Tune into plenty of productivity gurus, making it tempting to believe that dozing is a superpower: not just a band-aid after restless night, but a route to enhanced cognition, better spirits and maybe a faster 5k run time. Elite footballers do it regularly – along with professional piano players, mixed martial artists & business leaders. However, if you lack a special sleep space or employment that allows frequent naps, are there *really* sufficient advantages to a quick nap to merit the kerfuffle? Does there exist a surefire technique to get to sleep quickly enough? Plus, is it possible to really guarantee you will get up feeling refreshed, not worse?
Understanding The Reasons for Napping
“There are three key drivers for napping among most adults,” notes an expert sleep science specialist. “Firstly, there's known as make-up sleep, which is the action you take after experiencing a lack of sleep the previous night. Another is pre-emptive sleep, when you are preparing for insufficient sleep ahead, for example when working overnight shifts. The third is called “hedonic napping”, which basically comes down to wanting: you have a moment to nap during the day, and it's enjoyable to nap.”
The primary task to do, then, is to think about why you want to nap. “Napping can be truly beneficial when nighttime sleep is disturbed due to causes you cannot change – for example, when you are caring for an infant, or if you are healing after being ill or strenuous activity,” states a sleep specialist. “Yet when you take a nap since your night sleep is unstable or unreliable, that’s often an indicator your body's sleep pressure is not where required. Under those circumstances, naps can become a contributing factor, not the solution. Use napping for brief periods to address immediate needs – the main goal ought to remain a strong and predictable night’s sleep.”
The Optimal Nap Duration
This implies that naps must not be too extended to interfere with your overnight rest, and preferably are not recommended in the late afternoon (based on when you sleep in the evening). How long is sensible? Recommendations vary. From a prominent study regarding daytime sleep, researchers at Nasa found that space travelers had up to a 54% increase in attentiveness and a 34% increase in cognitive performance post a 26-minute snooze (to be precise, this included a six-minute nodding-off period). “I recommend using an alarm for half an hour or less – the majority are asleep within 10 minutes,” explains a sleep expert. “You'll find much recommendations concerning the optimal amount for sleeping, however, that can cause people to feel more worried than anything – and the worst thing you can possibly do while aiming to get to sleep is to be anxious.”
If you’re going to nap for a longer period, bypass the 45 to 60 minute range that encourages sleep grogginess, that spaced-out feeling when you awaken. “Research indicates it's more effective to take a longer nap of one to one and a half hours than a medium-length one,” explains the sleep scientist. “Forty-five minutes is long enough to plunge you into slow-wave sleep and it is more probable to feel groggy upon awakening – however, if you take it a little longer to a full sleep cycle, you will probably to finish of a sleep cycle and will probably get up feeling more rejuvenated. Though if you nap for an hour and a half, it will affect your sleep later that night.”
Creating an Ideal Nap Environment
When it comes to exact methodologies, recommendations vary. Certain specialists recommend using the same protocol you’d use to promote a good night’s sleep: a quiet room, a supportive surface and as much darkness as is feasible. Some advise that one could merely snooze on a couch with ambient lighting is available – to avoid sleep inertia and to “protect” your bed as the space your mind associates with nighttime rest. “Napping is notoriously difficult to force,” notes a sleep coach. “If you don’t have any drowsiness, it is more challenging to lie down and practically command yourself to nod off. There’s got to be some drive present to start the process to begin with. For me, it's possible to nap during the day and naturally wake up alarm-free, though, what aids most folks is to look for a moment where they feel naturally slightly tired and just gently allow sleep to come.”
Experimentation is key, and if you have few options – for instance, if you’re trying to squeeze in 40 winks on a train or in a soundproof office pod – it is perfectly fine with bringing some accessories. “When I’m working with footballers, I advise that they not rely on napping in bed, because they’re going to have|they will
