Tune into enough self-improvement experts, and it’s simple to convince yourself that a nap is a secret weapon: not just a sticking plaster after poor sleep, but a shortcut to improved recall, a brighter outlook and maybe improved athletic performance. Premier League athletes swear by it – as do professional piano players, UFC champions & high-profile executives. But if you lack a room for napping or a job that allows regular snoozing, are there *really* sufficient advantages to a quick nap for it to be worth the hassle? Can you find a surefire technique to nod off promptly? Plus, is it possible to honestly promise you’ll wake up feeling better, instead of groggy?
Identifying The Drive to Snooze
“There are three key drivers for napping for many people,” notes a professor of sleep and circadian science professor. “The first is known as recovery napping, which is what you do when you’ve had a lack of sleep the night before. The second is prophylactic napping, which involves preparing for sleep loss in the future, for example if you’re working graveyard shifts. Finally, there's “appetitive drive”, which basically comes down to desire: you have a moment to sleep during the day, and it's pleasant to do it.”
The first thing to undertake, then, is to think about your reason for napping. “Napping can be really helpful when nighttime sleep gets interrupted for reasons outside your control – for instance, for caring for an infant, or if you are healing from sickness or intense exercise,” states a sleep expert. “But if you’re napping because your sleep at night feels fragile or unreliable, that’s often an indicator your body's sleep pressure is not where it needs to be. In such situations, naps can become part of the problem, instead of the fix. Employ naps as a temporary measure for short-term problems – the main goal must always be a strong and predictable overnight rest.”
The Optimal Nap Length
Therefore that daytime sleep ought not to be sufficiently lengthy to interfere with your overnight rest, and preferably shouldn’t take place post-3 p.m. (depending on the time you retire at night). How long is sensible? Guidelines are mixed. From the most referenced research about napping, experts noted that astronauts experienced a boost of up to 54% in alertness and a 34% boost in task performance following a nap of 26 minutes (to be precise, this included a six-minute sleep onset time). “I recommend using an alarm for 20-30 minutes – most people are asleep quickly,” notes a sleep coach. “There’s a lot of recommendations regarding the perfect length of minutes, however, that can make people feel more worried above all – and the most counterproductive thing you can possibly do while aiming to nod off is to stress over it.”
If you plan to nap for a longer period, steer clear of the 45 to 60 minute range that encourages sleep inertia, that disoriented sensation when you awaken. “Studies indicates it's more effective to take a lengthier snooze of one to one and a half hours compared to a medium-length nap,” says the expert. “Forty-five minutes is enough time to put you into deep sleep making it more likely to feel sluggish when you wake up – however, if you nap for a bit longer to 60 or 90 minutes, you’re likely to be on the end of a sleep cycle and will probably wake up feeling more rejuvenated. However, if you're dozing for 90 minutes, it will affect how you sleep in the evening.”
Creating an Ideal Snooze Setting
As for specific techniques, recommendations vary. Some experts suggest adopting the same protocol you use to foster restful sleep: a silent space, a cozy bed and maximum darkness as possible. Alternatively, experts propose that you should merely snooze in a chair with ambient lighting is present – both to discourage post-nap grogginess and to “protect” your sleeping quarters as the environment your brain links with *real* sleep. “Sleep is something really tricky to force,” says a specialist. “Lacking any drowsiness, it is more challenging to get comfortable and essentially command yourself to fall asleep. There must be a natural inclination there to start the process in the first place. For me, it's possible to nap in broad daylight and naturally wake up without a timer, though, what aids many individuals is to anticipate a time when they are naturally feeling a bit drowsy and just gently allow sleep to come.”
Experimentation is key, and should options are scarce – for example, when aiming to fit in 40 winks during a commute or in a soundproof office pod – it's acceptable to use a few tools. “When I’m working with elite athletes, I suggest that they don’t get used to their own bed for naps, as they’re going to have|they will
