Listen to a few self-improvement experts, and you'll be simple to think that a nap is a secret weapon: rather than a band-aid following poor sleep, but a shortcut towards improved recall, improved mood and perhaps a faster 5k run time. Premier League soccer players do it regularly – and so are musicians, UFC champions & high-profile executives. But if you haven’t got a room for napping or a career that permits frequent naps, is it *truly* enough benefits to a short sleep to justify the effort? Can you find a dependable method to fall asleep fast? Furthermore, can you really guarantee you will arise feeling refreshed, not worse?
Exploring Your Reasons for Napping
“There are three main reasons for napping among most adults,” notes a professor of sleep and circadian science specialist. “The first is what we call make-up sleep, essentially the action you take after experiencing insufficient sleep overnight. The second is prophylactic napping, which involves preparing for insufficient sleep coming up, for example when working overnight shifts. Finally, there's “pleasure-based sleep”, which basically boils down to desire: you have a chance to nap during the day, and it's enjoyable to do it.”
The first thing to do, so, is to think about your nap motivation. “Naps can be truly beneficial when nighttime sleep is being disrupted for reasons beyond your control – for instance, when you are caring for an infant, or recovering from illness or strenuous activity,” says a sleep physiologist. “However, if you’re napping because your sleep at night feels fragile or broken, that can be an indicator your need for sleep is not at the level it needs to be. In such situations, napping can become part of the problem, rather than the answer. Utilize daytime sleep for brief periods to address immediate needs – the priority must always be a solid and consistent sleep at night.”
The Perfect Nap Length
This implies that daytime sleep shouldn’t be too extended to affect your nighttime sleep, and ideally should not occur after about 3pm (contingent on what time you sleep at night). How long is sensible? Advice differs. Among a prominent study about napping, space agency scientists noted that astronauts experienced up to a 54% increase in attentiveness plus a 34% rise in performance post a 26-minute snooze (to be precise, this included a six-minute nodding-off period). “I’d suggest using an alarm for 20-30 minutes – the majority are asleep quickly,” notes a sleep coach. “There’s a lot of recommendations about the optimal amount of time, yet that often lead individuals to become more worried than anything else – and the worst thing you can do when trying to get to sleep is worry about it.”
If you’re going to sleep for longer, bypass the period between 45 and 60 minutes that induces that sluggish feeling, that disoriented sensation when you wake. “The science suggests it’s better to opt for a longer nap of one to one and a half hours than a medium-length one,” explains the sleep scientist. “Forty-five minutes is enough time to send you into a deep sleep stage and you’re more likely to feel groggy when you get up – whereas if you extend it a little longer to an hour or 90 minutes, you will probably to be on the end a full cycle and will probably get up feeling more rejuvenated. Though if you’re sleeping for a long period, it can influence your sleep later that night.”
Creating the Right Nap Environment
As for precise methods, recommendations vary. Some experts propose using comparable habits one would use to encourage a good night’s sleep: a quiet room, a cozy bed and minimal light as possible. Others suggest that it's fine to simply nap in a chair in whatever light is present – to prevent that groggy feeling and to maintain your bed as the environment you associate with *real* sleep. “Napping is notoriously difficult to will,” explains a sleep coach. “If you don’t have any drowsiness, it is tougher to lie down and practically command yourself to nod off. There must be some sleep pressure there to initiate sleep to begin with. For me, it's possible to take a nap in broad daylight and naturally wake up alarm-free, though, what aids many individuals is to look for a moment when they are naturally somewhat sleepy and just gently allow sleep to come.”
Trying different approaches is valuable, and if options are scarce – for example, when aiming to grab a quick nap during a commute or in a soundproof office pod – there’s nothing wrong to employ sleep aids. “In my work with elite athletes, I advise that they avoid becoming accustomed to sleeping in their bed, because they’re going to have|they will
