Hear enough self-improvement gurus, and you'll be tempting to convince yourself that napping is a powerful tool: not just a band-aid after restless night, but a route to enhanced cognition, better spirits and perhaps improved athletic performance. Elite athletes do it regularly – and so are professional piano players, mixed martial artists & high-profile executives. Yet, when you haven’t got a dedicated nap-room or a career that permits frequent naps, are there *really* worthwhile perks to a short sleep for it to be worth the effort? Can you find a surefire technique to get to sleep quickly enough? Plus, is it possible to honestly promise you will get up feeling improved, instead of groggy?
Exploring The Drive to Snooze
“Experts note three primary motivations for daytime sleep among most adults,” notes a leading sleep and circadian science researcher. “The first is termed make-up sleep, which is what you do after experiencing a lack of sleep the previous night. Another is pre-emptive sleep, which involves anticipating a sleep deficit in the future, such as when working overnight shifts. The third reason is “hedonic napping”, which essentially comes down to the wish: there is a moment to doze during the day, and it's enjoyable to nap.”
The initial step to undertake, then, is to examine why you want to nap. “Napping can be really helpful when overnight rest is being disrupted because of factors outside your control – such as, for a new parent, or you’re recovering after being ill or heavy physical exertion,” explains a sleep physiologist. “Yet when you’re napping because your night sleep feels fragile or broken, that can be a sign your need for sleep is not at the level it needs to be. In such situations, naps can become a contributing factor, instead of the fix. Utilize daytime sleep as a temporary measure to address immediate needs – the focus must always be a robust and regular night’s sleep.”
The Ideal Snooze Time
This means that napping must not be too extended to interfere with your nighttime sleep, and preferably are not recommended post-3 p.m. (contingent on what time you retire in the evening). What duration is wise? Advice differs. In one of the most referenced research about napping, researchers at Nasa found that space travelers had improvements of over 50% in vigilance and a 34% boost in task performance post a 26-minute snooze (to be precise, this included a six-minute sleep onset time). “I recommend setting an alarm for 20-30 minutes – many individuals doze off in under ten minutes,” says a sleep coach. “There is plenty of advice around regarding the optimal amount of time, however, that can lead individuals to become more worried than anything else – and the most counterproductive thing you can do while aiming to nod off is to stress over it.”
If you plan to sleep for longer, bypass the period between 45 and 60 minutes that encourages sleep inertia, that disoriented sensation when you awaken. “Studies indicates it's more effective to take an extended nap lasting 60-90 minutes compared to a medium-length nap,” notes the expert. “Forty-five minutes is enough time to plunge you into slow-wave sleep and it is more probable to feel sluggish when you get up – however, if you take it a little longer to 60 or 90 minutes, you’re likely to finish of a sleep cycle and will probably wake up feeling more alert. But if you nap for 90 minutes, it can influence your sleep that night.”
Creating the Right Sleep Space
Regarding specific techniques, suggestions are diverse. Some experts propose using similar routines you’d use to foster quality nighttime sleep: a silent space, a comfortable bed and as much darkness as possible. Alternatively, experts propose that one could simply nap on a couch with ambient lighting happens to be around – to prevent that groggy feeling and to maintain your bed as the place you associate with *real* sleep. “Sleep is quite challenging to will,” notes a specialist. “If you don’t have the urge to sleep, it becomes harder to lie down and essentially tell yourself to go to sleep. You need some drive available to initiate sleep to begin with. I can usually take a nap in broad daylight and naturally wake up alarm-free, but what helps a lot of people is to look for an instance when they are naturally somewhat sleepy and then simply ease into sleep.”
It’s worth experimenting, and when your choices are limited – for instance, if attempting to grab some shut-eye during a commute or at the office – it's acceptable to use a few tools. “In my work with footballers, I suggest that they don’t get used to sleeping in their bed, as they’re going to have|they will