Listen to a few performance experts, and you'll be simple to think that a nap is a powerful tool: rather than a band-aid after restless night, but a path towards enhanced cognition, a brighter outlook and possibly improved athletic performance. Professional footballers swear by it – and so are professional piano players, mixed martial artists and media moguls. Yet, when you lack a dedicated nap-room or employment that permits daytime sleep, is it *truly* sufficient advantages to a short sleep for it to be worth the effort? Is there a surefire technique to fall asleep fast? Furthermore, can you really guarantee you will arise feeling better, rather than worse?
Understanding The Reasons for Napping
“There are three main reasons for daytime sleep for many people,” notes an expert sleep and circadian science researcher. “The first is what we call make-up sleep, that is the action you take following poor sleep the night before. The second is preparatory napping, when you are preparing for a sleep deficit in the future, for instance if you’re working overnight shifts. The third is called “pleasure-based sleep”, which simply comes down to desire: you get a chance to nap in the daytime, and it feels nice to indulge.”
The primary task to do, then, is consider your nap motivation. “Daytime sleep can be truly beneficial when nighttime sleep is disturbed because of factors you cannot change – for instance, when you are a parent of a newborn, or recovering from sickness or strenuous activity,” explains a sleep expert. “But if you nap since your night sleep feels fragile or poor, that can be a signal your sleep drive is not as strong as it needs to be. Under those circumstances, napping can become a contributing factor, rather than the answer. Use napping for brief periods to address immediate needs – the main goal should still be a solid and consistent sleep at night.”
The Optimal Nap Duration
This implies that napping shouldn’t be too extended to interfere with your sleep at night, and best should not occur after about 3pm (depending on when you sleep at night). What's a reasonable length? Guidelines are mixed. In one of the most-cited studies regarding daytime sleep, experts discovered that space travelers experienced improvements of over 50% in alertness plus a 34% rise in performance after a 26-minute nap (in detail, this included an initial six-minute falling asleep phase). “I recommend using an alarm for 20 to 30 minutes – many individuals doze off in under ten minutes,” explains a sleep coach. “There is plenty of guidance out there about the optimal amount of minutes, however, that can lead individuals to become more worried than anything – and the worst thing one can do when attempting to nod off is to be anxious.”
If you’re going to sleep for longer, bypass the period between 45 and 60 minutes that encourages sleep inertia, that spaced-out feeling when you awaken. “The science indicates it is preferable to have an extended nap of one to one and a half hours rather than a mid-length nap,” notes the professor. “Forty-five minutes is long enough to plunge you into slow-wave sleep and you’re more likely to feel disoriented when you wake up – while if you extend it a little longer to a full sleep cycle, you’re likely to finish a natural sleep cycle and should wake up feeling more alert. Though if you nap for 90 minutes, it can influence your sleep that night.”
Finding an Ideal Snooze Setting
As for specific techniques, recommendations vary. A few professionals suggest employing comparable habits you’d use to encourage restful sleep: a peaceful area, a supportive surface and as much darkness as possible. Some advise that you should simply nap in a chair with ambient lighting happens to be around – to avoid that groggy feeling and to “protect” your bed as the space your brain links with nighttime rest. “Sleep is something really tricky to will,” explains a specialist. “Lacking the urge to sleep, it becomes harder to recline and practically tell yourself to go to sleep. There’s got to be some drive present to start the process initially. I can usually take a nap during the day and wake up naturally alarm-free, though, what aids most folks is to anticipate a moment that they’re naturally feeling a bit drowsy and then simply allow sleep to come.”
Trying different approaches is valuable, and if your choices are limited – for example, if you’re trying to fit in some shut-eye during a commute or in a work pod – it's acceptable to employ a few tools. “When I’m working with elite athletes, I suggest that they not rely on their own bed for naps, because they’re going to have|they will
