Hear a few performance podcasters, making it easy to think that dozing is a superpower: not just a band-aid after restless night, but a route to enhanced cognition, better spirits and maybe a faster 5k run time. Premier League athletes are all at it – as do concert pianists, fighters and high-profile executives. But if you don't have a room for napping or a career that permits frequent naps, are there *really* worthwhile perks to a short sleep to justify the hassle? Is there a surefire technique to get to sleep quickly enough? Furthermore, can you honestly promise you will arise feeling refreshed, rather than worse?
Identifying The Nap Motivation
“There are three primary motivations for napping among most adults,” notes a professor of sleep and circadian science researcher. “One is termed compensatory napping, that is what you do when you’ve had poor sleep overnight. Secondly, there's preparatory napping, when you are anticipating sleep loss coming up, for instance when working overnight shifts. Finally, there's “appetitive drive”, which simply comes down to the wish: there is a moment to doze in the daytime, and it's enjoyable to indulge.”
The first thing to consider, therefore, is to think about your nap motivation. “Daytime sleep can be genuinely useful when nighttime sleep gets interrupted due to causes you cannot change – for example, if you’re a parent of a newborn, or if you are healing after being ill or heavy physical exertion,” states a sleep specialist. “However, if you’re napping as your night sleep is unstable or unreliable, that’s often a signal your sleep drive is not at the level it should be. In those cases, daytime sleep can turn into part of the problem, instead of the fix. Employ naps for brief periods for short-term problems – the priority must always be a strong and predictable night’s sleep.”
The Ideal Nap Duration
Therefore that daytime sleep must not be sufficiently lengthy to interfere with your nighttime sleep, and ideally shouldn’t take place in the late afternoon (based on the time you go to bed at night). What's a reasonable length? Advice differs. In one of a prominent study regarding daytime sleep, researchers at Nasa noted that crew members showed up to a 54% increase in alertness plus a 34% rise in task performance following a nap of 26 minutes (technically, this counted a six-minute falling asleep phase). “I’d suggest using an alarm for half an hour or less – most people are asleep in under ten minutes,” says a sleep coach. “You'll find much advice around regarding the ideal number of minutes, yet that often cause people to feel more stressed than anything else – and the least helpful action you can possibly do when attempting to get to sleep is to stress over it.”
If you plan to sleep for longer, avoid the period between 45 and 60 minutes that encourages sleep grogginess, that disoriented sensation upon waking. “Research would say it's more effective to have a longer nap of one to one and a half hours than a medium-length one,” explains the professor. “Forty-five minutes is long enough to send you into deep sleep and it is more probable to feel disoriented when you wake up – whereas if you nap for a little longer to 60 or 90 minutes, you will probably to be completing a natural sleep cycle and will probably get up feeling more refreshed. However, if you're dozing for an hour and a half, it will affect how you sleep that night.”
Establishing an Ideal Sleep Space
Regarding exact methodologies, advice differs. A few professionals propose adopting the same protocol one would use to promote restful sleep: a peaceful area, a cozy bed and as much darkness as you can manage. Alternatively, experts propose that one could just doze on the sofa in the existing light happens to be around – to avoid sleep inertia and to maintain your bed as the environment you associate with proper sleep. “Napping is quite challenging to force,” explains a sleep coach. “Lacking any drowsiness, it is tougher to get comfortable and essentially tell yourself to nod off. There must be a natural inclination there to bring the sleep on initially. Personally, I can often snooze in full light and awaken on my own without a timer, though, what aids most folks is to wait for a moment when they are naturally slightly tired and just gently ease into sleep.”
Experimentation is key, and should you have few options – for example, if attempting to squeeze in some shut-eye on a train or in a work pod – it's acceptable to employ some accessories. “When I’m working with professional sportspeople, I suggest that they don’t get used to napping in bed, since they’re going to have|they will
