Tune into a few self-improvement experts, and you'll be tempting to think that a nap is a secret weapon: more than a quick fix after poor sleep, but a path towards improved recall, improved mood and possibly improved athletic performance. Elite athletes are all at it – and so are musicians, fighters & high-profile executives. However, if you lack a dedicated nap-room or a job that encourages regular snoozing, can there *honestly* sufficient advantages to a short sleep to justify the hassle? Is there a reliable way to get to sleep quickly enough? Plus, is it possible to truly ensure you will get up feeling refreshed, rather than worse?
Understanding The Drive to Snooze
“Experts note three main reasons for taking a nap in the adult population,” explains a professor of sleep science professor. “The first is known as compensatory napping, that is what you do following a lack of sleep the night before. Secondly, there's pre-emptive sleep, where you are anticipating insufficient sleep ahead, for example during on night shifts. The third is called “hedonic napping”, which simply comes down to wanting: you have a moment to sleep during the day, and it's enjoyable to nap.”
The primary task to consider, then, is to think about why you want to nap. “Naps can be genuinely useful when nighttime sleep is being disrupted for reasons you cannot change – for instance, when you are a new parent, or recovering from sickness or strenuous activity,” states a sleep physiologist. “However, if you’re napping since your sleep at night is unstable or unreliable, that’s often an indicator your body's sleep pressure is not where it should be. In such situations, naps can become part of the problem, instead of the fix. Use napping as a temporary measure to address immediate needs – the focus ought to remain a robust and regular night’s sleep.”
The Optimal Nap Length
This implies that naps must not be too extended to disrupt your nighttime sleep, and ideally should not occur in the late afternoon (depending on what time you go to bed overnight). What duration is wise? Recommendations vary. Among the most referenced research regarding daytime sleep, space agency scientists discovered that astronauts showed improvements of over 50% in vigilance and a 34% increase in cognitive performance after a 26-minute nap (in detail, this involved a six-minute long falling asleep phase). “I recommend using an alarm for half an hour or less – the majority doze off in under ten minutes,” says a sleep expert. “There’s a lot of guidance out there regarding the ideal number for sleeping, however, that can cause people to feel more stressed than anything else – and the least helpful action you can possibly do when attempting to nod off is to stress over it.”
If you plan to nap for a longer period, steer clear of the 45-60 minute window that induces that sluggish feeling, that foggy state when you wake. “The science suggests it’s better to opt for a lengthier snooze lasting 60-90 minutes rather than a mid-length nap,” says the expert. “45 minutes is long enough to put you into a deep sleep stage and you’re more likely to feel disoriented when you get up – whereas if you take it a bit longer to an hour or 90 minutes, it's likely you'll to be completing a natural sleep cycle and will probably awaken feeling more rejuvenated. However, if you're dozing for an hour and a half, it may impact the quality of your sleep that night.”
Establishing an Ideal Snooze Setting
When it comes to exact methodologies, suggestions are diverse. Certain specialists propose using the same protocol you use to promote a good night’s sleep: a quiet room, a cozy bed and maximum darkness as you can manage. Others suggest that one could merely snooze on the sofa with ambient lighting is present – to avoid sleep inertia and to preserve your sleeping quarters as the environment you associate with *real* sleep. “Napping is quite challenging to will,” notes a sleep coach. “Lacking any sleepiness, it becomes harder to lie down and essentially instruct yourself to nod off. There’s got to be a natural inclination there to initiate sleep to begin with. For me, it's possible to snooze in broad daylight and awaken on my own without an alarm, but what helps a lot of people is to wait for a time when they are naturally slightly tired and calmly relax into it.”
Experimentation is key, and if your choices are limited – for instance, if you’re trying to grab a quick nap on a train or in a work pod – it is perfectly fine to employ sleep aids. “In my work with footballers, I recommend that they avoid becoming accustomed to napping in bed, as they’re going to have|they will
