Hear plenty of performance podcasters, and you'll be tempting to convince yourself that a nap is a powerful tool: rather than a sticking plaster following poor sleep, but a route towards enhanced cognition, a brighter outlook and maybe quicker running times. Premier League footballers are all at it – as do concert pianists, fighters & business leaders. Yet, when you haven’t got a dedicated nap-room or a career that encourages daytime sleep, can there *honestly* sufficient advantages to a burst of shut-eye to justify the hassle? Is there a surefire technique to nod off promptly? Plus, is it possible to truly ensure you will arise feeling refreshed, rather than worse?
Understanding The Nap Motivation
“Experts note three main reasons for daytime sleep among most adults,” says a leading sleep science professor. “The first is termed recovery napping, essentially what happens following poor sleep overnight. Another is prophylactic napping, which involves preparing for insufficient sleep in the future, such as during overnight shifts. Finally, there's “appetitive drive”, which essentially is about desire: there is a moment to sleep during the day, and it's pleasant to indulge.”
The primary task to do, then, is consider why you want to nap. “Napping can be truly beneficial when night sleeping is disturbed due to causes beyond your control – for example, for a parent of a newborn, or recovering from illness or heavy physical exertion,” states a sleep physiologist. “However, if you nap because your nighttime sleep feels fragile or broken, that can be a sign your need for sleep is not as strong as it should be. In such situations, napping can become part of the issue, instead of the fix. Employ naps for brief periods for temporary issues – the focus ought to remain a strong and predictable sleep at night.”
The Optimal Nap Length
Therefore that daytime sleep shouldn’t be too extended to affect your sleep at night, and preferably should not occur in the late afternoon (based on the time you go to bed in the evening). How long is sensible? Advice differs. Among the most referenced research about napping, researchers at Nasa found that crew members had improvements of over 50% in vigilance plus a 34% rise in task performance following a nap of 26 minutes (technically, this involved a six-minute long sleep onset time). “My advice is using an alarm for half an hour or less – many individuals doze off quickly,” says a sleep expert. “There’s a lot of advice around regarding the perfect length of minutes, yet that often lead individuals to become more stressed than anything else – and the worst thing one can do while aiming to get to sleep is to be anxious.”
If you’re going to nap for a longer period, avoid the 45-60 minute window that encourages sleep inertia, that spaced-out feeling when you awaken. “Studies indicates it’s better to have an extended nap of one to one and a half hours compared to a medium-length nap,” notes the sleep scientist. “45 minutes is enough time to plunge you into a deep sleep stage and you’re more likely to feel disoriented when you wake up – while if you take it a bit longer to a full sleep cycle, it's likely you'll to be completing of a sleep cycle and should awaken feeling more rejuvenated. Though if you're dozing for an hour and a half, it will affect the quality of your sleep in the evening.”
Creating the Perfect Snooze Setting
When it comes to specific techniques, suggestions are diverse. Some experts propose adopting the same protocol you’d use to foster restful sleep: a peaceful area, a cozy bed and as much darkness as possible. Some advise that it's fine to simply nap in a chair in whatever light is present – to prevent that groggy feeling and to maintain your bed as the environment your mind associates with nighttime rest. “Napping is something really tricky to command,” explains a sleep coach. “If you don’t have any drowsiness, it is tougher to lie down and essentially instruct yourself to fall asleep. There’s got to be a natural inclination present to initiate sleep in the first place. For me, it's possible to take a nap in full light and wake up naturally alarm-free, though, what aids many individuals is to wait for a time that they’re naturally feeling a bit drowsy and then simply ease into sleep.”
It’s worth experimenting, and if you have few options – such as, when aiming to fit in a quick nap during a commute or in a work pod – it is perfectly fine to employ a few tools. “In my work with footballers, I advise that they not rely on napping in bed, since they’re going to have|they will
