Tune into a few self-improvement experts, and you'll be simple to believe that a nap is a powerful tool: rather than a band-aid after restless night, but a route to improved recall, a brighter outlook and perhaps a faster 5k run time. Elite soccer players do it regularly – as do musicians, UFC champions and media moguls. Yet, when you lack a dedicated nap-room or a career that encourages daytime sleep, are there *really* enough benefits to a quick nap for it to be worth the effort? Can you find a reliable way to fall asleep fast? Plus, is it possible to truly ensure you will get up feeling better, rather than worse?
Exploring Your Reasons for Napping
“Experts note three primary motivations for napping among most adults,” notes a professor of sleep science specialist. “The first is known as make-up sleep, essentially what happens when you’ve had insufficient sleep the night before. Secondly, there's pre-emptive sleep, which involves pre-empting a sleep deficit in the future, such as when working graveyard shifts. The third reason is “hedonic napping”, which basically is about desire: you have an opportunity to doze in the afternoon, and it's enjoyable to nap.”
The primary task to undertake, therefore, is to examine your reason for napping. “Daytime sleep can be genuinely useful when nighttime sleep is disturbed because of factors you cannot change – for example, for a new parent, or you’re recovering from illness or strenuous activity,” states a sleep physiologist. “But if you take a nap since your sleep at night seems unreliable or broken, that is frequently a signal your sleep drive is not where it needs to be. In those cases, daytime sleep can turn into a contributing factor, instead of the fix. Use napping for brief periods to address immediate needs – the priority must always be a robust and regular overnight rest.”
The Optimal Nap Duration
This means that daytime sleep must not be too extended to disrupt your overnight rest, and ideally are not recommended after about 3pm (based on the time you go to bed at night). What's a reasonable length? Recommendations vary. In one of the most referenced research on the subject, space agency scientists discovered that astronauts showed up to a 54% increase in vigilance and a 34% boost in performance following a nap of 26 minutes (in detail, this involved a six-minute long nodding-off period). “I recommend setting a timer for half an hour or less – many individuals fall asleep within 10 minutes,” notes a sleep coach. “There is plenty of recommendations about the ideal number of minutes, however, that can make people feel more anxious above all – and the worst thing one can do while aiming to get to sleep is to stress over it.”
If you plan to sleep for longer, steer clear of the 45-60 minute window that induces that sluggish feeling, that disoriented sensation when you wake. “The science would say it’s better to have a lengthier snooze of 60 to 90 minutes compared to a medium-length nap,” explains the expert. “45 minutes is long enough to send you into a deep sleep stage and it is more probable to feel sluggish when you get up – however, if you extend it a little longer to 60 or 90 minutes, it's likely you'll to be on the end a natural sleep cycle and should get up feeling more refreshed. Though if you nap for 90 minutes, it will affect the quality of your sleep that night.”
Finding the Perfect Snooze Setting
When it comes to exact methodologies, recommendations vary. A few professionals recommend using comparable habits you’d use to foster restful sleep: a silent space, a comfortable bed and minimal light as possible. Some advise that one could merely snooze on a couch in the existing light happens to be around – to prevent that groggy feeling and to maintain your bedroom as the place you associate with proper sleep. “Sleep is quite challenging to will,” explains a sleep coach. “If you don’t have any drowsiness, it is more challenging to get comfortable and essentially instruct yourself to go to sleep. There’s got to be some drive available to start the process in the first place. For me, it's possible to snooze in broad daylight and awaken on my own without a timer, but what helps many individuals is to anticipate a moment where they feel naturally slightly tired and calmly ease into sleep.”
It’s worth experimenting, and if options are scarce – for example, when aiming to grab 40 winks while traveling or in a soundproof office pod – it is perfectly fine to use some accessories. “When I’m working with footballers, I advise that they avoid becoming accustomed to their own bed for naps, as they’re going to have|they will
