Tune into plenty of performance experts, and it’s simple to convince yourself that napping is a superpower: not just a band-aid following a bad night’s sleep, but a path to enhanced cognition, better spirits and perhaps improved athletic performance. Professional soccer players are all at it – along with professional piano players, fighters and high-profile executives. But if you lack a dedicated nap-room or employment that encourages daytime sleep, is it *truly* worthwhile perks to a burst of shut-eye to justify the hassle? Can you find a reliable way to fall asleep fast? And can you honestly promise you will get up feeling refreshed, not worse?
Exploring Your Drive to Snooze
“There are three key drivers for napping in the adult population,” explains a leading circadian rhythm specialist. “One is known as recovery napping, essentially the action you take following poor sleep overnight. Another is preparatory napping, when you are pre-empting sleep loss ahead, such as during overnight shifts. Finally, there's “hedonic napping”, which essentially is about the wish: you have a chance to doze in the daytime, and it's pleasant to indulge.”
The initial step to undertake, therefore, is to examine your nap motivation. “Napping can be really helpful when nighttime sleep is being disrupted for reasons outside your control – for example, when you are caring for an infant, or recovering after being ill or strenuous activity,” explains a sleep expert. “However, if you’re napping because your night sleep is unstable or poor, that’s often a signal your sleep drive is not as strong as it needs to be. In those cases, daytime sleep can turn into part of the problem, rather than the answer. Employ naps for brief periods for short-term problems – the main goal should still be a solid and consistent night’s sleep.”
The Optimal Nap Length
This implies that daytime sleep ought not to be too extended to affect your overnight rest, and preferably shouldn’t take place after about 3pm (depending on when you go to bed in the evening). How long is sensible? Advice differs. From a prominent study about napping, space agency scientists found that space travelers showed improvements of over 50% in attentiveness and a 34% boost in task performance following a nap of 26 minutes (to be precise, this counted an initial six-minute falling asleep phase). “I’d suggest using an alarm for 20-30 minutes – many individuals fall asleep within 10 minutes,” explains a sleep coach. “There is plenty of advice around about the optimal amount of minutes, but that tends to cause people to feel more anxious than anything – and the least helpful action you can possibly do when attempting to get to sleep is to be anxious.”
Should you decide to sleep for longer, bypass the 45-60 minute window that encourages that sluggish feeling, that foggy state upon waking. “The science indicates it is preferable to opt for a longer nap of one to one and a half hours rather than a mid-length nap,” notes the sleep scientist. “Three-quarters of an hour is long enough to put you into deep sleep making it more likely to feel sluggish upon awakening – while if you extend it a little longer to an hour or 90 minutes, you will probably to be on the end of a sleep cycle and should awaken feeling more alert. Though if you're dozing for a long period, it can influence your sleep that night.”
Creating the Perfect Snooze Setting
When it comes to precise methods, suggestions are diverse. A few professionals suggest adopting similar routines one would use to promote restful sleep: a quiet room, a comfortable bed and minimal light as you can manage. Others suggest that you should just doze on a couch in whatever light is present – both to discourage post-nap grogginess and to maintain your sleeping quarters as the space your mind associates with *real* sleep. “Napping is notoriously difficult to force,” explains a specialist. “Without any drowsiness, it is more challenging to lie down and practically instruct yourself to fall asleep. There must be some sleep pressure there to start the process in the first place. I can usually take a nap during the day and awaken on my own alarm-free, though, what aids most folks is to look for a moment when they are naturally slightly tired and just gently relax into it.”
It’s worth experimenting, and when your choices are limited – such as, if you’re trying to fit in some shut-eye while traveling or at the office – it is perfectly fine to employ a few tools. “In my work with professional sportspeople, I recommend that they avoid becoming accustomed to sleeping in their bed, as they’re going to have|they will
