Tune into a few productivity gurus, making it tempting to believe that a nap is a secret weapon: more than a band-aid after poor sleep, but a path towards enhanced cognition, improved mood and possibly quicker running times. Elite footballers do it regularly – as do concert pianists, mixed martial artists and business leaders. But if you haven’t got a special sleep space or a career that permits regular snoozing, are there *really* worthwhile perks to a short sleep to merit the hassle? Can you find a surefire technique to nod off promptly? Furthermore, can you honestly promise you will arise feeling improved, not worse?
Identifying Your Nap Motivation
“We can identify three main reasons for taking a nap among most adults,” says a professor of circadian rhythm specialist. “One is known as make-up sleep, which is what you do when you’ve had poor sleep the night before. Secondly, there's preparatory napping, where you are preparing for a sleep deficit ahead, for example if you’re working graveyard shifts. The third reason is “appetitive drive”, which simply is about the wish: you have an opportunity to sleep during the day, and it's pleasant to do it.”
The first thing to do, then, is to examine why you want to nap. “Daytime sleep can be truly beneficial when night sleeping is disturbed due to causes outside your control – for instance, when you are a new parent, or you’re recovering from illness or heavy physical exertion,” says a sleep specialist. “However, if you’re napping because your sleep at night feels fragile or unreliable, that is frequently a sign your need for sleep is not at the level it needs to be. Under those circumstances, daytime sleep can turn into part of the issue, not the solution. Use napping as a temporary measure for short-term problems – the main goal should still be a solid and consistent sleep at night.”
The Perfect Snooze Time
This implies that napping must not be long enough to disrupt your sleep at night, and ideally are not recommended in the late afternoon (depending on the time you retire overnight). What's a reasonable length? Recommendations vary. From a prominent study regarding daytime sleep, space agency scientists noted that astronauts had improvements of over 50% in alertness plus a 34% rise in cognitive performance following a nap of 26 minutes (in detail, this involved an initial six-minute falling asleep phase). “I recommend using an alarm for 20 to 30 minutes – most people doze off in under ten minutes,” explains a specialist. “You'll find much guidance out there about the perfect length of minutes, but that tends to make people feel more anxious than anything else – and the least helpful action you can do when attempting to nod off is to be anxious.”
If you’re going to nap for a longer period, avoid the 45-60 minute window that encourages sleep grogginess, that foggy state upon waking. “Studies would say it's more effective to opt for a longer nap of 60 to 90 minutes than a medium-length one,” says the expert. “Three-quarters of an hour is enough time to plunge you into slow-wave sleep and you’re more likely to feel groggy when you wake up – while if you take it a bit longer to an hour or 90 minutes, you will probably to be completing a full cycle and should get up feeling more refreshed. Though if you're dozing for a long period, it will affect your sleep that night.”
Establishing the Right Sleep Space
When it comes to precise methods, advice differs. Certain specialists propose employing similar routines you’d use to foster a good night’s sleep: a silent space, a comfortable bed and maximum darkness as you can manage. Some advise that you should just doze on a couch in the existing light happens to be around – to prevent that groggy feeling and to “protect” your sleeping quarters as the space your brain links with nighttime rest. “Napping is notoriously difficult to command,” notes an expert. “Lacking the urge to sleep, it becomes harder to get comfortable and basically instruct yourself to fall asleep. You need a natural inclination present to initiate sleep initially. Personally, I can often nap in full light and naturally wake up without an alarm, however, what assists most folks is to look for an instance that they’re naturally feeling a bit drowsy and then simply relax into it.”
Trying different approaches is valuable, and when your choices are limited – such as, if you’re trying to fit in a quick nap while traveling or at the office – it is perfectly fine with bringing a few tools. “In my work with professional sportspeople, I recommend that they not rely on sleeping in their bed, as they’re going to have|they will
