Tune into a few productivity experts, and you'll be tempting to believe that napping is a superpower: rather than a quick fix following poor sleep, but a path towards enhanced cognition, improved mood and possibly a faster 5k run time. Professional footballers swear by it – as do concert pianists, fighters & media moguls. However, if you haven’t got a dedicated nap-room or a career that encourages frequent naps, can there *honestly* enough benefits to a short sleep for it to be worth the effort? Does there exist a dependable method to fall asleep fast? Plus, is it possible to really guarantee you will arise feeling better, not worse?
Understanding Your Nap Motivation
“We can identify three main reasons for daytime sleep in the adult population,” notes a professor of sleep science professor. “The first is what we call recovery napping, essentially the action you take when you’ve had poor sleep overnight. The second is pre-emptive sleep, where you are pre-empting sleep loss ahead, such as during graveyard shifts. The third is called “pleasure-based sleep”, which essentially boils down to the wish: there is an opportunity to doze in the afternoon, and it's enjoyable to indulge.”
The initial step to do, so, is consider why you want to nap. “Daytime sleep can be genuinely useful when night sleeping is disturbed due to causes beyond your control – for example, if you’re a new parent, or if you are healing from sickness or intense exercise,” states a sleep expert. “Yet when you’re napping since your night sleep feels fragile or broken, that is frequently an indicator your body's sleep pressure is not where required. In those cases, daytime sleep can turn into part of the issue, rather than the answer. Employ naps for brief periods for short-term problems – the main goal should still be a robust and regular overnight rest.”
The Ideal Nap Duration
This implies that naps must not be sufficiently lengthy to interfere with your sleep at night, and preferably are not recommended post-3 p.m. (depending on what time you sleep at night). How long is sensible? Guidelines are mixed. Among a prominent study on the subject, researchers at Nasa noted that crew members had improvements of over 50% in attentiveness plus a 34% rise in performance following a nap of 26 minutes (to be precise, this included a six-minute sleep onset time). “I recommend using an alarm for 20 to 30 minutes – the majority fall asleep within 10 minutes,” notes a sleep expert. “There is plenty of advice around about the ideal number of minutes, yet that often cause people to feel more stressed than anything – and the most counterproductive thing one can do when trying to nod off is to be anxious.”
If you plan to take an extended nap, steer clear of the 45 to 60 minute range that encourages sleep grogginess, that disoriented sensation when you awaken. “Research suggests it's more effective to opt for a longer nap lasting 60-90 minutes than a medium-length one,” says the sleep scientist. “45 minutes is enough time to plunge you into slow-wave sleep and it is more probable to feel groggy upon awakening – however, if you extend it a little longer to 60 or 90 minutes, you’re likely to finish a full cycle and will probably wake up feeling more rejuvenated. Though if you're dozing for an hour and a half, it may impact the quality of your sleep later that night.”
Establishing an Ideal Nap Environment
Regarding specific techniques, recommendations vary. Some experts suggest using similar routines you use to encourage restful sleep: a silent space, a supportive surface and as much darkness as you can manage. Some advise that it's fine to just doze in a chair in the existing light happens to be around – to prevent that groggy feeling and to “protect” your bed as the environment your mind associates with *real* sleep. “Falling asleep is something really tricky to force,” notes a sleep coach. “Lacking any drowsiness, it is tougher to get comfortable and practically command yourself to nod off. There must be some sleep pressure available to bring the sleep on to begin with. I can usually nap during the day and awaken on my own alarm-free, though, what aids a lot of people is to wait for a moment that they’re naturally slightly tired and then simply ease into sleep.”
Experimentation is key, and if options are scarce – for example, if attempting to grab 40 winks during a commute or at the office – there’s nothing wrong to use a few tools. “When I’m working with professional sportspeople, I advise that they avoid becoming accustomed to sleeping in their bed, as they’re going to have|they will
