Tune into enough self-improvement experts, and you'll be tempting to convince yourself that a nap is a secret weapon: not just a band-aid following a bad night’s sleep, but a route to improved recall, improved mood and maybe quicker running times. Professional footballers are all at it – and so are concert pianists, UFC champions & media moguls. But if you lack a dedicated nap-room or employment that allows frequent naps, can there *honestly* enough benefits to a short sleep to justify the kerfuffle? Can you find a dependable method to fall asleep fast? Furthermore, can you truly ensure you’ll wake up feeling improved, not worse?
Exploring Your Nap Motivation
“There are three main reasons for napping for many people,” notes a leading sleep and circadian science professor. “One is what we call recovery napping, that is the action you take when you’ve had poor sleep the night before. The second is prophylactic napping, when you are pre-empting insufficient sleep coming up, such as during on night shifts. The third is called “hedonic napping”, which simply boils down to desire: you have a moment to sleep during the day, and it's enjoyable to nap.”
The primary task to do, therefore, is to examine your nap motivation. “Naps can be really helpful when overnight rest is disturbed due to causes beyond your control – such as, if you’re caring for an infant, or if you are healing after being ill or intense exercise,” states a sleep physiologist. “However, if you nap as your nighttime sleep feels fragile or broken, that can be a sign your need for sleep is not where it should be. In those cases, naps can become a contributing factor, rather than the answer. Employ naps as a temporary measure for temporary issues – the priority should still be a solid and consistent sleep at night.”
The Perfect Nap Duration
Therefore that napping shouldn’t be sufficiently lengthy to affect your overnight rest, and ideally are not recommended post-3 p.m. (based on what time you go to bed at night). What's a reasonable length? Guidelines are mixed. Among a prominent study on the subject, space agency scientists found that crew members had up to a 54% increase in alertness and a 34% boost in task performance following a nap of 26 minutes (in detail, this included a six-minute nodding-off period). “My advice is setting a timer for 20 to 30 minutes – the majority fall asleep quickly,” explains a sleep coach. “There’s a lot of recommendations concerning the optimal amount of time, but that tends to cause people to feel more anxious than anything else – and the most counterproductive thing you can do when attempting to nod off is worry about it.”
If you plan to take an extended nap, steer clear of the 45-60 minute window that promotes that sluggish feeling, that spaced-out feeling upon waking. “The science indicates it's more effective to opt for an extended nap of 60 to 90 minutes compared to a medium-length nap,” says the expert. “Forty-five minutes is enough time to put you into deep sleep and you’re more likely to feel sluggish when you wake up – whereas if you nap for a bit longer to a full sleep cycle, you will probably to finish a full cycle and are likely to get up feeling more alert. But if you’re sleeping for 90 minutes, it will affect how you sleep later that night.”
Establishing an Ideal Nap Environment
Regarding specific techniques, suggestions are diverse. A few professionals suggest employing the same protocol you’d use to encourage quality nighttime sleep: a peaceful area, a comfortable bed and maximum darkness as is feasible. Others suggest that it's fine to just doze in a chair in whatever light is present – to prevent post-nap grogginess and to preserve your bed as the place your mind associates with nighttime rest. “Napping is notoriously difficult to force,” explains a specialist. “Without the urge to sleep, it is tougher to get comfortable and essentially command yourself to go to sleep. There must be a natural inclination present to bring the sleep on initially. For me, it's possible to snooze in broad daylight and wake up naturally alarm-free, but what helps a lot of people is to look for a moment when they are naturally somewhat sleepy and just gently ease into sleep.”
Trying different approaches is valuable, and should options are scarce – such as, if you’re trying to grab 40 winks on a train or in a soundproof office pod – there’s nothing wrong to employ a few tools. “Coaching footballers, I suggest that they don’t get used to napping in bed, since they’re going to have|they will
