Hear a few performance podcasters, making it simple to think that napping is a superpower: rather than a band-aid after a bad night’s sleep, but a path to a better memory, a brighter outlook and maybe a faster 5k run time. Professional soccer players swear by it – along with concert pianists, mixed martial artists and high-profile executives. Yet, when you don't have a dedicated nap-room or a job that permits daytime sleep, can there *honestly* sufficient advantages to a short sleep to justify the hassle? Is there a dependable method to fall asleep fast? And can you truly ensure you will arise feeling refreshed, not worse?
Understanding Your Reasons for Napping
“There are three primary motivations for daytime sleep among most adults,” explains a leading circadian rhythm researcher. “The first is termed compensatory napping, that is the action you take when you’ve had poor sleep the night before. The second is pre-emptive sleep, when you are anticipating a sleep deficit coming up, such as when working overnight shifts. The third is called “hedonic napping”, which basically is about desire: there is a moment to sleep in the daytime, and it's enjoyable to indulge.”
The initial step to undertake, then, is consider your nap motivation. “Napping can be truly beneficial when overnight rest is disturbed for reasons you cannot change – for example, for caring for an infant, or if you are healing after being ill or strenuous activity,” states a sleep expert. “Yet when you take a nap since your night sleep is unstable or broken, that’s often a signal your need for sleep is not where it should be. In those cases, daytime sleep can turn into 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 solid and consistent overnight rest.”
The Ideal Nap Length
This means that naps ought not to be long enough to affect your sleep at night, and ideally shouldn’t take place in the late afternoon (contingent on the time you retire in the evening). How long is sensible? Advice differs. In one of a prominent study on the subject, experts discovered that astronauts had up to a 54% increase in alertness plus a 34% rise in performance following a nap of 26 minutes (technically, this involved an initial six-minute nodding-off period). “My advice is using an alarm for 20 to 30 minutes – most people fall asleep within 10 minutes,” says a specialist. “There’s a lot of advice around concerning the ideal number for sleeping, yet that often lead individuals to become more anxious than anything else – and the most counterproductive thing you can possibly do when attempting to fall asleep is worry about it.”
If you plan to take an extended nap, bypass the 45 to 60 minute range that induces that sluggish feeling, that spaced-out feeling upon waking. “Research would say it is preferable to take an extended nap lasting 60-90 minutes than a medium-length one,” explains the professor. “Forty-five minutes is sufficient to send you into slow-wave sleep making it more likely to feel sluggish when you wake up – while if you extend it a bit longer to 60 or 90 minutes, you will probably to finish a natural sleep cycle and should get up feeling more rejuvenated. But if you nap for an hour and a half, it may impact how you sleep that night.”
Establishing the Right Sleep Space
When it comes to precise methods, suggestions are diverse. Some experts suggest adopting the same protocol you use to foster a good night’s sleep: a peaceful area, a supportive surface and minimal light as possible. Some advise that it's fine to just doze on the sofa in whatever light is available – to prevent sleep inertia and to preserve your sleeping quarters as the place your mind associates with *real* sleep. “Sleep is notoriously difficult to will,” notes an expert. “Lacking the urge to sleep, it is tougher to get comfortable and basically instruct yourself to go to sleep. There’s got to be a natural inclination there to bring the sleep on to begin with. For me, it's possible to nap in broad daylight and awaken on my own without a timer, though, what aids most folks is to look for a moment when they are naturally slightly tired and then simply allow sleep to come.”
Experimentation is key, and if your choices are limited – such as, when aiming to fit in some shut-eye while traveling or at the office – it's acceptable to use sleep aids. “When I’m working with elite athletes, I recommend that they avoid becoming accustomed to napping in bed, since they’re going to have|they will