Tune into enough productivity gurus, and it’s simple to believe that napping is a powerful tool: not just a quick fix following restless night, but a route towards a better memory, a brighter outlook and possibly a faster 5k run time. Elite footballers do it regularly – and so are professional piano players, mixed martial artists & business leaders. However, if you haven’t got a dedicated nap-room or a career that allows daytime sleep, can there *honestly* enough benefits to a quick nap for it to be worth the kerfuffle? Can you find a reliable way to fall asleep fast? Plus, is it possible to really guarantee you’ll wake up feeling better, rather than worse?
Exploring Your Drive to Snooze
“Experts note three primary motivations for napping among most adults,” notes a leading circadian rhythm specialist. “The first is known as recovery napping, which is what happens when you’ve had insufficient sleep the night before. The second is prophylactic napping, where you are anticipating a sleep deficit ahead, for example when working graveyard shifts. Finally, there's “appetitive drive”, which basically comes down to desire: there is an opportunity to doze during the day, and it's pleasant to indulge.”
The initial step to consider, then, is to think about your reason for napping. “Daytime sleep can be genuinely useful when night sleeping gets interrupted due to causes beyond your control – for instance, if you’re a new parent, or recovering from illness or heavy physical exertion,” says a sleep expert. “Yet when you’re napping because your nighttime sleep seems unreliable or broken, that can be a sign your body's sleep pressure is not where it needs to be. In such situations, naps can become part of the problem, rather than the answer. Employ naps for brief periods for short-term problems – the main goal should still be a robust and regular sleep at night.”
The Optimal Nap Duration
Therefore that naps shouldn’t be too extended to disrupt your nighttime sleep, and ideally should not occur in the late afternoon (based on when you sleep overnight). What duration is wise? Guidelines are mixed. From the most-cited studies on the subject, experts discovered that crew members showed up to a 54% increase in alertness and a 34% increase in performance post a 26-minute snooze (in detail, this included a six-minute long falling asleep phase). “I recommend setting a timer for half an hour or less – the majority are asleep within 10 minutes,” notes a sleep expert. “There is plenty of guidance out there regarding the perfect length of time, but that tends to lead individuals to become more stressed than anything else – and the least helpful action you can possibly do when attempting to fall asleep is to stress over it.”
Should you decide to take an extended nap, steer clear of the 45-60 minute window that promotes that sluggish feeling, that disoriented sensation when you awaken. “Research indicates it’s better to have a longer nap lasting 60-90 minutes rather than a mid-length nap,” explains the sleep scientist. “Forty-five minutes is long enough to plunge you into slow-wave sleep and it is more probable to feel disoriented upon awakening – while if you take it a bit longer to an hour or 90 minutes, you will probably to be on the end of a sleep cycle and are likely to get up feeling more refreshed. However, if you’re sleeping for a long period, it can influence your sleep later that night.”
Creating the Perfect Snooze Setting
When it comes to specific techniques, advice differs. A few professionals suggest using comparable habits you’d use to promote restful sleep: a peaceful area, a comfortable bed and minimal light as possible. Others suggest that it's fine to merely snooze in a chair in the existing light happens to be around – to avoid post-nap grogginess and to maintain your bedroom as the environment you associate with nighttime rest. “Sleep is quite challenging to will,” notes a specialist. “If you don’t have the urge to sleep, it is more challenging to get comfortable and essentially tell yourself to go to sleep. There must be some drive available to initiate sleep initially. I can usually take a nap in full light and awaken on my own without a timer, though, what aids many individuals is to anticipate a time when they are naturally somewhat sleepy and then simply relax into it.”
Experimentation is key, and when your choices are limited – such as, if you’re trying to squeeze in 40 winks during a commute or in a soundproof office pod – it is perfectly fine to use a few tools. “In my work with elite athletes, I advise that they don’t get used to napping in bed, as they’re going to have|they will
