Listen to enough self-improvement gurus, making it easy to believe that napping is a powerful tool: more than a quick fix after restless night, but a path to improved recall, better spirits and perhaps quicker running times. Elite athletes do it regularly – and so are concert pianists, fighters & high-profile executives. However, if you haven’t got a dedicated nap-room or a job that allows frequent naps, are there *really* worthwhile perks to a short sleep for it to be worth the kerfuffle? Is there a dependable method to nod off promptly? And can you honestly promise you’ll wake up feeling better, not worse?
Exploring The Nap Motivation
“We can identify three main reasons for napping for many people,” notes a professor of circadian rhythm specialist. “Firstly, there's termed compensatory napping, essentially the action you take after experiencing poor sleep the night before. Another is prophylactic napping, which involves anticipating sleep loss ahead, for instance when working graveyard shifts. The third reason is “pleasure-based sleep”, which essentially comes down to wanting: you get a chance to doze during the day, and it feels nice to do it.”
The primary task to do, therefore, is consider why you want to nap. “Naps can be really helpful when overnight rest gets interrupted because of factors beyond your control – such as, if you’re caring for an infant, or you’re recovering after being ill or strenuous activity,” states a sleep physiologist. “But if you’re napping as your nighttime sleep seems unreliable or unreliable, that is frequently a sign your need for sleep is not at the level it should be. In such situations, naps can become part of the issue, instead of the fix. Use napping as a short-term solution for short-term problems – the main goal ought to remain a strong and predictable overnight rest.”
The Optimal Nap Duration
This implies that daytime sleep must not be sufficiently lengthy to affect your overnight rest, and ideally shouldn’t take place in the late afternoon (depending on the time you retire overnight). What's a reasonable length? Guidelines are mixed. In one of the most-cited studies on the subject, researchers at Nasa noted that crew members experienced a boost of up to 54% in attentiveness and a 34% increase in performance post a 26-minute snooze (technically, this involved a six-minute long falling asleep phase). “I recommend using an alarm for 20 to 30 minutes – most people fall asleep within 10 minutes,” explains a sleep coach. “There is plenty of guidance out there concerning the perfect length of minutes, however, that can lead individuals to become more worried above all – and the least helpful action you can possibly do while aiming to get to sleep is worry about it.”
If you plan to take an extended nap, bypass the period between 45 and 60 minutes that promotes that sluggish feeling, that foggy state when you wake. “Research suggests it’s better to have a longer nap of one to one and a half hours than a medium-length one,” says the sleep scientist. “Three-quarters of an hour is enough time to plunge you into slow-wave sleep and it is more probable to feel groggy when you wake up – whereas if you extend it slightly longer to a full sleep cycle, you’re likely to be on the end of a sleep cycle and are likely to wake up feeling more alert. However, if you’re sleeping for a long period, it may impact the quality of your sleep in the evening.”
Finding an Ideal Nap Environment
When it comes to exact methodologies, suggestions are diverse. A few professionals suggest adopting similar routines you use to promote restful sleep: a peaceful area, a comfortable bed and maximum darkness as possible. Alternatively, experts propose that it's fine to simply nap on the sofa in the existing light is present – to prevent that groggy feeling and to “protect” your bedroom as the space you associate with nighttime rest. “Sleep is notoriously difficult to force,” says an expert. “If you don’t have any drowsiness, it is tougher to get comfortable and essentially instruct yourself to go to sleep. You need a natural inclination there to start the process to begin with. Personally, I can often nap in full light and naturally wake up without an alarm, though, what aids many individuals is to wait for a time when they are naturally feeling a bit drowsy and then simply allow sleep to come.”
It’s worth experimenting, and should options are scarce – such as, when aiming to grab 40 winks on a train or in a soundproof office pod – it is perfectly fine to employ a few tools. “When I’m working with footballers, I recommend that they don’t get used to their own bed for naps, because they’re going to have|they will
