Listen to enough productivity experts, making it easy to believe that dozing is a superpower: not just a band-aid following a bad night’s sleep, but a route to enhanced cognition, improved mood and possibly improved athletic performance. Professional footballers are all at it – as do concert pianists, mixed martial artists and high-profile executives. However, if you lack a dedicated nap-room or employment that encourages regular snoozing, are there *really* worthwhile perks to a short sleep to merit the kerfuffle? Can you find a surefire technique to get to sleep quickly enough? Plus, is it possible to truly ensure you will arise feeling better, rather than worse?
Exploring The Reasons for Napping
“There are three primary motivations for daytime sleep in the adult population,” notes an expert circadian rhythm researcher. “Firstly, there's known as make-up sleep, which is what you do following poor sleep the previous night. Another is prophylactic napping, which involves anticipating sleep loss ahead, for instance during graveyard shifts. The third is called “hedonic napping”, which basically comes down to the wish: there is an opportunity to sleep in the daytime, and it's pleasant to do it.”
The primary task to do, so, is to think about why you want to nap. “Daytime sleep can be truly beneficial when overnight rest gets interrupted for reasons outside your control – such as, for caring for an infant, or if you are healing after being ill or heavy physical exertion,” says a sleep specialist. “But if you’re napping since your nighttime sleep feels fragile or poor, that’s often a signal your body's sleep pressure is not as strong as required. In such situations, daytime sleep can turn into part of the problem, instead of the fix. Employ naps as a short-term solution to address immediate needs – the focus ought to remain a solid and consistent sleep at night.”
The Ideal Nap Duration
This implies that napping shouldn’t be too extended to disrupt your nighttime sleep, and ideally shouldn’t take place after about 3pm (based on what time you go to bed overnight). What duration is wise? Guidelines are mixed. Among a prominent study about napping, experts discovered that crew members showed up to a 54% increase in attentiveness and a 34% increase in performance after a 26-minute nap (technically, this counted a six-minute long sleep onset time). “I recommend using an alarm for 20 to 30 minutes – the majority doze off in under ten minutes,” explains a sleep expert. “You'll find much guidance out there regarding the ideal number for sleeping, yet that often make people feel more worried than anything else – and the worst thing you can possibly do when attempting to get to sleep is worry about it.”
If you plan to sleep for longer, steer clear of the 45-60 minute window that encourages sleep inertia, that spaced-out feeling upon waking. “Research suggests it is preferable to opt for an extended nap lasting 60-90 minutes rather than a mid-length nap,” says the sleep scientist. “Three-quarters of an hour is long enough to put you into slow-wave sleep and it is more probable to feel sluggish when you get up – however, if you extend it slightly longer to an hour or 90 minutes, you will probably to finish a full cycle and will probably wake up feeling more rejuvenated. However, if you nap for a long period, it will affect the quality of your sleep in the evening.”
Establishing the Right Nap Environment
Regarding specific techniques, recommendations vary. Some experts suggest using similar routines one would use to foster quality nighttime sleep: a quiet room, a comfortable bed and minimal light as possible. Alternatively, experts propose that you should just doze in a chair with ambient lighting is present – to avoid sleep inertia and to “protect” your bed as the environment you associate with proper sleep. “Sleep is something really tricky to will,” explains an expert. “Lacking any sleepiness, it is more challenging to lie down and basically instruct yourself to go to sleep. There’s got to be some drive there to start the process initially. For me, it's possible to snooze during the day and wake up naturally alarm-free, though, what aids many individuals is to look for an instance where they feel naturally slightly tired and just gently allow sleep to come.”
Trying different approaches is valuable, and should your choices are limited – such as, if attempting to grab a quick nap during a commute or in a work pod – it is perfectly fine with bringing some accessories. “Coaching footballers, I suggest that they don’t get used to sleeping in their bed, as they’re going to have|they will
