Listen to plenty of performance gurus, and it’s easy to convince yourself that napping is a powerful tool: more than a band-aid following poor sleep, but a route to a better memory, improved mood and perhaps quicker running times. Professional soccer players are all at it – and so are concert pianists, UFC champions & high-profile executives. However, if you lack a special sleep space or a career that permits daytime sleep, are there *really* worthwhile perks to a burst of shut-eye for it to be worth the kerfuffle? Does there exist a surefire technique to get to sleep quickly enough? And can you really guarantee you’ll wake up feeling better, instead of groggy?
Exploring Your Drive to Snooze
“We can identify three main reasons for taking a nap in the adult population,” says an expert sleep and circadian science researcher. “The first is known as recovery napping, essentially the action you take following a lack of sleep the night before. The second is pre-emptive sleep, where you are anticipating insufficient sleep in the future, for example during on night shifts. The third reason is “pleasure-based sleep”, which basically comes down to the wish: you get an opportunity to nap in the daytime, and it's pleasant to do it.”
The first thing to do, so, is to think about your nap motivation. “Naps can be genuinely useful when nighttime sleep gets interrupted for reasons outside your control – for example, if you’re a new parent, or you’re recovering after being ill or heavy physical exertion,” says a sleep specialist. “But if you nap as your nighttime sleep is unstable or broken, that can be a sign your sleep drive is not as strong as required. In those cases, naps can become a contributing factor, instead of the fix. Use napping for brief periods for temporary issues – the focus should still be a robust and regular sleep at night.”
The Perfect Nap Duration
This implies that napping ought not to be too extended to affect your nighttime sleep, and preferably should not occur post-3 p.m. (based on when you sleep in the evening). How long is sensible? Advice differs. Among the most-cited studies on the subject, experts noted that crew members experienced up to a 54% increase in vigilance and a 34% increase in task performance after a 26-minute nap (in detail, this included a six-minute sleep onset time). “I’d suggest setting a timer for half an hour or less – the majority fall asleep quickly,” says a sleep coach. “You'll find much advice around concerning the optimal amount of time, however, that can lead individuals to become more worried than anything else – and the most counterproductive thing you can possibly do when trying to fall asleep is to be anxious.”
If you’re going to take an extended nap, steer clear of the period between 45 and 60 minutes that promotes that sluggish feeling, that disoriented sensation when you wake. “Studies suggests it’s better to take a lengthier snooze of 60 to 90 minutes than a medium-length one,” says the expert. “Forty-five minutes is enough time to send you into slow-wave sleep making it more likely to feel groggy upon awakening – whereas if you nap for a bit longer to a full sleep cycle, it's likely you'll to be completing of a sleep cycle and are likely to awaken feeling more alert. However, if you’re sleeping for an hour and a half, it will affect the quality of your sleep later that night.”
Finding the Perfect Sleep Space
Regarding exact methodologies, suggestions are diverse. A few professionals suggest using comparable habits you use to foster quality nighttime sleep: a silent space, a comfortable bed and as much darkness as is feasible. Others suggest that you should merely snooze on a couch in whatever light happens to be around – to avoid sleep inertia and to maintain your sleeping quarters as the space your mind associates with proper sleep. “Falling asleep is quite challenging to will,” notes a sleep coach. “If you don’t have any drowsiness, it is more challenging to lie down and essentially command yourself to fall asleep. There must be some drive there to initiate sleep in the first place. I can usually take a nap during the day and awaken on my own alarm-free, however, what assists a lot of people is to wait for a moment when they are naturally somewhat sleepy and just gently ease into sleep.”
Experimentation is key, and when options are scarce – such as, when aiming to grab a quick nap while traveling or at the office – it's acceptable to employ a few tools. “When I’m working with elite athletes, I suggest that they don’t get used to sleeping in their bed, because they’re going to have|they will