Hear a few performance gurus, and you'll be easy to convince yourself that napping is a powerful tool: not just a quick fix after restless night, but a path to improved recall, a brighter outlook and perhaps improved athletic performance. Professional athletes are all at it – as do concert pianists, UFC champions and high-profile executives. Yet, when you don't have a dedicated nap-room or employment that allows regular snoozing, is it *truly* worthwhile perks to a quick nap to merit the kerfuffle? Does there exist a surefire technique to nod off promptly? And can you truly ensure you will arise feeling better, rather than worse?
Exploring The Nap Motivation
“We can identify three main reasons for daytime sleep for many people,” explains a professor of circadian rhythm researcher. “The first is known as recovery napping, which is the action you take following a lack of sleep overnight. Secondly, there's prophylactic napping, which involves preparing for sleep loss coming up, for instance during graveyard shifts. The third is called “appetitive drive”, which essentially is about wanting: you get a chance to doze in the daytime, and it's enjoyable to nap.”
The primary task to do, therefore, is consider why you want to nap. “Daytime sleep can be truly beneficial when night sleeping gets interrupted because of factors beyond your control – such as, when you are caring for an infant, or you’re recovering from sickness or heavy physical exertion,” explains a sleep expert. “But if you’re napping because your sleep at night is unstable or poor, that’s often an indicator your sleep drive is not at the level it needs to be. In such situations, daytime sleep can turn into part of the issue, instead of the fix. Employ naps as a temporary measure to address immediate needs – the main goal ought to remain a solid and consistent overnight rest.”
The Perfect Nap Duration
This means that naps must not be sufficiently lengthy to interfere with your overnight rest, and preferably shouldn’t take place in the late afternoon (based on when you go to bed overnight). What duration is wise? Advice differs. Among the most-cited studies on the subject, space agency scientists discovered that astronauts showed up to a 54% increase in attentiveness and a 34% boost in performance following a nap of 26 minutes (in detail, this included an initial six-minute nodding-off period). “I’d suggest using an alarm for half an hour or less – most people fall asleep quickly,” says a sleep expert. “There’s a lot of advice around regarding the perfect length for sleeping, yet that often cause people to feel more anxious than anything else – and the most counterproductive thing one can do while aiming to nod off is to stress over it.”
If you’re going to sleep for longer, avoid the 45-60 minute window that encourages sleep grogginess, that disoriented sensation when you wake. “Studies suggests it’s better to take an extended nap of one to one and a half hours than a medium-length one,” notes the sleep scientist. “Three-quarters of an hour is long enough to send you into deep sleep and it is more probable to feel sluggish upon awakening – however, if you nap for a bit longer to an hour or 90 minutes, you’re likely to finish a natural sleep cycle and are likely to get up feeling more refreshed. However, if you're dozing for a long period, it can influence your sleep in the evening.”
Establishing an Ideal Nap Environment
When it comes to exact methodologies, recommendations vary. A few professionals propose employing comparable habits you’d use to foster quality nighttime sleep: a quiet room, a cozy bed and as much darkness as possible. Some advise that you should merely snooze in a chair in whatever light is present – to prevent that groggy feeling and to preserve your bed as the place your brain links with *real* sleep. “Sleep is something really tricky to will,” explains a specialist. “If you don’t have any drowsiness, it is more challenging to lie down and basically command yourself to fall asleep. There must be a natural inclination there to initiate sleep to begin with. For me, it's possible to nap during the day and naturally wake up without a timer, though, what aids a lot of people is to look for a moment that they’re naturally somewhat sleepy and calmly ease into sleep.”
It’s worth experimenting, and when you have few options – for example, if attempting to grab some shut-eye during a commute or at the office – it's acceptable to use some accessories. “In my work with elite athletes, I advise that they not rely on their own bed for naps, since they’re going to have|they will
