Hear enough productivity gurus, and you'll be tempting to think that dozing is a secret weapon: rather than a band-aid after restless night, but a shortcut to improved recall, improved mood and maybe a faster 5k run time. Professional athletes swear by it – along with musicians, UFC champions & business leaders. Yet, when you lack a special sleep space or employment that allows regular snoozing, are there *really* sufficient advantages to a short sleep to justify the kerfuffle? Is there a reliable way to nod off promptly? Plus, is it possible to really guarantee you will arise feeling refreshed, rather than worse?
Understanding Your Reasons for Napping
“We can identify three primary motivations for daytime sleep among most adults,” notes a professor of sleep and circadian science professor. “Firstly, there's known as compensatory napping, essentially the action you take after experiencing poor sleep overnight. The second is pre-emptive sleep, where you are preparing for a sleep deficit ahead, such as during graveyard shifts. The third is called “hedonic napping”, which basically comes down to wanting: you get a chance to nap during the day, and it feels nice to do it.”
The initial step to do, so, is to think about why you want to nap. “Daytime sleep can be genuinely useful when overnight rest is being disrupted because of factors you cannot change – for example, if you’re caring for an infant, or if you are healing after being ill or strenuous activity,” says a sleep expert. “Yet when you nap since your sleep at night seems unreliable or broken, that can be an indicator your sleep drive is not at the level required. Under those circumstances, napping can become part of the problem, not the solution. Use napping as a short-term solution for temporary issues – the focus must always be a robust and regular sleep at night.”
The Perfect Snooze Time
This implies that daytime sleep shouldn’t be sufficiently lengthy to disrupt your overnight rest, and best shouldn’t take place after about 3pm (based on the time you sleep overnight). What's a reasonable length? Recommendations vary. In one of the most-cited studies on the subject, space agency scientists discovered that astronauts showed a boost of up to 54% in vigilance and a 34% boost in task performance following a nap of 26 minutes (technically, this involved a six-minute sleep onset time). “My advice is setting an alarm for 20-30 minutes – many individuals are asleep quickly,” explains a sleep expert. “There’s a lot of guidance out there concerning the perfect length of minutes, however, that can make people feel more stressed above all – and the worst thing you can do while aiming to fall asleep is worry about it.”
If you’re going to take an extended nap, steer clear of the 45 to 60 minute range that encourages that sluggish feeling, that disoriented sensation when you awaken. “Research would say it’s better to opt for a longer nap 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 a deep sleep stage and you’re more likely to feel sluggish when you get up – while if you nap for a little longer to an hour or 90 minutes, it's likely you'll to be on the end of a sleep cycle and are likely to wake up feeling more refreshed. However, if you’re sleeping for 90 minutes, it can influence the quality of your sleep that night.”
Creating the Right Nap Environment
When it comes to exact methodologies, recommendations vary. Some experts propose employing comparable habits one would use to promote quality nighttime sleep: a quiet room, a comfortable bed and as much darkness as is feasible. Some advise that you should simply nap on the sofa in whatever light happens to be around – to avoid that groggy feeling and to “protect” your sleeping quarters as the environment your brain links with proper sleep. “Napping is notoriously difficult to will,” explains a sleep coach. “Lacking any sleepiness, it is tougher to lie down and essentially tell yourself to nod off. You need some sleep pressure present to initiate sleep in the first place. I can usually nap in full light and naturally wake up alarm-free, however, what assists most folks is to wait for a moment where they feel naturally feeling a bit drowsy and then simply allow sleep to come.”
It’s worth experimenting, and should you have few options – for instance, when aiming to grab some shut-eye while traveling or in a work pod – it's acceptable with bringing sleep aids. “In my work with professional sportspeople, I advise that they don’t get used to their own bed for naps, because they’re going to have|they will
