Hear plenty of performance experts, and you'll be easy to believe that a nap is a powerful tool: rather than a quick fix after restless night, but a route to a better memory, improved mood and maybe a faster 5k run time. Elite athletes swear by it – along with musicians, UFC champions & media moguls. Yet, when you don't have a special sleep space or employment that encourages regular snoozing, is it *truly* enough benefits to a short sleep for it to be worth the hassle? Can you find a dependable method to get to sleep quickly enough? Plus, is it possible to honestly promise you will get up feeling refreshed, not worse?
Exploring Your Reasons for Napping
“Experts note three key drivers for taking a nap among most adults,” says a leading circadian rhythm researcher. “Firstly, there's what we call compensatory napping, which is what you do after experiencing poor sleep the previous night. Secondly, there's preparatory napping, where you are pre-empting a sleep deficit in the future, such as when working graveyard shifts. The third is called “hedonic napping”, which simply is about wanting: you get an opportunity to doze in the afternoon, and it's pleasant to indulge.”
The first thing to do, then, is to think about why you want to nap. “Napping can be truly beneficial when night sleeping is being disrupted for reasons beyond your control – such as, if you’re a new parent, or recovering from illness or heavy physical exertion,” says a sleep specialist. “However, if you take a nap as your sleep at night seems unreliable or poor, that’s often a signal your need for sleep is not at the level it should be. Under those circumstances, napping can become part of the problem, not the solution. Use napping as a short-term solution to address immediate needs – the main goal should still be a strong and predictable sleep at night.”
The Ideal Snooze Time
This means that daytime sleep must not be too extended to affect your sleep at night, and preferably shouldn’t take place after about 3pm (based on when you go to bed overnight). How long is sensible? Recommendations vary. Among the most-cited studies regarding daytime sleep, space agency scientists discovered that astronauts showed a boost of up to 54% in vigilance plus a 34% rise in performance post a 26-minute snooze (technically, this counted a six-minute nodding-off period). “I’d suggest using an alarm for 20-30 minutes – the majority doze off in under ten minutes,” says a sleep expert. “There’s a lot of recommendations concerning the optimal amount for sleeping, yet that often lead individuals to become more anxious above all – and the worst thing you can do when trying to get to sleep is to be anxious.”
Should you decide to sleep for longer, steer clear of the 45-60 minute window that promotes that sluggish feeling, that disoriented sensation when you wake. “Research suggests it is preferable to have a lengthier snooze lasting 60-90 minutes rather than a mid-length nap,” explains the professor. “45 minutes is enough time to plunge you into deep sleep and it is more probable to feel sluggish when you wake up – however, if you extend it slightly longer to 60 or 90 minutes, you’re likely to be completing a full cycle and will probably wake up feeling more refreshed. However, if you're dozing for an hour and a half, it will affect the quality of your sleep later that night.”
Finding the Perfect Snooze Setting
As for precise methods, suggestions are diverse. A few professionals propose adopting the same protocol you use to encourage quality nighttime sleep: a silent space, a cozy bed and as much darkness as you can manage. Alternatively, experts propose that you should merely snooze on a couch with ambient lighting is present – to prevent sleep inertia and to “protect” your bed as the environment your mind associates with *real* sleep. “Napping is notoriously difficult to command,” says a sleep coach. “If you don’t have the urge to sleep, it is tougher to recline and basically instruct yourself to fall asleep. There must be some drive present to initiate sleep initially. I can usually nap during the day and naturally wake up without an alarm, however, what assists many individuals is to look for a time when they are naturally feeling a bit drowsy and then simply ease into sleep.”
Trying different approaches is valuable, and if your choices are limited – such as, if you’re trying to squeeze in a quick nap during a commute or in a soundproof office pod – there’s nothing wrong to use a few tools. “When I’m working with footballers, I recommend that they not rely on sleeping in their bed, as they’re going to have|they will
