Hear a few productivity podcasters, and it’s easy to believe that napping is a powerful tool: not just a sticking plaster following poor sleep, but a shortcut towards a better memory, better spirits and possibly quicker running times. Elite soccer players do it regularly – and so are professional piano players, fighters and business leaders. However, if you lack a special sleep space or employment that encourages regular snoozing, can there *honestly* worthwhile perks to a short sleep to justify the hassle? Is there a reliable way to get to sleep quickly enough? And can you truly ensure you will get up feeling better, instead of groggy?
Identifying The Drive to Snooze
“There are three primary motivations for taking a nap in the adult population,” notes a professor of circadian rhythm professor. “The first is termed make-up sleep, that is what you do when you’ve had insufficient sleep the night before. Another is preparatory napping, which involves preparing for sleep loss coming up, such as if you’re working overnight shifts. The third reason is “pleasure-based sleep”, which basically boils down to wanting: you have a moment to doze in the afternoon, and it's enjoyable to nap.”
The first thing to undertake, then, is to think about your nap motivation. “Daytime sleep can be truly beneficial when night sleeping is being disrupted because of factors beyond your control – for instance, when you are a new parent, or you’re recovering from sickness or heavy physical exertion,” states a sleep physiologist. “Yet when you nap because your sleep at night feels fragile or broken, that’s often a sign your sleep drive is not where it needs to be. In such situations, napping can become a contributing factor, not the solution. Use napping as a temporary measure for short-term problems – the main goal must always be a solid and consistent overnight rest.”
The Ideal Nap Duration
This implies that napping must not be too extended to affect your sleep at night, and preferably should not occur post-3 p.m. (contingent on what time you retire at night). What duration is wise? Recommendations vary. In one of a prominent study regarding daytime sleep, space agency scientists discovered that astronauts had improvements of over 50% in vigilance and a 34% increase in task performance after a 26-minute nap (technically, this involved a six-minute long nodding-off period). “My advice is using an alarm for half an hour or less – many individuals doze off within 10 minutes,” notes a sleep expert. “You'll find much recommendations about the optimal amount for sleeping, yet that often make people feel more stressed than anything else – and the worst thing you can do when trying to nod off is to stress over it.”
If you’re going to nap for a longer period, steer clear of the 45 to 60 minute range that induces sleep inertia, that spaced-out feeling upon waking. “Studies indicates it's more effective to have a lengthier snooze of 60 to 90 minutes compared to a medium-length nap,” explains the sleep scientist. “45 minutes is long enough to put you into deep sleep and it is more probable to feel disoriented when you wake up – whereas if you take it a little longer to a full sleep cycle, it's likely you'll to finish a natural sleep cycle and will probably awaken feeling more alert. But if you're dozing for an hour and a half, it will affect your sleep in the evening.”
Establishing the Perfect Nap Environment
Regarding exact methodologies, recommendations vary. Certain specialists propose using the same protocol one would use to promote a good night’s sleep: a silent space, a comfortable bed and as much darkness as possible. Others suggest that it's fine to merely snooze on the sofa in whatever light is present – to avoid post-nap grogginess and to preserve your sleeping quarters as the environment your mind associates with *real* sleep. “Falling asleep is notoriously difficult to will,” says a specialist. “If you don’t have the urge to sleep, it is more challenging to recline and essentially tell yourself to fall asleep. There’s got to be some sleep pressure present to bring the sleep on initially. Personally, I can often nap in full light and naturally wake up without an alarm, however, what assists many individuals is to look for an instance that they’re naturally feeling a bit drowsy and then simply relax into it.”
Trying different approaches is valuable, and when options are scarce – such as, if attempting to grab a quick nap on a train or in a work pod – there’s nothing wrong to use some accessories. “In my work with professional sportspeople, I recommend that they don’t get used to napping in bed, as they’re going to have|they will
