Hear a few performance experts, making it easy to convince yourself that napping is a powerful tool: rather than a sticking plaster after restless night, but a shortcut towards a better memory, improved mood and maybe a faster 5k run time. Professional athletes swear by it – and so are professional piano players, fighters and business leaders. However, if you lack a dedicated nap-room or employment that permits daytime sleep, are there *really* enough benefits to a quick nap to justify the kerfuffle? Can you find a dependable method to fall asleep fast? And can you really guarantee you’ll wake up feeling refreshed, not worse?
Exploring The Nap Motivation
“Experts note three key drivers for taking a nap in the adult population,” says an expert sleep and circadian science researcher. “Firstly, there's known as make-up sleep, which is what happens when you’ve had insufficient sleep the night before. The second is preparatory napping, which involves anticipating sleep loss in the future, for example during graveyard shifts. The third is called “pleasure-based sleep”, which simply boils down to wanting: you get a chance to nap in the daytime, and it's pleasant to nap.”
The primary task to do, so, is consider your nap motivation. “Daytime sleep can be really helpful when overnight rest is disturbed due to causes beyond your control – for instance, if you’re a new parent, or you’re recovering from illness or strenuous activity,” states a sleep expert. “Yet when you’re napping because your night sleep is unstable or poor, that is frequently a signal your need for sleep is not as strong as required. In those cases, naps can become a contributing factor, instead of the fix. Utilize daytime sleep as a temporary measure for temporary issues – the main goal should still be a strong and predictable overnight rest.”
The Optimal Nap Duration
This means that daytime sleep must not be sufficiently lengthy to interfere with your nighttime sleep, and best are not recommended post-3 p.m. (depending on when you sleep at night). What duration is wise? Guidelines are mixed. From a prominent study about napping, experts noted that crew members had up to a 54% increase in alertness plus a 34% rise in task performance post a 26-minute snooze (in detail, this involved a six-minute falling asleep phase). “I’d suggest setting a timer for half an hour or less – many individuals fall asleep quickly,” explains a sleep expert. “There’s a lot of recommendations regarding the ideal number for sleeping, but that tends to lead individuals to become more worried than anything else – and the least helpful action you can do when attempting to get to sleep is to stress over it.”
If you’re going to take an extended nap, steer clear of the period between 45 and 60 minutes that induces that sluggish feeling, that disoriented sensation upon waking. “The science would say it is preferable to have an extended nap of 60 to 90 minutes than a medium-length one,” notes the expert. “Forty-five minutes is long enough to plunge you into deep sleep and it is more probable to feel sluggish when you get up – whereas if you nap for a little longer to a full sleep cycle, you will probably to finish a natural sleep cycle and should get up feeling more alert. Though if you’re sleeping for an hour and a half, it may impact the quality of your sleep in the evening.”
Finding the Perfect Nap Environment
Regarding specific techniques, advice differs. A few professionals propose using the same protocol you use to promote quality nighttime sleep: a quiet room, a cozy bed and minimal light as you can manage. Others suggest that one could just doze in a chair in the existing light happens to be around – both to discourage that groggy feeling and to “protect” your bed as the environment you associate with proper sleep. “Sleep is quite challenging to will,” says a sleep coach. “Without any sleepiness, it is tougher to recline and essentially instruct yourself to fall asleep. You need some drive there to start the process to begin with. I can usually take a nap during the day and awaken on my own without a timer, but what helps a lot of people is to look for a moment when they are naturally somewhat sleepy and then simply relax into it.”
It’s worth experimenting, and should you have few options – for instance, when aiming to grab 40 winks during a commute or at the office – there’s nothing wrong to employ some accessories. “In my work with professional sportspeople, I recommend that they not rely on their own bed for naps, as they’re going to have|they will
