Tune into plenty of self-improvement podcasters, making it tempting to think that a nap is a secret weapon: not just a quick fix following poor sleep, but a shortcut towards a better memory, better spirits and perhaps quicker running times. Elite athletes are all at it – as do musicians, mixed martial artists & high-profile executives. Yet, when you don't have a dedicated nap-room or a career that permits frequent naps, are there *really* sufficient advantages to a burst of shut-eye for it to be worth the effort? Does there exist a reliable way to nod off promptly? Plus, is it possible to really guarantee you’ll wake up feeling refreshed, instead of groggy?
Identifying The Nap Motivation
“There are three key drivers for napping for many people,” says a leading circadian rhythm researcher. “One is what we call compensatory napping, that is what you do when you’ve had insufficient sleep overnight. Secondly, there's pre-emptive sleep, where you are anticipating sleep loss ahead, for example if you’re working on night shifts. Finally, there's “appetitive drive”, which basically is about desire: you get an opportunity to doze during the day, and it's pleasant to nap.”
The first thing to consider, so, is consider your reason for napping. “Napping can be genuinely useful when night sleeping is disturbed because of factors beyond your control – for instance, when you are caring for an infant, or if you are healing from sickness or intense exercise,” says a sleep expert. “Yet when you nap since your sleep at night is unstable or poor, that can be a sign your sleep drive is not at the level it needs to be. In those cases, naps can become a contributing factor, rather than the answer. Use napping as a short-term solution for short-term problems – the main goal should still be a strong and predictable overnight rest.”
The Perfect Snooze Time
This means that napping ought not to be too extended to interfere with your sleep at night, and ideally shouldn’t take place post-3 p.m. (depending on when you retire overnight). How long is sensible? Recommendations vary. From the most-cited studies about napping, researchers at Nasa discovered that space travelers experienced up to a 54% increase in attentiveness and a 34% boost in cognitive performance post a 26-minute snooze (technically, this involved an initial six-minute sleep onset time). “I’d suggest setting an alarm for 20 to 30 minutes – the majority are asleep in under ten minutes,” notes a specialist. “You'll find much advice around concerning the optimal amount of time, but that tends to cause people to feel more worried than anything else – and the least helpful action you can possibly do while aiming to nod off is to be anxious.”
Should you decide to sleep for longer, bypass the period between 45 and 60 minutes that induces sleep grogginess, that disoriented sensation when you wake. “Studies indicates it’s better to take a lengthier snooze of one to one and a half hours rather than a mid-length nap,” notes the sleep scientist. “Forty-five minutes is long enough to put you into a deep sleep stage and you’re more likely to feel sluggish when you get up – however, if you take it a bit longer to a full sleep cycle, you will probably to be completing a full cycle and are likely to awaken feeling more refreshed. However, if you nap for 90 minutes, it will affect your sleep in the evening.”
Creating the Right Snooze Setting
Regarding precise methods, advice differs. Some experts suggest employing comparable habits you’d use to foster restful sleep: a quiet room, a comfortable bed and as much darkness as you can manage. Some advise that one could just doze on a couch in whatever light is present – to avoid that groggy feeling and to maintain your bed as the space your brain links with *real* sleep. “Napping is notoriously difficult to command,” notes an expert. “Without any drowsiness, it becomes harder to recline and practically instruct yourself to fall asleep. There’s got to be some sleep pressure available to start the process in the first place. For me, it's possible to nap in broad daylight and naturally wake up alarm-free, though, what aids many individuals is to wait for a moment that they’re naturally slightly tired and just gently relax into it.”
It’s worth experimenting, and should you have few options – for example, if attempting to squeeze in 40 winks on a train or in a soundproof office pod – it's acceptable to employ sleep aids. “Coaching elite athletes, I advise that they don’t get used to their own bed for naps, since they’re going to have|they will
