Tune into a few performance experts, and it’s simple to convince yourself that dozing is a superpower: rather than a quick fix following a bad night’s sleep, but a shortcut towards enhanced cognition, better spirits and perhaps improved athletic performance. Professional footballers are all at it – and so are professional piano players, UFC champions and media moguls. However, if you don't have a special sleep space or employment that encourages daytime sleep, is it *truly* enough benefits to a burst of shut-eye to justify the hassle? Can you find a reliable way to nod off promptly? Plus, is it possible to truly ensure you will arise feeling improved, rather than worse?
Understanding Your Nap Motivation
“We can identify three main reasons for daytime sleep among most adults,” explains an expert sleep science researcher. “One is known as compensatory napping, which is the action you take after experiencing a lack of sleep the previous night. Another is prophylactic napping, when you are pre-empting sleep loss ahead, for example during overnight shifts. The third is called “hedonic napping”, which basically comes down to the wish: you have a moment to sleep in the daytime, and it's pleasant to indulge.”
The first thing to consider, so, is to think about your reason for napping. “Naps can be genuinely useful when nighttime sleep is being disrupted for reasons outside your control – for instance, for caring for an infant, or if you are healing after being ill or heavy physical exertion,” states a sleep physiologist. “Yet when you nap because your nighttime sleep seems unreliable or broken, that’s often a signal your sleep drive is not where it should be. In those cases, naps can become part of the issue, not the solution. Use napping as a short-term solution for short-term problems – the priority ought to remain a solid and consistent overnight rest.”
The Ideal Snooze Time
This implies that naps must not be long enough to disrupt your sleep at night, and preferably are not recommended post-3 p.m. (contingent on when you go to bed overnight). How long is sensible? Recommendations vary. From the most referenced research about napping, space agency scientists found that space travelers showed up to a 54% increase in alertness and a 34% boost in cognitive performance after a 26-minute nap (to be precise, this included a six-minute long falling asleep phase). “My advice is setting an alarm for 20 to 30 minutes – most people fall asleep in under ten minutes,” explains a sleep expert. “There’s a lot of recommendations about the optimal amount of time, yet that often lead individuals to become more anxious than anything – and the most counterproductive thing you can possibly do when attempting to get to sleep is to stress over it.”
If you plan to nap for a longer period, steer clear of the 45 to 60 minute range that induces sleep grogginess, that disoriented sensation when you awaken. “Research suggests it’s better to opt for a longer nap lasting 60-90 minutes rather than a mid-length nap,” notes the professor. “45 minutes is long enough to send you into deep sleep making it more likely to feel disoriented upon awakening – however, if you nap for a little longer to a full sleep cycle, you will probably to be on the end of a sleep cycle and will probably get up feeling more alert. Though if you're dozing for a long period, it will affect the quality of your sleep in the evening.”
Establishing the Perfect Snooze Setting
Regarding specific techniques, recommendations vary. A few professionals suggest using similar routines you’d use to foster restful sleep: a quiet room, a comfortable bed and maximum darkness as possible. Others suggest that one could merely snooze in a chair in whatever light happens to be around – to prevent post-nap grogginess and to preserve your bed as the place your brain links with nighttime rest. “Sleep is notoriously difficult to will,” says a specialist. “Without any drowsiness, it becomes harder to lie down and basically instruct yourself to nod off. You need a natural inclination present to initiate sleep in the first place. Personally, I can often nap in broad daylight and wake up naturally without a timer, but what helps a lot of people is to wait for an instance that they’re naturally slightly tired and just gently ease into sleep.”
It’s worth experimenting, and should your choices are limited – for example, if you’re trying to squeeze in some shut-eye during a commute or in a work pod – it's acceptable to employ a few tools. “When I’m working with professional sportspeople, I advise that they not rely on sleeping in their bed, because they’re going to have|they will
