Listen to a few performance podcasters, and you'll be simple to convince yourself that dozing is a powerful tool: more than a sticking plaster after poor sleep, but a path towards enhanced cognition, a brighter outlook and possibly a faster 5k run time. Premier League athletes are all at it – as do musicians, fighters & high-profile executives. However, if you lack a special sleep space or a job that allows daytime sleep, is it *truly* worthwhile perks to a quick nap to merit the effort? Can you find a surefire technique to get to sleep quickly enough? Plus, is it possible to truly ensure you will get up feeling better, instead of groggy?
Understanding The Reasons for Napping
“There are three key drivers for napping among most adults,” explains a leading sleep and circadian science specialist. “The first is known as compensatory napping, which is what you do after experiencing insufficient sleep the night before. Secondly, there's preparatory napping, which involves pre-empting sleep loss ahead, for instance during graveyard shifts. The third reason is “pleasure-based sleep”, which simply is about wanting: you get a moment to sleep in the afternoon, and it's enjoyable to do it.”
The initial step to do, so, is to examine your reason for napping. “Daytime sleep can be really helpful when nighttime sleep is disturbed because of factors you cannot change – for example, if you’re a new parent, or recovering from sickness or heavy physical exertion,” says a sleep specialist. “Yet when you take a nap as your nighttime sleep seems unreliable or unreliable, that is frequently a signal your sleep drive is not as strong as required. In those cases, daytime sleep can turn into part of the issue, instead of the fix. Use napping as a temporary measure to address immediate needs – the main goal ought to remain a robust and regular sleep at night.”
The Ideal Snooze Time
This means that daytime sleep shouldn’t be too extended to disrupt your sleep at night, and ideally should not occur post-3 p.m. (contingent on what time you sleep in the evening). How long is sensible? Recommendations vary. From a prominent study on the subject, researchers at Nasa found that astronauts experienced improvements of over 50% in attentiveness and a 34% boost in task performance following a nap of 26 minutes (to be precise, this included an initial six-minute nodding-off period). “I recommend setting an alarm for 20-30 minutes – many individuals fall asleep within 10 minutes,” explains a sleep expert. “There is plenty of advice around regarding the perfect length for sleeping, but that tends to cause people to feel more stressed above all – and the most counterproductive thing you can possibly do while aiming to nod off is to stress over it.”
If you’re going to take an extended nap, steer clear of the 45-60 minute window that promotes sleep inertia, that disoriented sensation upon waking. “Research indicates it's more effective to have a lengthier snooze of one to one and a half hours rather than a mid-length nap,” explains the expert. “Three-quarters of an hour is enough time to send you into slow-wave sleep making it more likely to feel sluggish upon awakening – whereas if you nap for a bit longer to 60 or 90 minutes, you will probably to finish a natural sleep cycle and are likely to wake up feeling more alert. However, if you're dozing for an hour and a half, it may impact how you sleep later that night.”
Finding the Right Sleep Space
As for precise methods, suggestions are diverse. Certain specialists propose employing the same protocol you’d use to promote a good night’s sleep: a silent space, a cozy bed and maximum darkness as is feasible. Others suggest that it's fine to just doze on the sofa with ambient lighting happens to be around – to prevent post-nap grogginess and to “protect” your bedroom as the space your mind associates with nighttime rest. “Napping is notoriously difficult to force,” says a specialist. “Lacking the urge to sleep, it becomes harder to lie down and basically tell yourself to fall asleep. You need some sleep pressure there to bring the sleep on initially. I can usually take a nap in full light and awaken on my own alarm-free, but what helps many individuals is to look for a time when they are naturally slightly tired and just gently relax into it.”
It’s worth experimenting, and should your choices are limited – for instance, when aiming to fit in a quick nap during a commute or in a soundproof office pod – it's acceptable to employ sleep aids. “When I’m working with professional sportspeople, I recommend that they don’t get used to their own bed for naps, since they’re going to have|they will
