Tune into a few productivity gurus, and you'll be tempting to convince yourself that napping is a superpower: more than a quick fix after restless night, but a path to enhanced cognition, better spirits and maybe a faster 5k run time. Premier League footballers are all at it – along with professional piano players, fighters and media moguls. Yet, when you haven’t got a dedicated nap-room or employment that permits frequent naps, are there *really* worthwhile perks to a quick nap to justify the kerfuffle? Does there exist a dependable method to fall asleep fast? Plus, is it possible to really guarantee you will arise feeling refreshed, not worse?
Understanding Your Nap Motivation
“Experts note three primary motivations for taking a nap in the adult population,” says a leading sleep science professor. “One is known as recovery napping, essentially the action you take after experiencing poor sleep the previous night. Secondly, there's preparatory napping, where you are anticipating sleep loss in the future, for example during overnight shifts. The third is called “hedonic napping”, which basically is about desire: there is a moment to doze during the day, and it feels nice to nap.”
The initial step to consider, so, is to examine your reason for napping. “Daytime sleep can be really helpful when night sleeping is disturbed because of factors outside your control – such as, when you are a parent of a newborn, or if you are healing after being ill or heavy physical exertion,” states a sleep specialist. “However, if you nap since your sleep at night is unstable or poor, that is frequently a signal your need for sleep is not at the level required. Under those circumstances, napping can become part of the issue, instead of the fix. Utilize daytime sleep for brief periods for short-term problems – the main goal must always be a strong and predictable night’s sleep.”
The Ideal Nap Length
This implies that napping shouldn’t be sufficiently lengthy to affect your nighttime sleep, and best should not occur after about 3pm (contingent on what time you sleep overnight). What's a reasonable length? Guidelines are mixed. Among the most-cited studies on the subject, researchers at Nasa discovered that space travelers had up to a 54% increase in attentiveness plus a 34% rise in task performance post a 26-minute snooze (technically, this involved an initial six-minute sleep onset time). “I’d suggest using an alarm for 20 to 30 minutes – most people fall asleep within 10 minutes,” explains a sleep coach. “There’s a lot of guidance out there regarding the optimal amount for sleeping, but that tends to make people feel more anxious than anything else – and the least helpful action you can do when trying to fall asleep is to be anxious.”
If you’re going to take an extended nap, avoid the 45 to 60 minute range that promotes sleep grogginess, that spaced-out feeling when you wake. “Studies suggests it’s better to take a longer nap of one to one and a half hours than a medium-length one,” says the professor. “Forty-five minutes is long enough to put you into a deep sleep stage making it more likely to feel sluggish when you get up – while if you take it slightly longer to a full sleep cycle, you’re likely to be completing a natural sleep cycle and will probably get up feeling more alert. However, if you nap for a long period, it will affect the quality of your sleep later that night.”
Establishing the Perfect Snooze Setting
When it comes to exact methodologies, advice differs. Some experts propose using similar routines one would use to promote restful sleep: a peaceful area, a supportive surface and as much darkness as is feasible. Alternatively, experts propose that you should merely snooze on a couch with ambient lighting is available – to prevent sleep inertia and to preserve your bedroom as the environment your mind associates with nighttime rest. “Sleep is something really tricky to force,” notes an expert. “Without any drowsiness, it is tougher to recline and basically tell yourself to go to sleep. There must be some drive there to start the process in the first place. Personally, I can often take a nap in broad daylight and wake up naturally alarm-free, however, what assists most folks is to anticipate a moment when they are naturally slightly tired and just gently allow sleep to come.”
Trying different approaches is valuable, and when options are scarce – for example, when aiming to fit in a quick nap during a commute or in a work pod – it is perfectly fine to employ some accessories. “In my work with elite athletes, I advise that they don’t get used to their own bed for naps, because they’re going to have|they will
