Tune into a few performance experts, making it easy to think that dozing is a secret weapon: rather than a sticking plaster following restless night, but a route to enhanced cognition, a brighter outlook and perhaps quicker running times. Professional soccer players do it regularly – along with professional piano players, UFC champions & high-profile executives. But if you don't have 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? Can you find a dependable method to nod off promptly? And can you honestly promise you’ll wake up feeling refreshed, not worse?
Understanding Your Reasons for Napping
“There are three primary motivations for napping in the adult population,” says an expert circadian rhythm specialist. “Firstly, there's known as compensatory napping, that is what you do after experiencing insufficient sleep the previous night. Another is preparatory napping, where you are pre-empting insufficient sleep coming up, for instance when working on night shifts. The third is called “appetitive drive”, which simply comes down to desire: you have an opportunity to doze during the day, and it feels nice to do it.”
The first thing to undertake, so, is consider why you want to nap. “Naps can be genuinely useful when nighttime sleep gets interrupted because of factors you cannot change – for example, when you are a new parent, or you’re recovering from illness or strenuous activity,” says a sleep specialist. “Yet when you’re napping as your sleep at night seems unreliable or broken, that’s often a signal your sleep drive is not as strong as it should be. In those cases, naps can become part of the issue, not the solution. Utilize daytime sleep as a short-term solution for temporary issues – the main goal should still be a robust and regular sleep at night.”
The Optimal Nap Duration
This means that napping shouldn’t be too extended to interfere with your sleep at night, and preferably shouldn’t take place after about 3pm (based on when you go to bed in the evening). What's a reasonable length? Advice differs. Among the most-cited studies regarding daytime sleep, space agency scientists noted that crew members had up to a 54% increase in attentiveness and a 34% increase in cognitive performance post a 26-minute snooze (to be precise, this counted a six-minute long sleep onset time). “My advice is using an alarm for 20-30 minutes – most people doze off in under ten minutes,” says a sleep coach. “There’s a lot of advice around concerning the perfect length of minutes, yet that often lead individuals to become more worried than anything – and the most counterproductive thing one can do when trying to nod off is worry about it.”
If you plan to take an extended nap, bypass the 45 to 60 minute range that promotes sleep inertia, that disoriented sensation when you wake. “The science suggests it’s better to opt for an extended nap lasting 60-90 minutes rather than a mid-length nap,” explains the sleep scientist. “Three-quarters of an hour is enough time to put you into deep sleep and you’re more likely to feel sluggish upon awakening – while if you take it a bit longer to 60 or 90 minutes, you will probably to be completing a natural sleep cycle and should wake up feeling more rejuvenated. However, if you nap for an hour and a half, it may impact the quality of your sleep that night.”
Establishing the Perfect Nap Environment
As for specific techniques, recommendations vary. Some experts recommend adopting comparable habits one would use to encourage a good night’s sleep: a peaceful area, a cozy bed and as much darkness as is feasible. Some advise that you should simply nap on a couch in the existing light is present – to prevent that groggy feeling and to maintain your bedroom as the environment you associate with nighttime rest. “Sleep is something really tricky to force,” explains a specialist. “Lacking the urge to sleep, it becomes harder to get comfortable and practically tell yourself to go to sleep. You need some sleep pressure available to initiate sleep initially. I can usually take a nap in full light and awaken on my own without a timer, however, what assists a lot of people is to look for a time when they are naturally slightly tired and then simply ease into sleep.”
It’s worth experimenting, and if you have few options – such as, if you’re trying to squeeze in some shut-eye during a commute or at the office – there’s nothing wrong to employ some accessories. “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
