Hear plenty of performance gurus, and it’s simple to think that dozing is a superpower: not just a quick fix after poor sleep, but a path towards enhanced cognition, better spirits and possibly improved athletic performance. Premier League footballers swear by it – and so are professional piano players, UFC champions and high-profile executives. But if you lack a room for napping or a job that permits frequent naps, are there *really* enough benefits to a short sleep to merit the hassle? Is there a surefire technique to fall asleep fast? Furthermore, can you honestly promise you will arise feeling better, not worse?
Exploring Your Reasons for Napping
“Experts note three primary motivations for daytime sleep among most adults,” notes an expert sleep and circadian science specialist. “The first is termed compensatory napping, essentially the action you take after experiencing a lack of sleep the previous night. Secondly, there's prophylactic napping, where you are pre-empting a sleep deficit ahead, for example if you’re working graveyard shifts. Finally, there's “hedonic napping”, which essentially is about desire: you get a moment to nap during the day, and it's enjoyable to do it.”
The primary task to do, so, is consider your reason for napping. “Daytime sleep can be genuinely useful when night sleeping is disturbed because of factors beyond your control – such as, when you are a new parent, or you’re recovering from illness or heavy physical exertion,” states a sleep expert. “However, if you take a nap since your sleep at night is unstable or unreliable, that’s often a sign your need for sleep is not where it should be. Under those circumstances, naps can become part of the issue, not the solution. Use napping as a temporary measure to address immediate needs – the main goal must always be a robust and regular night’s sleep.”
The Perfect Nap Length
This means that daytime sleep ought not to be sufficiently lengthy to disrupt your nighttime sleep, and best should not occur in the late afternoon (based on the time you sleep at night). What duration is wise? Advice differs. Among a prominent study about napping, space agency scientists noted that astronauts experienced improvements of over 50% in attentiveness plus a 34% rise in cognitive performance following a nap of 26 minutes (in detail, this counted an initial six-minute falling asleep phase). “I’d suggest setting a timer for half an hour or less – most people are asleep quickly,” says a specialist. “There’s a lot of advice around regarding the perfect length of minutes, yet that often cause people to feel more worried above all – and the least helpful action you can do when trying to nod off is to be anxious.”
Should you decide to sleep for longer, avoid the period between 45 and 60 minutes that encourages sleep inertia, that spaced-out feeling upon waking. “The science would say it's more effective to have a lengthier snooze of 60 to 90 minutes compared to a medium-length nap,” notes the professor. “Forty-five minutes is enough time to plunge you into a deep sleep stage making it more likely to feel groggy when you get up – while if you take it slightly longer to 60 or 90 minutes, you’re likely to finish a natural sleep cycle and will probably awaken feeling more alert. But if you’re sleeping for an hour and a half, it can influence your sleep later that night.”
Establishing the Perfect Snooze Setting
When it comes to precise methods, recommendations vary. Some experts suggest employing the same protocol one would use to foster restful sleep: a silent space, a comfortable bed and minimal light as is feasible. Alternatively, experts propose that it's fine to merely snooze on the sofa with ambient lighting happens to be around – to prevent that groggy feeling and to maintain your bedroom as the place your mind associates with proper sleep. “Sleep is something really tricky to will,” notes an expert. “Without the urge to sleep, it is more challenging to lie down and basically instruct yourself to nod off. You need some drive present to start the process to begin with. Personally, I can often nap in broad daylight and naturally wake up alarm-free, but what helps a lot of people is to look for a time that they’re naturally slightly tired and calmly relax into it.”
Experimentation is key, and when you have few options – for instance, if you’re trying to fit in a quick nap during a commute or in a work pod – there’s nothing wrong with bringing some accessories. “Coaching professional sportspeople, I suggest that they avoid becoming accustomed to sleeping in their bed, since they’re going to have|they will
