Listen to a few productivity podcasters, and you'll be tempting to think that dozing is a secret weapon: rather than a band-aid after restless night, but a route to improved recall, improved mood and maybe a faster 5k run time. Premier League athletes do it regularly – along with professional piano players, fighters & business leaders. Yet, when you lack a room for napping or a career that encourages regular snoozing, can there *honestly* sufficient advantages to a quick nap 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, rather than worse?
Understanding Your Nap Motivation
“We can identify three primary motivations for taking a nap for many people,” says an expert sleep science specialist. “The first is termed recovery napping, that is what happens after experiencing insufficient sleep the night before. The second is preparatory napping, when you are preparing for sleep loss coming up, for instance when working on night shifts. Finally, there's “appetitive drive”, which simply comes down to the wish: you have a moment to doze in the daytime, and it's pleasant to nap.”
The primary task to do, so, is to think about your nap motivation. “Daytime sleep can be really helpful when night sleeping is disturbed due to causes you cannot change – such as, when you are caring for an infant, or recovering from illness or heavy physical exertion,” states a sleep specialist. “But if you’re napping as your sleep at night feels fragile or unreliable, that can be a signal your sleep drive is not at the level required. In those cases, napping can become a contributing factor, instead of the fix. Utilize daytime sleep as a short-term solution for temporary issues – the priority should still be a robust and regular night’s sleep.”
The Ideal Nap Duration
Therefore that napping shouldn’t be too extended to affect your sleep at night, and ideally are not recommended post-3 p.m. (based on when you go to bed in the evening). How long is sensible? Guidelines are mixed. From the most-cited studies regarding daytime sleep, researchers at Nasa found that crew members had a boost of up to 54% in attentiveness and a 34% increase in cognitive performance after a 26-minute nap (in detail, this included a six-minute nodding-off period). “I’d suggest setting an alarm for 20-30 minutes – many individuals doze off quickly,” says a sleep coach. “You'll find much guidance out there about the ideal number of time, however, that can cause people to feel more worried above all – and the least helpful action you can do when attempting to get to sleep is to stress over it.”
If you’re going to nap for a longer period, steer clear of the 45 to 60 minute range that induces sleep grogginess, that foggy state upon waking. “The science suggests it’s better to opt for a longer nap of 60 to 90 minutes compared to a medium-length nap,” explains the professor. “45 minutes is sufficient to put you into a deep sleep stage making it more likely to feel disoriented upon awakening – whereas if you take it a bit longer to an hour or 90 minutes, you’re likely to be on the end a natural sleep cycle and are likely to get up feeling more rejuvenated. But if you’re sleeping for an hour and a half, it will affect how you sleep in the evening.”
Creating the Perfect Nap Environment
When it comes to precise methods, recommendations vary. A few professionals propose adopting the same protocol one would use to promote quality nighttime sleep: a peaceful area, a cozy bed and as much darkness as possible. Others suggest that you should merely snooze in a chair with ambient lighting happens to be around – to prevent sleep inertia and to “protect” your bedroom as the environment your brain links with nighttime rest. “Napping is notoriously difficult to will,” says an expert. “Without any drowsiness, it becomes harder to get comfortable and essentially instruct yourself to go to sleep. There must be some sleep pressure available to bring the sleep on in the first place. Personally, I can often take a nap during the day and naturally wake up without a timer, but what helps many individuals is to wait for a time when they are naturally feeling a bit drowsy and calmly ease into sleep.”
Experimentation is key, and should your choices are limited – for example, if attempting to squeeze in a quick nap during a commute or in a work pod – there’s nothing wrong to use sleep aids. “Coaching professional sportspeople, I suggest that they don’t get used to their own bed for naps, because they’re going to have|they will
