleep the night before. Another is prophylactic napping, which involves preparing for insufficient sleep in the future, for instance when working graveyard shifts. The third is called “appetitive drive”, which basically is about the wish: you have an opportunity to nap in the daytime, and it's pleasant to nap.”
The first thing to undertake, therefore, is consider why you want to nap. “Naps can be truly beneficial when nighttime sleep gets interrupted for reasons outside your control – for example, for caring for an infant, or if you are healing from sickness or intense exercise,” states a sleep expert. “However, if you’re napping as your sleep at night is unstable or poor, that is frequently an indicator your body's sleep pressure is not at the level it should be. Under those circumstances, naps can become a contributing factor, instead of the fix. Utilize daytime sleep as a short-term solution to address immediate needs – the priority must always be a robust and regular night’s sleep.”
The Perfect Nap Length
Therefore that naps ought not to be too extended to disrupt your overnight rest, and best should not occur in the late afternoon (based on what time you sleep in the evening). What duration is wise? Recommendations vary. In one of the most referenced research about napping, researchers at Nasa noted that space travelers showed up to a 54% increase in alertness and a 34% increase in cognitive performance after a 26-minute nap (in detail, this involved an initial six-minute falling asleep phase). “My advice is setting a timer for 20 to 30 minutes – most people are asleep in under ten minutes,” notes a sleep coach. “There’s a lot of advice around regarding the perfect length of time, yet that often lead individuals to become more worried than anything else – and the most counterproductive thing you can possibly do while aiming to fall asleep is to stress over it.”
If you’re going to take an extended nap, steer clear of the 45-60 minute window that encourages sleep inertia, that foggy state when you awaken. “Studies would say it's more effective to have a lengthier snooze of one to one and a half hours compared to a medium-length nap,” explains the sleep scientist. “45 minutes is sufficient to put you into a deep sleep stage and it is more probable to feel sluggish upon awakening – while if you nap for a bit longer to 60 or 90 minutes, you will probably to be on the end of a sleep cycle and will probably get up feeling more rejuvenated. Though if you’re sleeping for an hour and a half, it may impact the quality of your sleep later that night.”
Establishing an Ideal Snooze Setting
As for precise methods, recommendations vary. Certain specialists recommend using comparable habits one would use to encourage a good night’s sleep: a quiet room, a comfortable bed and as much darkness as is feasible. Alternatively, experts propose that it's fine to merely snooze on the sofa in the existing light is available – both to discourage that groggy feeling and to “protect” your bed as the space your brain links with nighttime rest. “Napping is quite challenging to command,” notes a sleep coach. “Lacking any drowsiness, it becomes harder to recline and practically tell yourself to fall asleep. There’s got to be some drive available to initiate sleep to begin with. Personally, I can often take a nap in broad daylight and wake up naturally alarm-free, but what helps a lot of people is to look for a moment that they’re naturally somewhat sleepy and calmly relax into it.”
Trying different approaches is valuable, and should your choices are limited – for instance, when aiming to grab some shut-eye while traveling or in a soundproof office pod – it is perfectly fine to employ a few tools. “Coaching footballers, I suggest that they avoid becoming accustomed to napping in bed, as they’re going to have|they will
