Listen to a few self-improvement gurus, and you'll be tempting to convince yourself that napping is a powerful tool: not just a band-aid after restless night, but a path to a better memory, improved mood and maybe a faster 5k run time. Professional footballers do it regularly – along with musicians, UFC champions and business leaders. But if you don't have a special sleep space or employment that allows regular snoozing, are there *really* sufficient advantages to a short sleep for it to be worth the kerfuffle? Can you find a surefire technique to nod off promptly? Furthermore, can you honestly promise you will get up feeling better, instead of groggy?
Identifying The Drive to Snooze
“We can identify three key drivers for daytime sleep among most adults,” notes an expert sleep and circadian science researcher. “One is what we call recovery napping, that is what you do after experiencing insufficient sleep the previous night. The second is pre-emptive sleep, which involves pre-empting a sleep deficit in the future, for instance during graveyard shifts. The third reason is “hedonic napping”, which essentially boils down to wanting: there is an opportunity to doze in the daytime, and it feels nice to nap.”
The primary task to undertake, therefore, is to examine your reason for napping. “Daytime sleep can be really helpful when night sleeping is disturbed because of factors outside your control – for example, if you’re a parent of a newborn, or recovering after being ill or heavy physical exertion,” says a sleep expert. “But if you nap since your nighttime sleep seems unreliable or poor, that’s often an indicator your body's sleep pressure is not at the level required. Under those circumstances, naps can become part of the issue, rather than the answer. Use napping as a temporary measure for short-term problems – the priority ought to remain a solid and consistent night’s sleep.”
The Optimal Nap Duration
Therefore that napping ought not to be too extended to interfere with your sleep at night, and ideally should not occur in the late afternoon (contingent on what time you go to bed in the evening). What's a reasonable length? Guidelines are mixed. From a prominent study regarding daytime sleep, space agency scientists found that space travelers experienced improvements of over 50% in attentiveness and a 34% boost in performance following a nap of 26 minutes (to be precise, this counted a six-minute falling asleep phase). “I recommend setting a timer for 20-30 minutes – most people are asleep in under ten minutes,” notes a sleep expert. “You'll find much advice around about the ideal number of minutes, however, that can make people feel more anxious above all – and the least helpful action you can do when attempting to fall asleep is to stress over it.”
Should you decide to nap for a longer period, avoid the 45 to 60 minute range that promotes sleep grogginess, that foggy state when you awaken. “Research suggests it is preferable to take a longer nap of one to one and a half hours than a medium-length one,” explains the professor. “Forty-five minutes is long enough to put you into deep sleep and you’re more likely to feel sluggish upon awakening – whereas if you nap for slightly longer to a full sleep cycle, it's likely you'll to be completing of a sleep cycle and will probably awaken feeling more refreshed. However, if you nap for a long period, it may impact how you sleep later that night.”
Establishing the Perfect Sleep Space
When it comes to specific techniques, recommendations vary. A few professionals recommend using the same protocol you’d use to encourage quality nighttime sleep: a peaceful area, a cozy bed and as much darkness as you can manage. Others suggest that you should just doze on a couch in the existing light is available – both to discourage sleep inertia and to maintain your sleeping quarters as the place your mind associates with *real* sleep. “Napping is notoriously difficult to command,” explains an expert. “Lacking the urge to sleep, it is tougher to lie down and basically instruct yourself to go to sleep. There must be some drive available to bring the sleep on in the first place. I can usually nap in broad daylight and naturally wake up without a timer, but what helps most folks is to look for a moment where they feel naturally feeling a bit drowsy and calmly relax into it.”
It’s worth experimenting, and when you have few options – for instance, when aiming to grab some shut-eye during a commute or in a work pod – it is perfectly fine with bringing some accessories. “When I’m working with professional sportspeople, I recommend that they avoid becoming accustomed to napping in bed, since they’re going to have|they will
