Hear enough productivity gurus, and it’s tempting to convince yourself that dozing is a powerful tool: rather than a band-aid following poor sleep, but a shortcut to a better memory, improved mood and maybe a faster 5k run time. Elite footballers do it regularly – along with professional piano players, UFC champions & high-profile executives. However, if you don't have a room for napping or a job that encourages daytime sleep, is it *truly* worthwhile perks to a short sleep to merit the effort? Does there exist a surefire technique to nod off promptly? Plus, is it possible to truly ensure you will arise feeling better, rather than worse?
Understanding Your Reasons for Napping
“There are three key drivers for taking a nap among most adults,” explains an expert sleep science researcher. “Firstly, there's known as compensatory napping, that is what you do when you’ve had poor sleep the night before. The second is preparatory napping, where you are pre-empting a sleep deficit in the future, for example if you’re working overnight shifts. The third is called “appetitive drive”, which essentially comes down to the wish: you have a moment to doze during the day, and it feels nice to indulge.”
The primary task to consider, therefore, is to examine your nap motivation. “Naps can be truly beneficial when overnight rest is being disrupted for reasons you cannot change – for example, when you are a new parent, or recovering from illness or intense exercise,” says a sleep expert. “However, if you’re napping since your night sleep feels fragile or poor, that can be an indicator your need for sleep is not where required. In such situations, naps can become part of the issue, rather than the answer. Use napping as a temporary measure for temporary issues – the priority ought to remain a strong and predictable night’s sleep.”
The Perfect Snooze Time
This means that naps shouldn’t be too extended to affect your overnight rest, and preferably should not occur post-3 p.m. (contingent on the time you sleep overnight). How long is sensible? Recommendations vary. In one of the most-cited studies about napping, experts noted that space travelers had improvements of over 50% in attentiveness and a 34% boost in cognitive performance post a 26-minute snooze (technically, this counted a six-minute falling asleep phase). “My advice is setting an alarm for half an hour or less – many individuals doze off quickly,” says a sleep coach. “There’s a lot of recommendations concerning the perfect length for sleeping, but that tends to make people feel more stressed than anything – and the worst thing you can possibly do while aiming to get to sleep is to stress over it.”
If you’re going to take an extended nap, avoid the period between 45 and 60 minutes that promotes sleep grogginess, that disoriented sensation upon waking. “The science suggests it’s better to take a longer nap lasting 60-90 minutes compared to a medium-length nap,” explains the professor. “45 minutes is long enough to plunge you into slow-wave sleep and you’re more likely to feel disoriented when you get up – however, if you nap for a bit longer to 60 or 90 minutes, you will probably to be completing a full cycle and are likely to awaken feeling more refreshed. Though if you’re sleeping for 90 minutes, it may impact how you sleep in the evening.”
Creating the Right Nap Environment
Regarding specific techniques, recommendations vary. Some experts propose adopting comparable habits one would use to promote restful sleep: a peaceful area, a cozy bed and as much darkness as is feasible. Some advise that you should just doze on the sofa in whatever light is present – to avoid post-nap grogginess and to maintain your sleeping quarters as the environment you associate with nighttime rest. “Falling asleep is something really tricky to force,” says a specialist. “If you don’t have any sleepiness, it becomes harder to get comfortable and basically instruct yourself to go to sleep. There’s got to be some drive available to start the process initially. For me, it's possible to take a nap in broad daylight and wake up naturally without an alarm, but what helps a lot of people is to anticipate a time when they are naturally somewhat sleepy and just gently relax into it.”
Experimentation is key, and when options are scarce – for example, if you’re trying to grab 40 winks while traveling or at the office – there’s nothing wrong to employ sleep aids. “When I’m working with footballers, I recommend that they not rely on their own bed for naps, because they’re going to have|they will
