Tune into enough productivity podcasters, and it’s tempting to believe that napping is a superpower: rather than a quick fix following poor sleep, but a path towards enhanced cognition, a brighter outlook and possibly improved athletic performance. Premier League athletes are all at it – as do concert pianists, UFC champions and business leaders. Yet, when you don't have a special sleep space or a career that allows daytime sleep, is it *truly* worthwhile perks to a burst of shut-eye for it to be worth the kerfuffle? Is there a surefire technique to fall asleep fast? Plus, is it possible to honestly promise you will arise feeling better, not worse?
Identifying Your Drive to Snooze
“There are three primary motivations for daytime sleep for many people,” says an expert sleep science professor. “Firstly, there's what we call recovery napping, essentially what happens when you’ve had a lack of sleep overnight. Secondly, there's preparatory napping, when you are pre-empting a sleep deficit in the future, for instance during overnight shifts. The third is called “pleasure-based sleep”, which simply is about wanting: you have a chance to doze in the afternoon, and it feels nice to indulge.”
The primary task to consider, so, is consider your nap motivation. “Daytime sleep can be truly beneficial when night sleeping is disturbed for reasons beyond your control – for instance, for a new parent, or you’re recovering from illness or intense exercise,” explains a sleep physiologist. “However, if you’re napping because your night sleep is unstable or broken, that is frequently a signal your need for sleep is not as strong as it should be. In those cases, naps can become part of the issue, instead of the fix. Employ naps as a short-term solution to address immediate needs – the priority must always be a solid and consistent overnight rest.”
The Optimal Nap Duration
Therefore that napping ought not to be long enough to disrupt your nighttime sleep, and preferably should not occur in the late afternoon (contingent on the time you retire in the evening). What's a reasonable length? Guidelines are mixed. From a prominent study on the subject, space agency scientists found that crew members showed improvements of over 50% in alertness and a 34% boost in performance following a nap of 26 minutes (to be precise, this involved an initial six-minute sleep onset time). “My advice is setting an alarm for half an hour or less – most people doze off quickly,” explains a sleep expert. “There is plenty of guidance out there about the ideal number for sleeping, but that tends to lead individuals to become more anxious above all – and the worst thing you can possibly do when attempting to nod off is to stress over it.”
If you’re going to nap for a longer period, steer clear of the 45-60 minute window that encourages sleep grogginess, that spaced-out feeling when you wake. “The science indicates it’s better to take a longer nap of one to one and a half hours compared to a medium-length nap,” explains the sleep scientist. “Three-quarters of an hour is long enough to plunge you into slow-wave sleep and it is more probable to feel groggy upon awakening – however, if you extend it slightly longer to an hour or 90 minutes, you’re likely to be completing a full cycle and will probably wake up feeling more refreshed. Though if you're dozing for a long period, it will affect your sleep that night.”
Creating the Right Nap Environment
As for exact methodologies, recommendations vary. Certain specialists propose using comparable habits one would use to encourage restful sleep: a peaceful area, a supportive surface and as much darkness as possible. Others suggest that one could simply nap on a couch in the existing light is available – to prevent sleep inertia and to “protect” your bed as the place your brain links with nighttime rest. “Sleep is something really tricky to will,” says a sleep coach. “Without any drowsiness, it is tougher to get comfortable and practically tell yourself to fall asleep. There’s got to be a natural inclination there to bring the sleep on to begin with. For me, it's possible to nap in broad daylight and awaken on my own alarm-free, though, what aids many individuals is to look for an instance that they’re naturally feeling a bit drowsy and calmly allow sleep to come.”
Trying different approaches is valuable, and should your choices are limited – such as, if you’re trying to fit in a quick nap while traveling or in a soundproof office pod – there’s nothing wrong with bringing some accessories. “In my work with footballers, I recommend that they not rely on their own bed for naps, since they’re going to have|they will
