Hear enough performance podcasters, and you'll be easy to convince yourself that a nap is a powerful tool: not just a band-aid after restless night, but a shortcut to enhanced cognition, a brighter outlook and possibly quicker running times. Professional soccer players are all at it – along with professional piano players, UFC champions and media moguls. Yet, when you haven’t got a dedicated nap-room or a job that allows regular snoozing, are there *really* enough benefits to a burst of shut-eye to justify the hassle? Is there a reliable way to nod off promptly? And can you truly ensure you will arise feeling refreshed, rather than worse?
Exploring Your Drive to Snooze
“There are three key drivers for taking a nap among most adults,” says a leading sleep and circadian science specialist. “The first is termed compensatory napping, essentially what happens after experiencing insufficient sleep overnight. The second is pre-emptive sleep, which involves pre-empting insufficient sleep in the future, such as during on night shifts. The third is called “hedonic napping”, which essentially is about wanting: you get an opportunity to sleep in the afternoon, and it's enjoyable to indulge.”
The primary task to undertake, so, is to examine your reason for napping. “Napping can be really helpful when overnight rest is disturbed due to causes you cannot change – for example, for a new parent, or you’re recovering from illness or heavy physical exertion,” explains a sleep expert. “However, if you’re napping since your sleep at night feels fragile or poor, that’s often a signal your need for sleep is not as strong as it should be. In such situations, daytime sleep can turn into part of the problem, not the solution. Use napping for brief periods for temporary issues – the focus ought to remain a robust and regular night’s sleep.”
The Perfect Nap Length
This implies that naps shouldn’t be long enough to interfere with your nighttime sleep, and best are not recommended post-3 p.m. (depending on what time you go to bed overnight). How long is sensible? Recommendations vary. Among the most-cited studies on the subject, researchers at Nasa discovered that astronauts experienced up to a 54% increase in vigilance and a 34% boost in cognitive performance after a 26-minute nap (to be precise, this involved an initial six-minute sleep onset time). “I recommend using an alarm for half an hour or less – many individuals are asleep in under ten minutes,” notes a sleep coach. “You'll find much recommendations concerning the perfect length for sleeping, yet that often make people feel more anxious than anything else – and the most counterproductive thing you can do when trying to fall asleep is worry about it.”
Should you decide to nap for a longer period, avoid the 45-60 minute window that promotes sleep inertia, that spaced-out feeling when you awaken. “The science indicates it's more effective to take a longer nap lasting 60-90 minutes rather than a mid-length nap,” says the expert. “45 minutes is enough time to put you into slow-wave sleep and you’re more likely to feel disoriented when you get up – while if you nap for slightly longer to an hour or 90 minutes, it's likely you'll to finish a natural sleep cycle and will probably awaken feeling more rejuvenated. However, if you nap for an hour and a half, it will affect your sleep that night.”
Creating an Ideal Snooze Setting
As for exact methodologies, recommendations vary. Certain specialists recommend adopting similar routines one would use to promote quality nighttime sleep: a silent space, a comfortable bed and as much darkness as you can manage. Others suggest that one could simply nap in a chair in whatever light is available – to avoid post-nap grogginess and to preserve your sleeping quarters as the space your brain links with nighttime rest. “Napping is something really tricky to command,” says a specialist. “Lacking any sleepiness, it is tougher to lie down and practically instruct yourself to fall asleep. There must be some sleep pressure present to initiate sleep to begin with. For me, it's possible to snooze in broad daylight and wake up naturally alarm-free, but what helps most folks is to anticipate a moment where they feel naturally somewhat sleepy and calmly relax into it.”
Experimentation is key, and should you have few options – such as, if you’re trying to squeeze in 40 winks on a train or at the office – it is perfectly fine to use some accessories. “In my work with professional sportspeople, I recommend that they avoid becoming accustomed to sleeping in their bed, as they’re going to have|they will
