Hear plenty of productivity experts, and you'll be simple to think that a nap is a superpower: rather than a sticking plaster after restless night, but a shortcut to improved recall, improved mood and maybe quicker running times. Professional athletes swear by it – along with concert pianists, UFC champions and high-profile executives. However, if you haven’t got a special sleep space or a career that allows regular snoozing, are there *really* enough benefits to a short sleep to merit the hassle? Is there a reliable way to fall asleep fast? Furthermore, can you truly ensure you will get up feeling refreshed, instead of groggy?
Identifying Your Nap Motivation
“Experts note three primary motivations for napping in the adult population,” says a professor of sleep and circadian science professor. “Firstly, there's termed recovery napping, essentially what happens following insufficient sleep overnight. Another is prophylactic napping, when you are preparing for sleep loss ahead, for example during graveyard shifts. The third is called “pleasure-based sleep”, which simply is about the wish: you have an opportunity to doze in the afternoon, and it's enjoyable to nap.”
The first thing to consider, therefore, is to examine your reason for napping. “Naps can be genuinely useful when overnight rest is being disrupted for reasons beyond your control – for instance, for a parent of a newborn, or recovering from illness or strenuous activity,” states a sleep specialist. “But if you’re napping as your sleep at night feels fragile or poor, that’s often a sign your sleep drive is not where required. In such situations, naps can become part of the problem, not the solution. Use napping for brief periods for temporary issues – the main goal ought to remain a solid and consistent night’s sleep.”
The Optimal Nap Duration
Therefore that napping shouldn’t be long enough to disrupt your overnight rest, and ideally should not occur in the late afternoon (based on the time you go to bed in the evening). How long is sensible? Recommendations vary. Among the most-cited studies regarding daytime sleep, researchers at Nasa discovered that space travelers experienced improvements of over 50% in attentiveness and a 34% increase in performance after a 26-minute nap (in detail, this included a six-minute sleep onset time). “I recommend using an alarm for 20-30 minutes – most people are asleep within 10 minutes,” notes a sleep coach. “You'll find much guidance out there regarding the perfect length for sleeping, but that tends to make people feel more stressed above all – and the worst thing one can do while aiming to get to sleep is to stress over it.”
If you’re going to nap for a longer period, steer clear of the 45 to 60 minute range that promotes sleep grogginess, that spaced-out feeling when you awaken. “Studies indicates it’s better to have an extended nap lasting 60-90 minutes than a medium-length one,” says the expert. “Forty-five minutes is enough time to put you into slow-wave sleep making it more likely to feel disoriented when you get up – however, if you nap for a bit longer to a full sleep cycle, it's likely you'll to be completing a natural sleep cycle and should get up feeling more rejuvenated. However, if you nap for a long period, it can influence how you sleep that night.”
Creating an Ideal Sleep Space
Regarding exact methodologies, suggestions are diverse. Certain specialists suggest adopting the same protocol you use to promote a good night’s sleep: a quiet room, a supportive surface and maximum darkness as possible. Alternatively, experts propose that one could merely snooze in a chair in whatever light is present – both to discourage post-nap grogginess and to “protect” your bedroom as the environment your brain links with proper sleep. “Falling asleep is notoriously difficult to force,” says an expert. “Lacking any sleepiness, it is tougher to lie down and essentially instruct yourself to nod off. There’s got to be some sleep pressure present to start the process in the first place. For me, it's possible to take a nap during the day and naturally wake up without an alarm, but what helps many individuals is to look for a moment that they’re naturally slightly tired and then simply allow sleep to come.”
Trying different approaches is valuable, and if you have few options – such as, when aiming to grab a quick nap on a train or in a soundproof office pod – it's acceptable to employ sleep aids. “When I’m working with elite athletes, I suggest that they not rely on their own bed for naps, since they’re going to have|they will
