Tune into plenty of productivity podcasters, and you'll be simple to convince yourself that dozing is a secret weapon: more than a quick fix after restless night, but a route towards enhanced cognition, a brighter outlook and perhaps improved athletic performance. Professional soccer players do it regularly – and so are musicians, mixed martial artists & high-profile executives. But if you lack a special sleep space or a career that allows frequent naps, is it *truly* sufficient advantages to a quick nap to merit the hassle? Can you find a surefire technique to get to sleep quickly enough? Plus, is it possible to really guarantee you will get up feeling improved, not worse?
Identifying Your Nap Motivation
“Experts note three primary motivations for daytime sleep for many people,” says a professor of sleep science specialist. “Firstly, there's what we call make-up sleep, that is what you do when you’ve had a lack of sleep overnight. Another is pre-emptive sleep, when you are preparing for sleep loss ahead, for example during overnight shifts. The third is called “hedonic napping”, which basically comes down to the wish: there is a chance to sleep during the day, and it feels nice to nap.”
The initial step to do, then, is to think about your reason for napping. “Daytime sleep can be truly beneficial when night sleeping gets interrupted due to causes beyond your control – for example, if you’re caring for an infant, or if you are healing after being ill or heavy physical exertion,” states a sleep physiologist. “However, if you’re napping since your sleep at night is unstable or poor, that is frequently a sign your sleep drive is not as strong as required. Under those circumstances, naps can become part of the problem, instead of the fix. Utilize daytime sleep as a temporary measure to address immediate needs – the focus should still be a robust and regular sleep at night.”
The Perfect Nap Length
Therefore that napping ought not to be sufficiently lengthy to disrupt your overnight rest, and ideally shouldn’t take place after about 3pm (contingent on when you go to bed overnight). What duration is wise? Guidelines are mixed. From a prominent study about napping, experts noted that crew members experienced up to a 54% increase in alertness and a 34% boost in cognitive performance after a 26-minute nap (in detail, this counted a six-minute long falling asleep phase). “I’d suggest using an alarm for 20 to 30 minutes – most people fall asleep quickly,” explains a sleep coach. “There’s a lot of guidance out there concerning the ideal number of time, but that tends to make people feel more worried than anything else – and the most counterproductive thing one can do when trying to get to sleep is to be anxious.”
If you plan to nap for a longer period, steer clear of the period between 45 and 60 minutes that induces sleep grogginess, that disoriented sensation when you awaken. “The science suggests it is preferable to take a lengthier snooze of one to one and a half hours rather than a mid-length nap,” notes the sleep scientist. “Three-quarters of an hour is sufficient to put you into a deep sleep stage and you’re more likely to feel sluggish upon awakening – while if you extend it a bit longer to a full sleep cycle, you’re likely to be completing a natural sleep cycle and are likely to awaken feeling more alert. Though if you’re sleeping for a long period, it can influence the quality of your sleep in the evening.”
Finding the Right Nap Environment
When it comes to exact methodologies, recommendations vary. Certain specialists recommend adopting comparable habits you’d use to foster quality nighttime sleep: a silent space, a supportive surface and minimal light as possible. Others suggest that you should simply nap on the sofa in whatever light is available – to avoid sleep inertia and to “protect” your sleeping quarters as the place your brain links with proper sleep. “Napping is quite challenging to command,” says a specialist. “Without any sleepiness, it becomes harder to get comfortable and basically instruct yourself to go to sleep. There’s got to be a natural inclination present to start the process initially. I can usually nap during the day and awaken on my own alarm-free, but what helps most folks is to wait for a time where they feel naturally feeling a bit drowsy and just gently relax into it.”
It’s worth experimenting, and if your choices are limited – such as, if you’re trying to squeeze in a quick nap on a train or in a soundproof office pod – it's acceptable to use a few tools. “When I’m working with professional sportspeople, I recommend that they not rely on sleeping in their bed, as they’re going to have|they will
