Tune into enough productivity experts, and it’s simple to believe that a nap is a secret weapon: rather than a band-aid after restless night, but a path to enhanced cognition, improved mood and possibly improved athletic performance. Professional soccer players swear by it – and so are professional piano players, fighters and media moguls. However, if you don't have a dedicated nap-room or employment that permits daytime sleep, are there *really* worthwhile perks to a burst of shut-eye to merit the kerfuffle? Is there a surefire technique to get to sleep quickly enough? And can you truly ensure you’ll wake up feeling improved, rather than worse?
Understanding Your Drive to Snooze
“There are three primary motivations for napping among most adults,” says an expert circadian rhythm researcher. “One is known as recovery napping, which is the action you take when you’ve had insufficient sleep overnight. Secondly, there's prophylactic napping, when you are anticipating insufficient sleep coming up, for instance during on night shifts. Finally, there's “pleasure-based sleep”, which essentially is about the wish: there is a moment to nap in the afternoon, and it's enjoyable to do it.”
The first thing to consider, therefore, is to examine why you want to nap. “Daytime sleep can be genuinely useful when night sleeping gets interrupted for reasons you cannot change – for example, for a new parent, or if you are healing from sickness or heavy physical exertion,” explains a sleep expert. “Yet when you take a nap because your sleep at night is unstable or unreliable, that can be a sign your body's sleep pressure is not where it needs to be. In those cases, napping can become a contributing factor, not the solution. Employ naps for brief periods to address immediate needs – the priority ought to remain a strong and predictable overnight rest.”
The Perfect Nap Duration
This means that napping ought not to be sufficiently lengthy to interfere with your nighttime sleep, and best are not recommended post-3 p.m. (contingent on when you retire overnight). How long is sensible? Recommendations vary. Among the most referenced research on the subject, researchers at Nasa noted that astronauts experienced a boost of up to 54% in alertness plus a 34% rise in task performance after a 26-minute nap (to be precise, this included a six-minute sleep onset time). “I recommend using an alarm for 20 to 30 minutes – the majority are asleep in under ten minutes,” says a specialist. “There is plenty of advice around concerning the optimal amount of minutes, but that tends to cause people to feel more anxious above all – and the worst thing you can do when attempting to nod off is worry about it.”
If you’re going to take an extended nap, steer clear of the period between 45 and 60 minutes that promotes that sluggish feeling, that disoriented sensation when you awaken. “Research suggests it’s better to have a lengthier snooze of one to one and a half hours than a medium-length one,” says the sleep scientist. “45 minutes is sufficient to put you into slow-wave sleep and it is more probable to feel sluggish when you get up – whereas if you extend it a little longer to 60 or 90 minutes, you will probably to be completing a natural sleep cycle and will probably get up feeling more alert. But if you nap for a long period, it may impact how you sleep later that night.”
Finding an Ideal Sleep Space
As for specific techniques, recommendations vary. Certain specialists recommend using similar routines you use to promote quality nighttime sleep: a peaceful area, a comfortable bed and as much darkness as is feasible. Some advise that it's fine to simply nap in a chair in whatever light is present – both to discourage post-nap grogginess and to “protect” your bed as the space you associate with proper sleep. “Sleep is something really tricky to force,” explains a specialist. “If you don’t have any drowsiness, it is more challenging to get comfortable and basically command yourself to nod off. There’s got to be some drive present to start the process in the first place. I can usually take a nap in broad daylight and awaken on my own without an alarm, however, what assists a lot of people is to look for an instance when they are naturally slightly tired and calmly relax into it.”
It’s worth experimenting, and if your choices are limited – for example, if you’re trying to squeeze in some shut-eye during a commute or in a soundproof office pod – it is perfectly fine to use some accessories. “Coaching professional sportspeople, I recommend that they not rely on their own bed for naps, because they’re going to have|they will