Listen to a few performance experts, making it easy to convince yourself that a nap is a secret weapon: not just a quick fix after poor sleep, but a shortcut to enhanced cognition, improved mood and maybe a faster 5k run time. Elite footballers swear by it – and so are concert pianists, mixed martial artists and high-profile executives. However, if you don't have a dedicated nap-room or a job that permits regular snoozing, are there *really* enough benefits to a burst of shut-eye to merit the kerfuffle? Can you find a surefire technique to fall asleep fast? Furthermore, can you really guarantee you will arise feeling refreshed, rather than worse?
Exploring Your Drive to Snooze
“We can identify three primary motivations for daytime sleep among most adults,” notes a professor of sleep and circadian science professor. “One is termed recovery napping, essentially what happens after experiencing poor sleep overnight. Another is pre-emptive sleep, when you are anticipating insufficient sleep coming up, for instance during on night shifts. Finally, there's “appetitive drive”, which essentially comes down to the wish: you get a moment to doze during the day, and it feels nice to nap.”
The initial step to undertake, then, is to examine why you want to nap. “Naps can be truly beneficial when night sleeping is being disrupted due to causes beyond your control – such as, for a new parent, or if you are healing from illness or strenuous activity,” explains a sleep expert. “But if you’re napping because your night sleep seems unreliable or broken, that’s often a signal your need for sleep is not at the level it needs to be. In such situations, daytime sleep can turn into part of the problem, instead of the fix. Utilize daytime sleep for brief periods for temporary issues – the main goal should still be a solid and consistent sleep at night.”
The Perfect Nap Length
This means that naps must not be sufficiently lengthy to interfere with your nighttime sleep, and ideally are not recommended in the late afternoon (contingent on what time you go to bed in the evening). What duration is wise? Guidelines are mixed. In one of a prominent study on the subject, researchers at Nasa noted that space travelers showed improvements of over 50% in attentiveness plus a 34% rise in performance after a 26-minute nap (to be precise, this counted an initial six-minute sleep onset time). “I recommend setting a timer for 20-30 minutes – the majority doze off within 10 minutes,” explains a sleep coach. “There’s a lot of guidance out there regarding the perfect length of time, yet that often lead individuals to become more anxious than anything – and the least helpful action you can do while aiming to get to sleep is worry about it.”
Should you decide to nap for a longer period, steer clear of the 45-60 minute window that promotes sleep grogginess, that spaced-out feeling when you awaken. “The science would say it is preferable to take a longer nap of 60 to 90 minutes compared to a medium-length nap,” says the sleep scientist. “Three-quarters of an hour is enough time to plunge you into deep sleep making it more likely to feel disoriented upon awakening – however, if you extend it a little longer to a full sleep cycle, you will probably to finish a full cycle and should awaken feeling more rejuvenated. Though if you're dozing for a long period, it will affect your sleep later that night.”
Finding the Perfect Sleep Space
As for specific techniques, suggestions are diverse. Some experts recommend using comparable habits you use to foster a good night’s sleep: a peaceful area, a cozy bed and as much darkness as is feasible. Some advise that you should merely snooze in a chair in whatever light happens to be around – to prevent that groggy feeling and to maintain your sleeping quarters as the space you associate with nighttime rest. “Sleep is notoriously difficult to command,” notes a sleep coach. “Without any drowsiness, it is tougher to recline and essentially command yourself to fall asleep. You need a natural inclination available to bring the sleep on initially. Personally, I can often nap in broad daylight and wake up naturally without an alarm, however, what assists many individuals is to look for a time that they’re naturally slightly tired and just gently ease into sleep.”
Experimentation is key, and when you have few options – for example, when aiming to grab 40 winks on a train or in a soundproof office pod – there’s nothing wrong with bringing sleep aids. “Coaching professional sportspeople, I recommend that they avoid becoming accustomed to sleeping in their bed, as they’re going to have|they will
