Hear enough productivity gurus, and you'll be tempting to think that napping is a secret weapon: rather than a sticking plaster following a bad night’s sleep, but a path to enhanced cognition, better spirits and maybe a faster 5k run time. Elite footballers are all at it – and so are concert pianists, fighters & business leaders. However, if you haven’t got a dedicated nap-room or employment that encourages regular snoozing, are there *really* sufficient advantages to a quick nap to justify the hassle? Does there exist a dependable method to nod off promptly? Plus, is it possible to really guarantee you will arise feeling improved, not worse?
Understanding The Reasons for Napping
“Experts note three primary motivations for napping in the adult population,” notes an expert circadian rhythm researcher. “One is termed compensatory napping, essentially what you do when you’ve had poor sleep overnight. Another is pre-emptive sleep, where you are anticipating sleep loss coming up, such as when working overnight shifts. The third reason is “pleasure-based sleep”, which essentially comes down to wanting: you have an opportunity to sleep in the daytime, and it's enjoyable to do it.”
The initial step to do, therefore, is to examine why you want to nap. “Napping can be truly beneficial when night sleeping gets interrupted for reasons beyond your control – for instance, if you’re a parent of a newborn, or you’re recovering after being ill or intense exercise,” says a sleep physiologist. “Yet when you take a nap since your nighttime sleep feels fragile or broken, that can be an indicator your sleep drive is not as strong as 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 temporary issues – the main goal should still be a strong and predictable overnight rest.”
The Perfect Nap Duration
This means that daytime sleep shouldn’t be sufficiently lengthy to interfere with your nighttime sleep, and ideally should not occur post-3 p.m. (depending on what time you retire at night). How long is sensible? Recommendations vary. From a prominent study about napping, space agency scientists found that astronauts showed a boost of up to 54% in vigilance plus a 34% rise in performance post a 26-minute snooze (technically, this counted an initial six-minute falling asleep phase). “I recommend using an alarm for half an hour or less – most people fall asleep within 10 minutes,” notes a sleep coach. “There is plenty of advice around about the perfect length for sleeping, but that tends to cause people to feel more worried above all – and the least helpful action you can do when trying to fall asleep is to stress over it.”
If you’re going to take an extended nap, steer clear of the 45-60 minute window that induces sleep inertia, that spaced-out feeling upon waking. “Studies suggests it's more effective to have a lengthier snooze of one to one and a half hours compared to a medium-length nap,” explains the expert. “Forty-five minutes is long enough to send you into slow-wave sleep and it is more probable to feel groggy when you wake up – whereas if you take it a little longer to 60 or 90 minutes, you’re likely to be on the end a natural sleep cycle and should wake up feeling more refreshed. Though if you’re sleeping for a long period, it will affect how you sleep that night.”
Creating the Perfect Nap Environment
Regarding specific techniques, advice differs. Some experts recommend employing similar routines you use to encourage quality nighttime sleep: a quiet room, a supportive surface and maximum darkness as possible. Some advise that one could merely snooze on the sofa in the existing light happens to be around – to avoid post-nap grogginess and to maintain your bedroom as the space your brain links with *real* sleep. “Napping is quite challenging to force,” notes a sleep coach. “If you don’t have any drowsiness, it is tougher to get comfortable and essentially instruct yourself to fall asleep. There’s got to be a natural inclination there to initiate sleep initially. I can usually snooze in full light and naturally wake up without an alarm, but what helps most folks is to anticipate a moment when they are naturally slightly tired and calmly ease into sleep.”
Trying different approaches is valuable, and if you have few options – such as, if you’re trying to grab a quick nap on a train or in a work pod – it is perfectly fine to use some accessories. “In my work with professional sportspeople, I recommend that they not rely on their own bed for naps, since they’re going to have|they will
