Hear plenty of self-improvement experts, making it tempting to think that napping is a secret weapon: rather than a quick fix following restless night, but a route to a better memory, better spirits and perhaps a faster 5k run time. Elite soccer players are all at it – along with professional piano players, UFC champions and high-profile executives. However, if you haven’t got a special sleep space or a career that permits frequent naps, can there *honestly* worthwhile perks to a short sleep for it to be worth the hassle? Does there exist a reliable way to get to sleep quickly enough? And can you truly ensure you will arise feeling better, rather than worse?
Understanding The Drive to Snooze
“There are three main reasons for taking a nap in the adult population,” explains a professor of sleep and circadian science researcher. “Firstly, there's known as make-up sleep, that is what you do following insufficient sleep the previous night. Secondly, there's preparatory napping, where you are anticipating insufficient sleep ahead, for example during graveyard shifts. Finally, there's “appetitive drive”, which essentially boils down to wanting: you have a chance to sleep in the afternoon, and it feels nice to nap.”
The first thing to undertake, then, is to think about why you want to nap. “Daytime sleep can be genuinely useful when overnight rest is being disrupted because of factors outside your control – such as, for a parent of a newborn, or recovering after being ill or heavy physical exertion,” says a sleep physiologist. “Yet when you’re napping since your sleep at night feels fragile or broken, that is frequently a sign your sleep drive is not where required. In such situations, napping can become part of the problem, instead of the fix. Use napping for brief periods for temporary issues – the focus should still be a strong and predictable night’s sleep.”
The Optimal Nap Length
This implies that daytime sleep shouldn’t be long enough to disrupt your nighttime sleep, and preferably are not recommended in the late afternoon (contingent on when you retire at night). What duration is wise? Recommendations vary. In one of the most referenced research regarding daytime sleep, experts found that astronauts experienced a boost of up to 54% in alertness plus a 34% rise in task performance after a 26-minute nap (to be precise, this counted an initial six-minute falling asleep phase). “I recommend using an alarm for half an hour or less – most people fall asleep within 10 minutes,” notes a sleep coach. “You'll find much advice around about the ideal number of minutes, but that tends to cause people to feel more anxious than anything – and the least helpful action you can do when attempting to nod off is worry about it.”
Should you decide to nap for a longer period, avoid the period between 45 and 60 minutes that encourages sleep inertia, that disoriented sensation when you awaken. “Research indicates it’s better to have a lengthier snooze of 60 to 90 minutes rather than a mid-length nap,” notes the expert. “Three-quarters of an hour is enough time to send you into deep sleep making it more likely to feel sluggish when you get up – whereas if you take it a bit longer to a full sleep cycle, it's likely you'll to finish a natural sleep cycle and should awaken feeling more refreshed. However, if you're dozing for 90 minutes, it can influence how you sleep later that night.”
Finding the Perfect Sleep Space
When it comes to precise methods, suggestions are diverse. A few professionals propose using the same protocol one would use to promote a good night’s sleep: a silent space, a comfortable bed and minimal light as is feasible. Alternatively, experts propose that one could simply nap in a chair with ambient lighting is available – to avoid sleep inertia and to “protect” your bedroom as the space you associate with *real* sleep. “Napping is quite challenging to force,” explains an expert. “If you don’t have the urge to sleep, it is tougher to lie down and practically command yourself to go to sleep. You need some drive present to bring the sleep on in the first place. Personally, I can often nap during the day and wake up naturally without a timer, though, what aids many individuals is to wait for a moment that they’re naturally slightly tired and then simply allow sleep to come.”
Trying different approaches is valuable, and if you have few options – for instance, if you’re trying to fit in some shut-eye while traveling or in a work pod – it's acceptable to employ some accessories. “When I’m working with footballers, I recommend that they don’t get used to their own bed for naps, because they’re going to have|they will
