Tune into plenty of productivity experts, making it tempting to convince yourself that dozing is a powerful tool: not just a band-aid following poor sleep, but a shortcut towards a better memory, a brighter outlook and maybe a faster 5k run time. Premier League athletes swear by it – and so are musicians, UFC champions and high-profile executives. However, if you lack a special sleep space or a career that permits daytime sleep, is it *truly* worthwhile perks to a short sleep to merit the effort? Is there a surefire technique to fall asleep fast? Plus, is it possible to really guarantee you will arise feeling refreshed, not worse?
Exploring The Reasons for Napping
“Experts note three main reasons for taking a nap for many people,” says a leading sleep science professor. “Firstly, there's what we call recovery napping, essentially what happens following insufficient sleep the night before. Another is pre-emptive sleep, which involves anticipating sleep loss coming up, for example during graveyard shifts. Finally, there's “pleasure-based sleep”, which basically is about desire: you have a moment to doze in the daytime, and it feels nice to do it.”
The initial step to consider, then, is to think about why you want to nap. “Napping can be genuinely useful when night sleeping is being disrupted because of factors beyond your control – such as, for caring for an infant, or you’re recovering from sickness or intense exercise,” says a sleep physiologist. “However, if you nap as your night sleep seems unreliable or unreliable, that is frequently an indicator your body's sleep pressure is not as strong as it needs to be. Under those circumstances, daytime sleep can turn into part of the issue, rather than the answer. Use napping as a temporary measure for short-term problems – the priority ought to remain a solid and consistent overnight rest.”
The Perfect Nap Length
This implies that naps ought not to be sufficiently lengthy to disrupt your nighttime sleep, and ideally should not occur post-3 p.m. (based on the time you go to bed at night). What duration is wise? Recommendations vary. From a prominent study about napping, space agency scientists noted that astronauts had improvements of over 50% in vigilance plus a 34% rise in cognitive performance post a 26-minute snooze (in detail, this included a six-minute falling asleep phase). “I recommend setting an alarm for 20-30 minutes – the majority doze off in under ten minutes,” says a specialist. “There is plenty of recommendations regarding the optimal amount of minutes, but that tends to cause people to feel more anxious than anything – and the most counterproductive thing you can do while aiming to fall asleep is worry about it.”
If you’re going to take an extended nap, steer clear of the 45 to 60 minute range that encourages sleep grogginess, that foggy state upon waking. “Research indicates it’s better to opt for a lengthier snooze of one to one and a half hours rather than a mid-length nap,” says the professor. “45 minutes is long enough to plunge you into slow-wave sleep and it is more probable to feel disoriented when you wake up – however, if you nap for a little longer to a full sleep cycle, you’re likely to finish of a sleep cycle and should awaken feeling more refreshed. Though if you nap for an hour and a half, it can influence how you sleep later that night.”
Creating the Right Nap Environment
As for precise methods, recommendations vary. A few professionals propose using comparable habits you use to encourage quality nighttime sleep: a silent space, a supportive surface and maximum darkness as you can manage. Alternatively, experts propose that one could just doze on the sofa in whatever light is present – to prevent that groggy feeling and to “protect” your bedroom as the space your brain links with nighttime rest. “Napping is quite challenging to will,” notes a specialist. “Without any sleepiness, it is more challenging to lie down and essentially instruct yourself to nod off. There’s got to be some sleep pressure present to start the process to begin with. I can usually snooze in broad daylight and awaken on my own alarm-free, however, what assists a lot of people is to anticipate an instance when they are naturally feeling a bit drowsy and just gently ease into sleep.”
It’s worth experimenting, and if options are scarce – for example, if you’re trying to fit in 40 winks during a commute or in a soundproof office pod – it's acceptable 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
