Hear enough performance gurus, and you'll be easy to think that napping is a powerful tool: not just a quick fix after a bad night’s sleep, but a shortcut to improved recall, improved mood and maybe improved athletic performance. Professional athletes swear by it – along with musicians, mixed martial artists & media moguls. But if you haven’t got a special sleep space or a job that permits daytime sleep, are there *really* worthwhile perks to a quick nap to merit the effort? Is there a surefire technique to get to sleep quickly enough? And can you truly ensure you’ll wake up feeling improved, instead of groggy?
Exploring The Reasons for Napping
“We can identify three key drivers for napping among most adults,” explains a professor of circadian rhythm specialist. “The first is known as make-up sleep, that is the action you take following insufficient sleep the previous night. Another is pre-emptive sleep, where you are pre-empting a sleep deficit ahead, for instance during on night shifts. The third reason is “pleasure-based sleep”, which simply boils down to desire: you have a moment to sleep during the day, and it's enjoyable to indulge.”
The first thing to do, therefore, is to examine your nap motivation. “Napping can be really helpful when nighttime sleep gets interrupted due to causes you cannot change – for example, if you’re a new parent, or if you are healing from illness or strenuous activity,” explains a sleep physiologist. “However, if you take a nap since your nighttime sleep feels fragile or poor, that is frequently a signal your need for sleep is not where required. In those cases, daytime sleep can turn into part of the issue, not the solution. Employ naps for brief periods for temporary issues – the main goal should still be a strong and predictable night’s sleep.”
The Perfect Nap Duration
This implies that daytime sleep ought not to be sufficiently lengthy to affect your overnight rest, and ideally are not recommended post-3 p.m. (depending on what time you sleep at night). How long is sensible? Recommendations vary. From the most-cited studies regarding daytime sleep, experts found that space travelers showed improvements of over 50% in alertness plus a 34% rise in task performance post a 26-minute snooze (in detail, this included an initial six-minute nodding-off period). “I recommend setting a timer for 20 to 30 minutes – the majority doze off within 10 minutes,” says a sleep coach. “There’s a lot of advice around about the optimal amount for sleeping, yet that often cause people to feel more worried than anything else – and the worst thing one can do when attempting to fall asleep is to stress over it.”
If you’re going to sleep for longer, avoid the 45 to 60 minute range that induces that sluggish feeling, that spaced-out feeling when you awaken. “Studies suggests it is preferable to take a lengthier snooze of one to one and a half hours rather than a mid-length nap,” notes the professor. “Forty-five minutes is sufficient to plunge you into slow-wave sleep and it is more probable to feel disoriented upon awakening – whereas if you take it a little longer to a full sleep cycle, you’re likely to finish a full cycle and should wake up feeling more alert. However, if you're dozing for an hour and a half, it may impact your sleep later that night.”
Finding the Perfect Snooze Setting
Regarding specific techniques, recommendations vary. Certain specialists recommend using comparable habits one would use to promote quality nighttime sleep: a peaceful area, a supportive surface and as much darkness as is feasible. Some advise that you should simply nap on the sofa in the existing light is available – to avoid sleep inertia and to “protect” your bedroom as the space your brain links with *real* sleep. “Falling asleep is quite challenging to will,” notes a sleep coach. “Without any sleepiness, it is tougher to lie down and essentially tell yourself to fall asleep. There’s got to be a natural inclination available to initiate sleep initially. For me, it's possible to take a nap in full light and wake up naturally without a timer, though, what aids many individuals is to wait for a moment where they feel naturally somewhat sleepy and just gently allow sleep to come.”
Trying different approaches is valuable, and if your choices are limited – such as, if attempting to squeeze in a quick nap during a commute or in a work pod – there’s nothing wrong with bringing a few tools. “Coaching professional sportspeople, I recommend that they not rely on sleeping in their bed, because they’re going to have|they will
