Listen to enough self-improvement experts, making it tempting to think that dozing is a powerful tool: not just a sticking plaster following a bad night’s sleep, but a route to improved recall, improved mood and possibly improved athletic performance. Professional footballers do it regularly – and so are concert pianists, mixed martial artists & high-profile executives. But if you don't have a room for napping or employment that allows frequent naps, can there *honestly* sufficient advantages to a burst of shut-eye to justify the effort? Can you find a surefire technique to get to sleep quickly enough? Plus, is it possible to truly ensure you’ll wake up feeling refreshed, instead of groggy?
Exploring The Nap Motivation
“There are three primary motivations for taking a nap in the adult population,” explains a professor of sleep and circadian science professor. “Firstly, there's known as make-up sleep, essentially the action you take when you’ve had insufficient sleep overnight. Another is prophylactic napping, which involves pre-empting insufficient sleep in the future, for instance when working on night shifts. The third reason is “hedonic napping”, which essentially boils down to wanting: you have a moment to sleep in the afternoon, and it's enjoyable to nap.”
The primary task to undertake, then, is to think about your reason for napping. “Napping can be genuinely useful when nighttime sleep is being disrupted because of factors outside your control – such as, for caring for an infant, or if you are healing after being ill or strenuous activity,” states a sleep physiologist. “But if you take a nap as your nighttime sleep seems unreliable or poor, that’s often a sign your body's sleep pressure is not at the level it should be. Under those circumstances, naps can become part of the issue, rather than the answer. Employ naps as a short-term solution to address immediate needs – the priority should still be a robust and regular night’s sleep.”
The Optimal Nap Length
This implies that naps shouldn’t be too extended to affect your sleep at night, and ideally shouldn’t take place after about 3pm (based on what time you retire in the evening). What's a reasonable length? Recommendations vary. Among the most-cited studies regarding daytime sleep, space agency scientists found that crew members experienced up to a 54% increase in attentiveness and a 34% boost in cognitive performance after a 26-minute nap (technically, this counted a six-minute falling asleep phase). “I’d suggest setting a timer for half an hour or less – many individuals doze off within 10 minutes,” says a sleep expert. “There’s a lot of advice around about the optimal amount for sleeping, but that tends to make people feel more stressed above all – and the most counterproductive thing you can do when attempting to fall asleep is worry about it.”
Should you decide to nap for a longer period, bypass the 45-60 minute window that induces sleep inertia, that foggy state upon waking. “The science suggests it’s better to take a longer nap of one to one and a half hours than a medium-length one,” notes the sleep scientist. “Three-quarters of an hour is sufficient to send you into a deep sleep stage and it is more probable to feel sluggish when you get up – whereas if you take it a bit longer to a full sleep cycle, it's likely you'll to finish a full cycle and should get up feeling more rejuvenated. However, if you’re sleeping for 90 minutes, it will affect how you sleep in the evening.”
Finding the Perfect Nap Environment
As for specific techniques, advice differs. Some experts suggest using similar routines you use to promote a good night’s sleep: a peaceful area, a comfortable bed and as much darkness as you can manage. Others suggest that you should simply nap on a couch in whatever light happens to be around – both to discourage post-nap grogginess and to preserve your sleeping quarters as the environment your mind associates with *real* sleep. “Napping is quite challenging to force,” explains a specialist. “Lacking any sleepiness, it becomes harder to lie down and practically command yourself to fall asleep. There must be a natural inclination there to start the process initially. Personally, I can often nap in full light and awaken on my own alarm-free, however, what assists many individuals is to anticipate a time where they feel naturally slightly tired and calmly allow sleep to come.”
Trying different approaches is valuable, and should you have few options – for example, when aiming to grab 40 winks on a train or at the office – there’s nothing wrong to use some accessories. “In my work with elite athletes, I recommend that they avoid becoming accustomed to napping in bed, because they’re going to have|they will
