Tune into a few productivity podcasters, and it’s simple to believe that a nap is a secret weapon: rather than a quick fix after a bad night’s sleep, but a shortcut to enhanced cognition, a brighter outlook and possibly quicker running times. Professional footballers swear by it – along with concert pianists, mixed martial artists and high-profile executives. But if you lack a room for napping or a career that allows frequent naps, can there *honestly* enough benefits to a burst of shut-eye to merit the kerfuffle? Does there exist a dependable method to get to sleep quickly enough? Plus, is it possible to really guarantee you will get up feeling refreshed, not worse?
Identifying The Reasons for Napping
“There are three primary motivations for napping for many people,” explains a professor of sleep and circadian science researcher. “The first is known as compensatory napping, essentially the action you take when you’ve had poor sleep the night before. Another is prophylactic napping, when you are anticipating a sleep deficit ahead, for instance during graveyard shifts. The third reason is “pleasure-based sleep”, which basically comes down to the wish: you get an opportunity to doze in the daytime, and it feels nice to indulge.”
The initial step to do, therefore, is consider why you want to nap. “Daytime sleep can be really helpful when nighttime sleep gets interrupted for reasons you cannot change – for instance, for a new parent, or if you are healing after being ill or heavy physical exertion,” states a sleep specialist. “But if you nap since your sleep at night is unstable or unreliable, that’s often a signal your body's sleep pressure is not as strong as it should be. Under those circumstances, naps can become a contributing factor, not the solution. Employ naps as a temporary measure for temporary issues – the focus ought to remain a robust and regular sleep at night.”
The Optimal Nap Length
This implies that naps ought not to be too extended to interfere with your overnight rest, and best are not recommended in the late afternoon (based on when you sleep overnight). How long is sensible? Recommendations vary. In one of the most referenced research on the subject, experts discovered that crew members had improvements of over 50% in attentiveness and a 34% boost in cognitive performance after a 26-minute nap (to be precise, this counted an initial six-minute falling asleep phase). “I recommend setting an alarm for 20 to 30 minutes – most people doze off within 10 minutes,” notes a specialist. “You'll find much guidance out there regarding the ideal number for sleeping, but that tends to lead individuals to become more worried than anything else – and the least helpful action one can do while aiming to nod off is to stress over it.”
If you plan to take an extended nap, bypass the 45 to 60 minute range that encourages sleep inertia, that disoriented sensation when you awaken. “Research indicates it is preferable to take a longer nap lasting 60-90 minutes compared to a medium-length nap,” explains the professor. “Forty-five minutes is long enough to put you into slow-wave sleep and it is more probable to feel sluggish when you get up – while if you nap for slightly longer to 60 or 90 minutes, you’re likely to be on the end a full cycle and are likely to get up feeling more alert. However, if you're dozing for an hour and a half, it can influence the quality of your sleep later that night.”
Creating the Right Nap Environment
Regarding precise methods, advice differs. A few professionals suggest adopting comparable habits one would use to encourage quality nighttime sleep: a quiet room, a supportive surface and as much darkness as you can manage. Some advise that it's fine to merely snooze on a couch in whatever light happens to be around – both to discourage sleep inertia and to “protect” your bed as the environment your mind associates with nighttime rest. “Napping is something really tricky to command,” says a sleep coach. “Without any sleepiness, it is tougher to recline and essentially tell yourself to nod off. You need a natural inclination present to start the process to begin with. I can usually take a nap in full light and naturally wake up without a timer, but what helps a lot of people is to wait for a time that they’re naturally somewhat sleepy and just gently allow sleep to come.”
It’s worth experimenting, and should you have few options – for example, when aiming to squeeze in 40 winks on a train 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, since they’re going to have|they will
