Hear a few productivity podcasters, making it tempting to convince yourself that dozing is a powerful tool: more than a band-aid after restless night, but a shortcut towards a better memory, a brighter outlook and possibly improved athletic performance. Premier League footballers are all at it – along with professional piano players, UFC champions & high-profile executives. However, if you don't have a special sleep space or a career that allows daytime sleep, can there *honestly* sufficient advantages to a burst of shut-eye for it to be worth the kerfuffle? Is there a dependable method to nod off promptly? And can you really guarantee you’ll wake up feeling better, rather than worse?
Understanding The Nap Motivation
“We can identify three key drivers for taking a nap in the adult population,” explains a leading sleep and circadian science specialist. “Firstly, there's known as compensatory napping, that is what you do following insufficient sleep the previous night. Another is pre-emptive sleep, which involves pre-empting insufficient sleep in the future, such as when working overnight shifts. The third is called “appetitive drive”, which simply boils down to wanting: there is a moment to nap in the afternoon, and it's pleasant to nap.”
The initial step to undertake, then, is consider why you want to nap. “Daytime sleep can be really helpful when overnight rest gets interrupted for reasons beyond your control – such as, if you’re a parent of a newborn, or you’re recovering from illness or heavy physical exertion,” says a sleep physiologist. “But if you take a nap as your night sleep is unstable or poor, that is frequently a sign your body's sleep pressure is not where it needs to be. In those cases, naps can become part of the problem, not the solution. Employ naps for brief periods for temporary issues – the main goal ought to remain a solid and consistent sleep at night.”
The Optimal Snooze Time
This implies that naps ought not to be too extended to affect your sleep at night, and ideally should not occur after about 3pm (depending on what time you sleep overnight). How long is sensible? Recommendations vary. In one of the most-cited studies on the subject, experts found that space travelers had improvements of over 50% in attentiveness plus a 34% rise in cognitive performance after a 26-minute nap (technically, this counted a six-minute long nodding-off period). “I recommend setting a timer for 20-30 minutes – most people fall asleep within 10 minutes,” says a sleep coach. “There is plenty of recommendations concerning the perfect length of minutes, but that tends to lead individuals to become more stressed than anything – and the most counterproductive thing one can do while aiming to nod off is to be anxious.”
If you plan to nap for a longer period, bypass the 45 to 60 minute range that promotes sleep grogginess, that spaced-out feeling upon waking. “Research suggests it's more effective to take a longer nap lasting 60-90 minutes rather than a mid-length nap,” explains the expert. “Forty-five minutes is sufficient to plunge you into a deep sleep stage making it more likely to feel sluggish upon awakening – however, if you nap for slightly longer to a full sleep cycle, you will probably to be completing a full cycle and should get up feeling more refreshed. But if you nap for a long period, it may impact the quality of your sleep later that night.”
Establishing the Right Nap Environment
Regarding exact methodologies, recommendations vary. Certain specialists propose adopting similar routines one would use to promote quality nighttime sleep: a silent space, a supportive surface and maximum darkness as possible. Alternatively, experts propose that you should just doze on the sofa with ambient lighting is available – to prevent sleep inertia and to “protect” your bedroom as the environment your brain links with proper sleep. “Falling asleep is notoriously difficult to will,” says a sleep coach. “Lacking the urge to sleep, it is more challenging to get comfortable and basically instruct yourself to go to sleep. There must be some sleep pressure there to initiate sleep to begin with. Personally, I can often snooze during the day and awaken on my own alarm-free, however, what assists a lot of people is to wait for a moment when they are naturally somewhat sleepy and just gently relax into it.”
It’s worth experimenting, and should you have few options – such as, if attempting to fit in 40 winks during a commute or in a soundproof office pod – it is perfectly fine to employ a few tools. “When I’m working with footballers, I advise that they avoid becoming accustomed to their own bed for naps, since they’re going to have|they will
