Tune into enough self-improvement podcasters, and it’s simple to believe that napping is a superpower: more than a band-aid following a bad night’s sleep, but a shortcut towards a better memory, better spirits and perhaps quicker running times. Professional athletes swear by it – as do concert pianists, UFC champions & business leaders. However, if you haven’t got a special sleep space or a job that permits regular snoozing, can there *honestly* enough benefits to a quick nap to justify the effort? Does there exist a dependable method to get to sleep quickly enough? Plus, is it possible to really guarantee you will get up feeling better, not worse?
Identifying The Drive to Snooze
“There are three primary motivations for napping in the adult population,” says a professor of sleep and circadian science professor. “The first is termed compensatory napping, which is what you do after experiencing poor sleep overnight. The second is prophylactic napping, which involves preparing for insufficient sleep ahead, for example if you’re working overnight shifts. The third is called “pleasure-based sleep”, which simply comes down to desire: there is a moment to sleep in the afternoon, and it's pleasant to indulge.”
The initial step to consider, then, is consider your nap motivation. “Naps can be really helpful when nighttime sleep is being disrupted for reasons outside your control – such as, when you are caring for an infant, or you’re recovering after being ill or intense exercise,” explains a sleep physiologist. “Yet when you take a nap because your nighttime sleep seems unreliable or poor, that’s often an indicator your need for sleep is not as strong as it needs to be. In such situations, daytime sleep can turn into part of the problem, rather than the answer. Use napping as a temporary measure to address immediate needs – the priority ought to remain a strong and predictable overnight rest.”
The Perfect Nap Duration
This means that daytime sleep ought not to be sufficiently lengthy to interfere with your nighttime sleep, and ideally are not recommended in the late afternoon (based on when you go to bed overnight). What's a reasonable length? Advice differs. In one of the most referenced research regarding daytime sleep, space agency scientists discovered that space travelers had up to a 54% increase in vigilance and a 34% increase in task performance after a 26-minute nap (technically, this involved a six-minute falling asleep phase). “I recommend setting an alarm for 20-30 minutes – most people doze off within 10 minutes,” says a sleep expert. “There’s a lot of recommendations about the optimal amount of minutes, yet that often cause people to feel more anxious than anything – and the most counterproductive thing you can do when attempting to fall asleep is worry about it.”
If you plan to nap for a longer period, avoid the 45 to 60 minute range that induces sleep grogginess, that disoriented sensation when you wake. “The science suggests it is preferable to take an extended nap lasting 60-90 minutes than a medium-length one,” explains the expert. “45 minutes is long enough to plunge you into deep sleep and you’re more likely to feel disoriented when you get up – while if you take it a little longer to an hour or 90 minutes, you’re likely to finish of a sleep cycle and are likely to get up feeling more refreshed. However, if you're dozing for 90 minutes, it may impact your sleep in the evening.”
Creating the Right Sleep Space
As for exact methodologies, suggestions are diverse. Certain specialists propose using comparable habits you use to foster a good night’s sleep: a silent space, a comfortable bed and minimal light as possible. Alternatively, experts propose that one could just doze in a chair with ambient lighting happens to be around – to avoid that groggy feeling and to maintain your bedroom as the space your brain links with proper sleep. “Falling asleep is notoriously difficult to force,” notes a sleep coach. “Lacking any drowsiness, it becomes harder to lie down and practically command yourself to go to sleep. There’s got to be some sleep pressure available to bring the sleep on to begin with. For me, it's possible to snooze during the day and awaken on my own without a timer, however, what assists most folks is to anticipate a time that they’re naturally slightly tired and calmly ease into sleep.”
Experimentation is key, and should your choices are limited – such as, if attempting to fit in a quick nap while traveling or at the office – it's acceptable with bringing a few tools. “In my work with professional sportspeople, I recommend that they don’t get used to their own bed for naps, because they’re going to have|they will
