Hear enough self-improvement podcasters, and you'll be tempting to think that a nap is a superpower: more than a quick fix after restless night, but a route to enhanced cognition, better spirits and perhaps quicker running times. Elite footballers swear by it – along with musicians, UFC champions and business leaders. However, if you don't have a room for napping or a job that allows frequent naps, can there *honestly* sufficient advantages to a short sleep to justify the hassle? Is there a reliable way to nod off promptly? And can you really guarantee you will get up feeling improved, not worse?
Understanding Your Nap Motivation
“Experts note three key drivers for napping for many people,” notes an expert sleep science specialist. “The first is known as recovery napping, which is what you do after experiencing a lack of sleep overnight. The second is prophylactic napping, when you are preparing for a sleep deficit ahead, for instance if you’re working on night shifts. Finally, there's “hedonic napping”, which essentially boils down to desire: you have a chance to sleep during the day, and it's pleasant to indulge.”
The primary task to undertake, therefore, is to examine why you want to nap. “Napping can be really helpful when overnight rest gets interrupted due to causes beyond your control – for example, when you are a parent of a newborn, or if you are healing from sickness or heavy physical exertion,” explains a sleep expert. “But if you take a nap as your night sleep feels fragile or unreliable, that is frequently a signal your sleep drive is not at the level it needs to be. Under those circumstances, naps can become a contributing factor, not the solution. Use napping for brief periods to address immediate needs – the focus ought to remain a robust and regular sleep at night.”
The Ideal Nap Length
This implies that naps ought not to be sufficiently lengthy to affect your nighttime sleep, and preferably shouldn’t take place after about 3pm (contingent on what time you sleep overnight). What duration is wise? Advice differs. In one of the most referenced research regarding daytime sleep, experts noted that space travelers experienced improvements of over 50% in vigilance plus a 34% rise in task performance post a 26-minute snooze (to be precise, this counted a six-minute long falling asleep phase). “I recommend using an alarm for 20-30 minutes – the majority fall asleep in under ten minutes,” explains a sleep expert. “There’s a lot of advice around regarding the ideal number of minutes, however, that can cause people to feel more stressed above all – and the most counterproductive thing you can do when attempting to fall asleep is worry about it.”
If you’re going to take an extended nap, avoid the 45-60 minute window that encourages that sluggish feeling, that disoriented sensation when you wake. “Research would say it is preferable to take a lengthier snooze of 60 to 90 minutes rather than a mid-length nap,” explains the professor. “Forty-five minutes is sufficient to plunge you into a deep sleep stage making it more likely to feel groggy upon awakening – whereas if you take it a bit longer to an hour or 90 minutes, it's likely you'll to be completing of a sleep cycle and are likely to wake up feeling more alert. But if you nap for an hour and a half, it may impact your sleep in the evening.”
Establishing the Right Nap Environment
Regarding specific techniques, recommendations vary. Certain specialists recommend adopting the same protocol you use to foster a good night’s sleep: a silent space, a comfortable bed and maximum darkness as you can manage. Others suggest that it's fine to merely snooze in a chair in whatever light is present – to avoid that groggy feeling and to maintain your sleeping quarters as the place your mind associates with nighttime rest. “Sleep is notoriously difficult to force,” explains an expert. “Lacking any drowsiness, it is more challenging to lie down and essentially instruct yourself to fall asleep. There’s got to be some drive present to start the process to begin with. For me, it's possible to take a nap in broad daylight and wake up naturally alarm-free, though, what aids many individuals is to wait for a time that they’re naturally somewhat sleepy and then simply ease into sleep.”
Trying different approaches is valuable, and should you have few options – such as, when aiming to squeeze in a quick nap while traveling or at the office – it's acceptable to employ sleep aids. “When I’m working with elite athletes, I advise that they avoid becoming accustomed to sleeping in their bed, because they’re going to have|they will
