Tune into plenty of performance gurus, and you'll be simple to convince yourself that napping is a powerful tool: more than a quick fix following restless night, but a shortcut to enhanced cognition, a brighter outlook and perhaps a faster 5k run time. Professional athletes swear by it – as do musicians, UFC champions & high-profile executives. Yet, when you haven’t got a dedicated nap-room or a job that allows regular snoozing, are there *really* worthwhile perks to a burst of shut-eye to merit the hassle? Is there a reliable way to nod off promptly? And can you really guarantee you will get up feeling improved, instead of groggy?
Exploring Your Drive to Snooze
“There are three key drivers for napping for many people,” notes an expert sleep science researcher. “The first is termed recovery napping, which is what happens after experiencing insufficient sleep overnight. Another is preparatory napping, where you are anticipating a sleep deficit ahead, for instance during graveyard shifts. The third reason is “pleasure-based sleep”, which basically is about wanting: there is an opportunity to sleep in the afternoon, and it's enjoyable to nap.”
The first thing to consider, so, is to think about why you want to nap. “Daytime sleep can be genuinely useful when overnight rest is disturbed for reasons outside your control – for example, for caring for an infant, or if you are healing after being ill or intense exercise,” says a sleep specialist. “But if you nap because your sleep at night feels fragile or broken, that’s often an indicator your sleep drive is not at the level required. In those cases, naps can become a contributing factor, not the solution. Employ naps for brief periods to address immediate needs – the focus must always be a robust and regular sleep at night.”
The Optimal Snooze Time
Therefore that naps must not be long enough to interfere with your sleep at night, and ideally are not recommended post-3 p.m. (based on the time you retire at night). What duration is wise? Advice differs. In one of a prominent study on the subject, researchers at Nasa discovered that astronauts had improvements of over 50% in attentiveness and a 34% boost in performance after a 26-minute nap (to be precise, this counted a six-minute long nodding-off period). “I recommend setting a timer for half an hour or less – many individuals doze off in under ten minutes,” notes a sleep coach. “You'll find much advice around concerning the perfect length for sleeping, however, that can cause people to feel more stressed than anything – and the worst thing you can do when trying to nod off is worry about it.”
If you plan to take an extended nap, avoid the period between 45 and 60 minutes that induces sleep grogginess, that spaced-out feeling when you wake. “Research suggests it’s better to have a lengthier snooze of one to one and a half hours compared to a medium-length nap,” says the expert. “45 minutes is enough time to plunge you into slow-wave sleep making it more likely to feel disoriented when you get up – whereas if you nap for a little longer to a full sleep cycle, it's likely you'll to be completing a full cycle and will probably awaken feeling more rejuvenated. However, if you're dozing for a long period, it will affect how you sleep later that night.”
Establishing the Right Sleep Space
When it comes to exact methodologies, suggestions are diverse. Some experts suggest adopting similar routines one would use to foster restful sleep: a silent space, a supportive surface and as much darkness as is feasible. Some advise that one could just doze in a chair in the existing light happens to be around – both to discourage that groggy feeling and to “protect” your bed as the environment your brain links with *real* sleep. “Falling asleep is notoriously difficult to will,” explains a sleep coach. “If you don’t have any sleepiness, it is more challenging to recline and basically tell yourself to nod off. There’s got to be a natural inclination available to initiate sleep to begin with. I can usually take a nap in full light and wake up naturally alarm-free, however, what assists many individuals is to anticipate a moment that they’re naturally somewhat sleepy and calmly allow sleep to come.”
It’s worth experimenting, and if you have few options – such as, when aiming to fit in 40 winks on a train or in a soundproof office pod – it's acceptable to use sleep aids. “Coaching elite athletes, I recommend that they don’t get used to sleeping in their bed, because they’re going to have|they will
