Listen to plenty of performance gurus, and it’s easy to think that napping is a secret weapon: not just a sticking plaster following poor sleep, but a path to enhanced cognition, improved mood and possibly improved athletic performance. Premier League footballers do it regularly – and so are concert pianists, fighters and business leaders. Yet, when you haven’t got a special sleep space or a job that permits regular snoozing, is it *truly* sufficient advantages to a quick nap to justify the hassle? Is there a reliable way to nod off promptly? Furthermore, can you really guarantee you’ll wake up feeling refreshed, not worse?
Exploring Your Nap Motivation
“Experts note three key drivers for napping in the adult population,” says an expert sleep science professor. “One is known as recovery napping, essentially what happens after experiencing poor sleep the night before. Another is preparatory napping, when you are pre-empting a sleep deficit in the future, such as during overnight shifts. The third is called “appetitive drive”, which simply is about the wish: there is a chance to nap in the afternoon, and it feels nice to nap.”
The initial step to consider, so, is consider your nap motivation. “Daytime sleep can be really helpful when nighttime sleep is disturbed because of factors you cannot change – such as, if you’re caring for an infant, or if you are healing from illness or heavy physical exertion,” states a sleep expert. “However, if you nap since your nighttime sleep seems unreliable or broken, that can be a sign your sleep drive is not as strong as it needs to be. Under those circumstances, daytime sleep can turn into part of the issue, rather than the answer. Use napping as a short-term solution for temporary issues – the main goal ought to remain a strong and predictable overnight rest.”
The Ideal Nap Length
This means that napping shouldn’t be too extended to interfere with your sleep at night, and preferably are not recommended post-3 p.m. (contingent on when you sleep at night). What's a reasonable length? Recommendations vary. Among the most referenced research on the subject, experts discovered that astronauts experienced up to a 54% increase in attentiveness and a 34% increase in task performance after a 26-minute nap (technically, this counted an initial six-minute falling asleep phase). “I’d suggest using an alarm for 20-30 minutes – the majority doze off within 10 minutes,” notes a sleep expert. “There’s a lot of recommendations concerning the optimal amount of minutes, but that tends to cause people to feel more stressed than anything – and the most counterproductive thing you can do while aiming to fall asleep is worry about it.”
If you’re going to sleep for longer, steer clear of the 45-60 minute window that induces sleep grogginess, that disoriented sensation upon waking. “The science suggests it is preferable to take an extended nap of one to one and a half hours rather than a mid-length nap,” explains the expert. “Three-quarters of an hour is sufficient to put you into slow-wave sleep and it is more probable to feel disoriented upon awakening – however, if you extend it a bit longer to 60 or 90 minutes, it's likely you'll to be completing a full cycle and should wake up feeling more rejuvenated. Though if you're dozing for 90 minutes, it may impact how you sleep later that night.”
Creating the Right Nap Environment
As for precise methods, suggestions are diverse. A few professionals suggest adopting comparable habits one would use to foster a good night’s sleep: a peaceful area, a comfortable bed and as much darkness as is feasible. Some advise that one could just doze on the sofa in whatever light is present – both to discourage post-nap grogginess and to maintain your sleeping quarters as the environment your mind associates with nighttime rest. “Falling asleep is notoriously difficult to will,” notes a specialist. “Lacking any drowsiness, it is tougher to get comfortable and practically instruct yourself to go to sleep. There must be some sleep pressure present to bring the sleep on initially. I can usually take a nap during the day and awaken on my own without a timer, but what helps many individuals is to anticipate a time where they feel naturally slightly tired and then simply ease into sleep.”
Experimentation is key, and when you have few options – for example, if you’re trying to squeeze in some shut-eye on a train or in a work pod – it's acceptable to employ sleep aids. “Coaching professional sportspeople, I recommend that they not rely on napping in bed, as they’re going to have|they will
