Listen to enough performance experts, making it tempting to believe that dozing is a secret weapon: rather than a band-aid after a bad night’s sleep, but a shortcut to enhanced cognition, improved mood and maybe improved athletic performance. Premier League soccer players swear by it – as do professional piano players, fighters and business leaders. But if you lack a special sleep space or employment that encourages daytime sleep, can there *honestly* sufficient advantages to a quick nap to justify the effort? Is there a dependable method to get to sleep quickly enough? And can you really guarantee you will get up feeling improved, rather than worse?
Identifying The Nap Motivation
“There are three key drivers for taking a nap for many people,” notes a leading sleep and circadian science professor. “The first is what we call recovery napping, that is what happens when you’ve had poor sleep the previous night. The second is prophylactic napping, when you are preparing for insufficient sleep in the future, for example when working overnight shifts. Finally, there's “pleasure-based sleep”, which essentially comes down to wanting: you have an opportunity to nap in the afternoon, and it feels nice to do it.”
The first thing to undertake, then, is to think about your reason for napping. “Napping can be truly beneficial when night sleeping is being disrupted for reasons outside your control – such as, for a new parent, or recovering from sickness or strenuous activity,” states a sleep physiologist. “However, if you’re napping as your night sleep seems unreliable or poor, that is frequently a sign your body's sleep pressure is not at the level it needs to be. In those cases, naps can become a contributing factor, not the solution. Employ naps as a temporary measure for short-term problems – the main goal must always be a solid and consistent overnight rest.”
The Optimal Nap Duration
This means that daytime sleep must not be sufficiently lengthy to interfere with your nighttime sleep, and preferably are not recommended in the late afternoon (depending on what time you sleep at night). How long is sensible? Advice differs. From the most-cited studies regarding daytime sleep, researchers at Nasa noted that astronauts had a boost of up to 54% in attentiveness and a 34% boost in task performance following a nap of 26 minutes (in detail, this involved a six-minute nodding-off period). “I’d suggest setting a timer for 20-30 minutes – most people doze off in under ten minutes,” says a specialist. “There is plenty of guidance out there regarding the perfect length of time, however, that can lead individuals to become more worried than anything else – and the worst thing you can do when trying to fall asleep is worry about it.”
Should you decide to nap for a longer period, bypass the period between 45 and 60 minutes that promotes that sluggish feeling, that disoriented sensation when you wake. “Research indicates it’s better to take a lengthier snooze lasting 60-90 minutes than a medium-length one,” explains the expert. “45 minutes is long enough to plunge you into a deep sleep stage and you’re more likely to feel disoriented upon awakening – while if you extend it a little longer to a full sleep cycle, it's likely you'll to finish a natural sleep cycle and are likely to awaken feeling more rejuvenated. Though if you nap for 90 minutes, it can influence the quality of your sleep later that night.”
Finding the Perfect Snooze Setting
Regarding precise methods, suggestions are diverse. Some experts propose using similar routines one would use to encourage quality nighttime sleep: a peaceful area, a supportive surface and as much darkness as is feasible. Others suggest that one could just doze in a chair in whatever light happens to be around – to avoid post-nap grogginess and to “protect” your sleeping quarters as the place you associate with *real* sleep. “Napping is notoriously difficult to will,” explains an expert. “Lacking any sleepiness, it is more challenging to recline and essentially instruct yourself to fall asleep. There’s got to be a natural inclination available to start the process in the first place. Personally, I can often nap during the day and awaken on my own without a timer, though, what aids most folks is to anticipate a moment that they’re naturally somewhat sleepy and just gently ease into sleep.”
Experimentation is key, and should you have few options – for example, if you’re trying to squeeze in 40 winks during a commute or at the office – there’s nothing wrong to use a few tools. “When I’m working with elite athletes, I recommend that they don’t get used to napping in bed, since they’re going to have|they will
