Tune into plenty of productivity podcasters, and you'll be simple to think that napping is a powerful tool: rather than a quick fix after restless night, but a route towards a better memory, improved mood and maybe improved athletic performance. Elite soccer players do it regularly – along with concert pianists, UFC champions & media moguls. Yet, when you don't have a special sleep space or a job that encourages daytime sleep, can there *honestly* enough benefits to a burst of shut-eye to merit the hassle? Can you find a surefire technique to fall asleep fast? And can you honestly promise you will arise feeling improved, not worse?
Exploring The Drive to Snooze
“Experts note three primary motivations for napping among most adults,” says a professor of circadian rhythm researcher. “One is termed compensatory napping, essentially what you do after experiencing poor sleep the previous night. The second is preparatory napping, when you are pre-empting insufficient sleep ahead, for example when working on night shifts. Finally, there's “appetitive drive”, which simply comes down to the wish: you get an opportunity to doze during the day, and it's pleasant to do it.”
The first thing to consider, so, is to examine why you want to nap. “Napping can be truly beneficial when overnight rest is disturbed for reasons beyond your control – for instance, for a parent of a newborn, or you’re recovering from illness or strenuous activity,” states a sleep physiologist. “Yet when you’re napping because your sleep at night is unstable or broken, that is frequently an indicator your body's sleep pressure is not as strong as it should be. Under those circumstances, naps can become part of the issue, instead of the fix. Utilize daytime sleep as a short-term solution for temporary issues – the main goal must always be a solid and consistent night’s sleep.”
The Optimal Nap Duration
This means that naps must not be long enough to affect your sleep at night, and best should not occur after about 3pm (depending on the time you retire at night). What's a reasonable length? Recommendations vary. In one of the most-cited studies on the subject, space agency scientists discovered that space travelers had a boost of up to 54% in attentiveness plus a 34% rise in performance following a nap of 26 minutes (in detail, this counted a six-minute falling asleep phase). “My advice is setting a timer for 20 to 30 minutes – many individuals fall asleep in under ten minutes,” explains a sleep coach. “There’s a lot of recommendations concerning the optimal amount of time, yet that often lead individuals to become more stressed than anything – and the least helpful action one can do while aiming to fall asleep is to stress over it.”
If you plan to take an extended nap, bypass the 45-60 minute window that encourages sleep grogginess, that disoriented sensation when you wake. “The science would say it is preferable to take an extended nap of one to one and a half hours than a medium-length one,” explains the professor. “45 minutes is sufficient to put you into deep sleep and you’re more likely to feel groggy when you get up – whereas if you extend it a little longer to a full sleep cycle, you’re likely to be completing a natural sleep cycle and will probably wake up feeling more rejuvenated. But if you nap for an hour and a half, it can influence how you sleep in the evening.”
Creating an Ideal Sleep Space
As for specific techniques, suggestions are diverse. Some experts propose adopting similar routines you’d use to encourage restful sleep: a silent space, a supportive surface and as much darkness as you can manage. Some advise that it's fine to simply nap on the sofa with ambient lighting is available – to avoid that groggy feeling and to preserve your sleeping quarters as the environment your mind associates with *real* sleep. “Sleep is notoriously difficult to force,” says a specialist. “Lacking the urge to sleep, it is more challenging to lie down and essentially instruct yourself to go to sleep. There’s got to be a natural inclination there to bring the sleep on in the first place. Personally, I can often take a nap during the day and awaken on my own without an alarm, but what helps a lot of people is to wait for a time that they’re naturally somewhat sleepy and calmly allow sleep to come.”
Trying different approaches is valuable, and if options are scarce – such as, if you’re trying to squeeze in a quick nap on a train or at the office – it is perfectly fine with bringing a few tools. “Coaching professional sportspeople, I advise that they avoid becoming accustomed to their own bed for naps, because they’re going to have|they will
