Tune into plenty of performance experts, and it’s tempting to think that napping is a secret weapon: more than a band-aid after restless night, but a shortcut towards a better memory, better spirits and maybe improved athletic performance. Professional footballers are all at it – along with professional piano players, UFC champions & high-profile executives. Yet, when you lack a room for napping or a job that permits regular snoozing, is it *truly* enough benefits to a quick nap for it to be worth the effort? Can you find a dependable method to fall asleep fast? Furthermore, can you truly ensure you will get up feeling better, rather than worse?
Understanding Your Reasons for Napping
“There are three key drivers for daytime sleep among most adults,” says a professor of circadian rhythm professor. “Firstly, there's what we call recovery napping, essentially what happens when you’ve had poor sleep the night before. The second is pre-emptive sleep, when you are anticipating sleep loss coming up, for example if you’re working graveyard shifts. The third reason is “pleasure-based sleep”, which simply is about the wish: there is a chance to nap in the daytime, and it's enjoyable to nap.”
The initial step to do, therefore, is consider why you want to nap. “Naps can be truly beneficial when nighttime sleep gets interrupted for reasons beyond your control – for example, for caring for an infant, or you’re recovering from sickness or strenuous activity,” says a sleep expert. “Yet when you’re napping as your night sleep seems unreliable or poor, that is frequently a sign your sleep drive is not as strong as it should be. In such situations, daytime sleep can turn into part of the problem, instead of the fix. Use napping for brief periods for short-term problems – the main goal ought to remain a robust and regular overnight rest.”
The Perfect Snooze Time
This implies that naps shouldn’t be long enough to disrupt your sleep at night, and preferably are not recommended post-3 p.m. (depending on when you sleep at night). What duration is wise? Advice differs. In one of a prominent study on the subject, space agency scientists discovered that space travelers had a boost of up to 54% in vigilance plus a 34% rise in performance after a 26-minute nap (to be precise, this included a six-minute sleep onset time). “I’d suggest setting an alarm for half an hour or less – most people fall asleep quickly,” says a sleep expert. “There’s a lot of advice around concerning the perfect length for sleeping, yet that often make people feel more worried than anything else – and the least helpful action you can possibly do while aiming to fall asleep is worry about it.”
If you plan to take an extended nap, steer clear of the 45 to 60 minute range that encourages that sluggish feeling, that foggy state upon waking. “The science would say it is preferable to take a longer nap of one to one and a half hours rather than a mid-length nap,” says the expert. “Forty-five minutes is sufficient to put you into a deep sleep stage and you’re more likely to feel sluggish when you get up – however, if you nap for a little longer to 60 or 90 minutes, you will probably to be completing of a sleep cycle and will probably get up feeling more rejuvenated. However, if you’re sleeping for 90 minutes, it will affect the quality of your sleep later that night.”
Creating the Right Nap Environment
As for exact methodologies, suggestions are diverse. Certain specialists propose using the same protocol you use to encourage restful sleep: a peaceful area, a cozy bed and minimal light as is feasible. Some advise that you should merely snooze on a couch with ambient lighting is available – to avoid that groggy feeling and to maintain your bed as the space your mind associates with proper sleep. “Sleep is quite challenging to force,” says a sleep coach. “Lacking the urge to sleep, it is more challenging to get comfortable and practically command yourself to fall asleep. There’s got to be some drive there to bring the sleep on to begin with. For me, it's possible to snooze during the day and awaken on my own without a timer, but what helps most folks is to look for an instance where they feel naturally feeling a bit drowsy and just gently ease into sleep.”
Trying different approaches is valuable, and should options are scarce – for instance, if you’re trying to fit in 40 winks while traveling or in a soundproof office pod – it is perfectly fine with bringing a few tools. “Coaching elite athletes, I advise that they not rely on sleeping in their bed, as they’re going to have|they will
