Listen to plenty of productivity gurus, making it simple to think that napping is a superpower: not just a sticking plaster after restless night, but a route to improved recall, better spirits and perhaps quicker running times. Elite footballers swear by it – along with musicians, UFC champions & business leaders. Yet, when you don't have a room for napping or a career that permits regular snoozing, are there *really* sufficient advantages to a short sleep to justify the kerfuffle? Is there a reliable way to nod off promptly? Plus, is it possible to honestly promise you will get up feeling better, instead of groggy?
Exploring The Nap Motivation
“There are three main reasons for daytime sleep in the adult population,” explains a leading circadian rhythm specialist. “One is termed recovery napping, that is what happens when you’ve had insufficient sleep the night before. Another is pre-emptive sleep, when you are pre-empting a sleep deficit ahead, such as if you’re working graveyard shifts. The third reason is “pleasure-based sleep”, which basically boils down to wanting: you get a chance to sleep in the afternoon, and it's pleasant to do it.”
The primary task to do, then, is to examine your nap motivation. “Daytime sleep can be truly beneficial when nighttime sleep gets interrupted due to causes you cannot change – for example, if you’re a parent of a newborn, or you’re recovering from sickness or intense exercise,” says a sleep expert. “Yet when you’re napping since your night sleep is unstable or broken, that can be an indicator your body's sleep pressure is not at the level required. Under those circumstances, naps can become a contributing factor, not the solution. Employ naps as a temporary measure to address immediate needs – the main goal should still be a strong and predictable night’s sleep.”
The Ideal Nap Length
Therefore that naps ought not to be long enough to affect your nighttime sleep, and ideally are not recommended in the late afternoon (depending on the time you sleep in the evening). What's a reasonable length? Recommendations vary. In one of the most-cited studies regarding daytime sleep, researchers at Nasa found that space travelers experienced a boost of up to 54% in attentiveness and a 34% boost in cognitive performance after a 26-minute nap (to be precise, this involved a six-minute long nodding-off period). “My advice is setting an alarm for 20-30 minutes – the majority fall asleep quickly,” explains a sleep coach. “There’s a lot of guidance out there regarding the ideal number of time, however, that can lead individuals to become more stressed above all – and the least helpful action one can do when attempting to nod off is to be anxious.”
If you’re going to nap for a longer period, steer clear of the 45-60 minute window that induces sleep inertia, that foggy state when you wake. “Studies would say it is preferable to take a longer nap lasting 60-90 minutes compared to a medium-length nap,” explains the professor. “45 minutes is enough time to send you into deep sleep and you’re more likely to feel disoriented upon awakening – whereas if you nap for a little longer to a full sleep cycle, you’re likely to be completing of a sleep cycle and should wake up feeling more refreshed. However, if you’re sleeping for 90 minutes, it can influence how you sleep that night.”
Finding the Right Snooze Setting
Regarding exact methodologies, recommendations vary. Some experts recommend using comparable habits one would use to promote a good night’s sleep: a silent space, a comfortable bed and as much darkness as is feasible. Alternatively, experts propose that it's fine to merely snooze in a chair with ambient lighting is present – to prevent post-nap grogginess and to “protect” your bedroom as the environment your brain links with *real* sleep. “Sleep is something really tricky to command,” explains a specialist. “If you don’t have the urge to sleep, it is more challenging to lie down and practically instruct yourself to fall asleep. There’s got to be a natural inclination there to bring the sleep on in the first place. For me, it's possible to snooze during the day and awaken on my own without an alarm, though, what aids a lot of people is to look for a moment that they’re naturally slightly tired and then simply relax into it.”
Trying different approaches is valuable, and when you have few options – for example, if attempting to squeeze in some shut-eye on a train or in a soundproof office pod – it's acceptable to employ some accessories. “In my work with professional sportspeople, I advise that they avoid becoming accustomed to napping in bed, since they’re going to have|they will
