Tune into enough productivity gurus, and you'll be simple to convince yourself that a nap is a powerful tool: not just a band-aid after a bad night’s sleep, but a route to enhanced cognition, better spirits and maybe a faster 5k run time. Professional athletes do it regularly – and so are professional piano players, fighters and media moguls. But if you haven’t got a room for napping or a job that encourages frequent naps, is it *truly* worthwhile perks to a short sleep for it to be worth the hassle? Is there a surefire technique to nod off promptly? And can you honestly promise you will arise feeling refreshed, not worse?
Understanding The Drive to Snooze
“Experts note three main reasons for daytime sleep among most adults,” says a professor of sleep science professor. “Firstly, there's what we call recovery napping, which is what happens following insufficient sleep overnight. Secondly, there's preparatory napping, when you are anticipating sleep loss ahead, such as when working overnight shifts. Finally, there's “pleasure-based sleep”, which basically comes down to wanting: you get a chance to nap in the daytime, and it's pleasant to nap.”
The first thing to do, then, is consider your nap motivation. “Naps can be truly beneficial when night sleeping is disturbed because of factors you cannot change – for instance, if you’re caring for an infant, or recovering from illness or intense exercise,” states a sleep specialist. “However, if you nap as your sleep at night is unstable or unreliable, that’s often a signal your need for sleep is not at the level it should be. In those cases, naps can become part of the issue, not the solution. Employ naps as a temporary measure for short-term problems – the focus ought to remain a strong and predictable overnight rest.”
The Perfect Snooze Time
This implies that naps shouldn’t be sufficiently lengthy to affect your nighttime sleep, and best should not occur after about 3pm (based on the time you sleep at night). What duration is wise? Guidelines are mixed. From the most-cited studies on the subject, experts discovered that space travelers had up to a 54% increase in alertness plus a 34% rise in performance post a 26-minute snooze (to be precise, this involved a six-minute sleep onset time). “I recommend using an alarm for 20-30 minutes – most people fall asleep within 10 minutes,” notes a sleep coach. “There’s a lot of recommendations concerning the optimal amount of minutes, yet that often cause people to feel more stressed than anything else – and the most counterproductive thing one can do while aiming to fall asleep is worry about it.”
If you plan to nap for a longer period, avoid the 45 to 60 minute range that encourages that sluggish feeling, that spaced-out feeling upon waking. “Research would say it's more effective to have an extended nap of 60 to 90 minutes rather than a mid-length nap,” notes the sleep scientist. “45 minutes is enough time to put you into deep sleep making it more likely to feel sluggish when you get up – whereas if you nap for a bit longer to a full sleep cycle, you will probably to be on the end a full cycle and are likely to awaken feeling more rejuvenated. But if you nap for an hour and a half, it can influence how you sleep in the evening.”
Finding the Right Nap Environment
When it comes to precise methods, suggestions are diverse. Certain specialists suggest adopting the same protocol you’d use to encourage a good night’s sleep: a quiet room, a comfortable bed and maximum darkness as is feasible. Others suggest that one could just doze on the sofa with ambient lighting is available – to prevent that groggy feeling and to “protect” your sleeping quarters as the place your mind associates with *real* sleep. “Napping is notoriously difficult to command,” explains a specialist. “Without any sleepiness, it is tougher to recline and basically tell yourself to nod off. There’s got to be a natural inclination present to bring the sleep on initially. Personally, I can often take a nap in full light and wake up naturally without an alarm, though, what aids most folks is to wait for an instance that they’re naturally feeling a bit drowsy and then simply ease into sleep.”
Experimentation is key, and when options are scarce – for instance, when aiming to squeeze in a quick nap while traveling or in a work pod – it is perfectly fine with bringing a few tools. “In my work with professional sportspeople, I recommend that they don’t get used to their own bed for naps, because they’re going to have|they will
