Tune into a few self-improvement podcasters, making it simple to believe that dozing is a secret weapon: rather than a band-aid after poor sleep, but a shortcut to improved recall, a brighter outlook and possibly quicker running times. Professional footballers are all at it – and so are musicians, mixed martial artists and media moguls. However, if you haven’t got a special sleep space or a career that allows daytime sleep, can there *honestly* worthwhile perks to a short sleep to justify the kerfuffle? Does there exist a reliable way to get to sleep quickly enough? Furthermore, can you really guarantee you’ll wake up feeling better, rather than worse?
Exploring Your Reasons for Napping
“Experts note three primary motivations for daytime sleep among most adults,” says a professor of circadian rhythm specialist. “Firstly, there's what we call compensatory napping, that is what happens after experiencing a lack of sleep the previous night. The second is prophylactic napping, when you are pre-empting sleep loss coming up, for example when working graveyard shifts. The third reason is “appetitive drive”, which simply comes down to desire: you have an opportunity to nap in the daytime, and it feels nice to do it.”
The first thing to undertake, therefore, is to think about your reason for napping. “Napping can be really helpful when night sleeping is disturbed due to causes outside your control – for example, if you’re caring for an infant, or you’re recovering from illness or heavy physical exertion,” states a sleep specialist. “Yet when you take a nap since your nighttime sleep is unstable or broken, that’s often an indicator your need for sleep is not where required. In those cases, napping can become part of the problem, instead of the fix. Utilize daytime sleep as a temporary measure for short-term problems – the main goal ought to remain a strong and predictable night’s sleep.”
The Ideal Snooze Time
Therefore that napping must not be sufficiently lengthy to disrupt your nighttime sleep, and ideally should not occur after about 3pm (contingent on what time you retire overnight). How long is sensible? Guidelines are mixed. From the most referenced research about napping, space agency scientists discovered that crew members experienced a boost of up to 54% in alertness plus a 34% rise in performance after a 26-minute nap (to be precise, this included a six-minute long falling asleep phase). “I’d suggest setting an alarm for half an hour or less – the majority are asleep quickly,” says a specialist. “There is plenty of advice around concerning the optimal amount for sleeping, but that tends to lead individuals to become more worried above all – and the worst thing you can do when attempting to nod off is worry about it.”
If you’re going to sleep for longer, avoid the 45 to 60 minute range that induces sleep inertia, that foggy state upon waking. “Studies would say it’s better to opt for a lengthier snooze lasting 60-90 minutes than a medium-length one,” says the expert. “Three-quarters of an hour 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 nap for a bit longer to an hour or 90 minutes, you’re likely to finish of a sleep cycle and will probably wake up feeling more refreshed. But if you're dozing for a long period, it can influence how you sleep later that night.”
Finding the Right Nap Environment
Regarding specific techniques, advice differs. Some experts propose adopting similar routines you’d use to encourage a good night’s sleep: a peaceful area, a comfortable bed and minimal light as you can manage. Others suggest that you should just doze on a couch with ambient lighting is present – to avoid post-nap grogginess and to “protect” your sleeping quarters as the environment you associate with proper sleep. “Falling asleep is notoriously difficult to force,” says an expert. “Without any drowsiness, it is more challenging to recline and basically command yourself to nod off. There’s got to be a natural inclination available to initiate sleep initially. Personally, I can often snooze in full light and naturally wake up alarm-free, but what helps most folks is to anticipate a moment when they are naturally feeling a bit drowsy and calmly relax into it.”
Trying different approaches is valuable, and when options are scarce – for instance, when aiming to fit in 40 winks on a train or in a soundproof office pod – there’s nothing wrong to use sleep aids. “When I’m working with elite athletes, I recommend that they avoid becoming accustomed to their own bed for naps, because they’re going to have|they will
