Tune into plenty of productivity experts, making it easy to convince yourself that dozing is a superpower: not just a band-aid after a bad night’s sleep, but a route to enhanced cognition, better spirits and possibly a faster 5k run time. Premier League soccer players do it regularly – and so are musicians, UFC champions & business leaders. Yet, when you don't have a dedicated nap-room or a career that allows regular snoozing, can there *honestly* enough benefits to a burst of shut-eye to merit the kerfuffle? Is there a dependable method to nod off promptly? And can you truly ensure you will get up feeling refreshed, instead of groggy?
Exploring The Nap Motivation
“We can identify three key drivers for daytime sleep among most adults,” explains a professor of sleep science researcher. “The first is termed recovery napping, essentially what you do following poor sleep the night before. Another is pre-emptive sleep, when you are pre-empting sleep loss ahead, for instance when working graveyard shifts. Finally, there's “appetitive drive”, which simply is about wanting: there is a moment to doze in the afternoon, and it feels nice to indulge.”
The primary task to undertake, then, is to think about why you want to nap. “Naps can be really helpful when nighttime sleep gets interrupted for reasons outside your control – for example, for a new parent, or if you are healing from sickness or strenuous activity,” explains a sleep physiologist. “Yet when you’re napping because your night sleep is unstable or unreliable, that is frequently a sign your sleep drive is not as strong as it should be. In such situations, naps can become part of the issue, rather than the answer. Employ naps as a short-term solution for short-term problems – the focus should still be a robust and regular night’s sleep.”
The Ideal Nap Duration
Therefore that napping shouldn’t be sufficiently lengthy to disrupt your sleep at night, and best should not occur after about 3pm (based on the time you retire overnight). How long is sensible? Guidelines are mixed. Among the most referenced research about napping, researchers at Nasa discovered that astronauts experienced a boost of up to 54% in alertness and a 34% increase in task performance post a 26-minute snooze (technically, this counted a six-minute long falling asleep phase). “I recommend setting a timer for half an hour or less – many individuals doze off in under ten minutes,” notes a specialist. “There is plenty of recommendations regarding the optimal amount of minutes, however, that can make people feel more worried than anything else – and the most counterproductive thing you can do when trying to get to sleep is to stress over it.”
If you plan to take an extended nap, bypass the 45 to 60 minute range that encourages that sluggish feeling, that spaced-out feeling when you wake. “Studies suggests it’s better to take an extended nap of one to one and a half hours than a medium-length one,” says the expert. “Three-quarters of an hour is long enough to plunge you into slow-wave sleep and you’re more likely to feel sluggish when you wake up – however, if you take it slightly longer to a full sleep cycle, you will probably to finish a natural sleep cycle and are likely to get up feeling more refreshed. However, if you nap for 90 minutes, it will affect your sleep later that night.”
Establishing the Right Nap Environment
When it comes to exact methodologies, advice differs. Some experts recommend adopting similar routines you’d use to encourage a good night’s sleep: a quiet room, a cozy bed and as much darkness as is feasible. Alternatively, experts propose that you should simply nap on a couch with ambient lighting happens to be around – both to discourage that groggy feeling and to preserve your sleeping quarters as the place your brain links with *real* sleep. “Falling asleep is quite challenging to will,” explains an expert. “If you don’t have the urge to sleep, it is more challenging to get comfortable and basically tell yourself to fall asleep. There’s got to be some drive present to start the process in the first place. I can usually take a nap during the day and awaken on my own without a timer, however, what assists many individuals is to anticipate an instance where they feel naturally slightly tired and calmly allow sleep to come.”
Trying different approaches is valuable, and when your choices are limited – such as, if attempting to squeeze in a quick nap during a commute or in a work pod – it is perfectly fine with bringing a few tools. “In my work with professional sportspeople, I advise that they don’t get used to napping in bed, because they’re going to have|they will
