Tune into a few self-improvement experts, making it simple to believe that a nap is a powerful tool: rather than a band-aid after a bad night’s sleep, but a route towards enhanced cognition, a brighter outlook and perhaps improved athletic performance. Elite athletes swear by it – and so are professional piano players, UFC champions and business leaders. But if you lack a room for napping or a career that permits daytime sleep, are there *really* sufficient advantages to a quick nap to justify the hassle? Does there exist a dependable method to fall asleep fast? And can you truly ensure you’ll wake up feeling refreshed, rather than worse?
Understanding Your Reasons for Napping
“Experts note three main reasons for daytime sleep for many people,” explains a leading sleep science specialist. “Firstly, there's known as make-up sleep, which is what you do after experiencing insufficient sleep the night before. The second is prophylactic napping, when you are pre-empting insufficient sleep ahead, for instance during overnight shifts. The third is called “appetitive drive”, which essentially comes down to wanting: you get an opportunity to doze in the daytime, and it's enjoyable to nap.”
The initial step to do, then, is to examine why you want to nap. “Daytime sleep can be truly beneficial when night sleeping is being disrupted due to causes beyond your control – such as, when you are a parent of a newborn, or if you are healing after being ill or intense exercise,” explains a sleep physiologist. “Yet when you take a nap because your sleep at night feels fragile or unreliable, that’s often a signal your sleep drive is not at the level it needs to be. In those cases, daytime sleep can turn into part of the problem, not the solution. Use napping as a temporary measure for short-term problems – the main goal must always be a solid and consistent night’s sleep.”
The Optimal Nap Length
This implies that napping ought not to be too extended to affect your sleep at night, and preferably are not recommended after about 3pm (based on what time you go to bed overnight). What's a reasonable length? Guidelines are mixed. In one of the most-cited studies regarding daytime sleep, researchers at Nasa found that space travelers had up to a 54% increase in alertness and a 34% increase in performance following a nap of 26 minutes (to be precise, this involved a six-minute long nodding-off period). “I’d suggest using an alarm for 20-30 minutes – the majority doze off quickly,” notes a specialist. “There’s a lot of advice around about the ideal number of time, yet that often cause people to feel more anxious than anything – and the worst thing you can do while aiming to get to sleep is to stress over it.”
If you plan to sleep for longer, bypass the 45 to 60 minute range that encourages sleep grogginess, that foggy state when you awaken. “The science suggests it is preferable to take a longer nap lasting 60-90 minutes compared to a medium-length nap,” says the expert. “Three-quarters of an hour is sufficient to put you into deep sleep and you’re more likely to feel sluggish when you wake up – while if you take it a little longer to a full sleep cycle, it's likely you'll to finish a full cycle and are likely to awaken feeling more refreshed. Though if you’re sleeping for an hour and a half, it may impact how you sleep in the evening.”
Creating the Right Sleep Space
Regarding exact methodologies, suggestions are diverse. A few professionals recommend adopting similar routines one would use to promote quality nighttime sleep: a silent space, a cozy bed and maximum darkness as possible. Others suggest that it's fine to merely snooze on the sofa in whatever light is present – both to discourage that groggy feeling and to “protect” your bed as the space your brain links with nighttime rest. “Sleep is quite challenging to command,” says a sleep coach. “Lacking the urge to sleep, it is more challenging to recline and practically command yourself to fall asleep. There’s got to be a natural inclination there to start the process in the first place. Personally, I can often nap in broad daylight and wake up naturally alarm-free, though, what aids many individuals is to look for a moment when they are naturally slightly tired and calmly ease into sleep.”
It’s worth experimenting, and if options are scarce – for example, when aiming to grab 40 winks on a train or at the office – it's acceptable to use sleep aids. “In my work with elite athletes, I recommend that they don’t get used to sleeping in their bed, as they’re going to have|they will
