Listen to enough self-improvement podcasters, making it easy to think that dozing is a superpower: rather than a band-aid after restless night, but a shortcut towards a better memory, improved mood and perhaps improved athletic performance. Premier League footballers do it regularly – as do professional piano players, mixed martial artists and high-profile executives. However, if you haven’t got a room for napping or a career that allows daytime sleep, can there *honestly* worthwhile perks to a quick nap to merit the kerfuffle? Can you find a dependable method to nod off promptly? And can you honestly promise you will arise feeling better, instead of groggy?
Identifying The Drive to Snooze
“There are three main reasons for daytime sleep in the adult population,” explains an expert sleep and circadian science specialist. “One is termed compensatory napping, that is what you do following insufficient sleep the night before. Another is prophylactic napping, which involves anticipating a sleep deficit in the future, for example during graveyard shifts. The third reason is “appetitive drive”, which basically comes down to wanting: there is a chance to nap in the afternoon, and it's enjoyable to indulge.”
The initial step to undertake, so, is to examine your nap motivation. “Daytime sleep can be really helpful when overnight rest is being disrupted for reasons outside your control – for example, when you are caring for an infant, or you’re recovering after being ill or strenuous activity,” states a sleep specialist. “But if you nap as your night sleep feels fragile or unreliable, that can be a sign your need for sleep is not where it needs to be. In such situations, daytime sleep can turn into a contributing factor, rather than the answer. Employ naps as a short-term solution for temporary issues – the focus ought to remain a robust and regular overnight rest.”
The Ideal Nap Duration
This means that naps ought not to be long enough to disrupt your nighttime sleep, and ideally are not recommended after about 3pm (contingent on when you sleep overnight). How long is sensible? Advice differs. In one of the most referenced research on the subject, experts noted that astronauts experienced a boost of up to 54% in alertness plus a 34% rise in performance following a nap of 26 minutes (to be precise, this included a six-minute long falling asleep phase). “I recommend using an alarm for half an hour or less – most people doze off in under ten minutes,” says a sleep expert. “You'll find much guidance out there regarding the optimal amount for sleeping, but that tends to lead individuals to become more worried above all – and the most counterproductive thing you can possibly do when attempting to get to sleep is to stress over it.”
Should you decide to take an extended nap, avoid the 45 to 60 minute range that induces sleep grogginess, that disoriented sensation upon waking. “Research would say it's more effective to have a longer nap lasting 60-90 minutes than a medium-length one,” notes the sleep scientist. “45 minutes is long enough to send you into slow-wave sleep and you’re more likely to feel disoriented when you get up – whereas if you nap for slightly longer to an hour or 90 minutes, it's likely you'll to be on the end a full cycle and will probably wake up feeling more rejuvenated. However, if you’re sleeping for an hour and a half, it can influence how you sleep later that night.”
Finding the Right Snooze Setting
As for exact methodologies, recommendations vary. A few professionals suggest adopting the same protocol you’d use to promote a good night’s sleep: a quiet room, a cozy bed and minimal light as you can manage. Some advise that it's fine to merely snooze in a chair in whatever light is present – both to discourage sleep inertia and to preserve your bed as the space your brain links with proper sleep. “Falling asleep is something really tricky to command,” notes an expert. “If you don’t have any drowsiness, it is tougher to recline and practically command yourself to fall asleep. There’s got to be some drive available to start the process in the first place. I can usually take a nap during the day and wake up naturally without an alarm, but what helps most folks is to anticipate an instance when they are naturally somewhat sleepy and then simply ease into sleep.”
Trying different approaches is valuable, and if you have few options – such as, if you’re trying to grab 40 winks during a commute or in a soundproof office pod – it is perfectly fine with bringing a few tools. “In my work with footballers, I recommend that they don’t get used to napping in bed, since they’re going to have|they will
