Listen to plenty of performance podcasters, and you'll be tempting to convince yourself that dozing is a superpower: rather than a sticking plaster after restless night, but a shortcut towards enhanced cognition, a brighter outlook and maybe improved athletic performance. Professional footballers swear by it – along with musicians, UFC champions & high-profile executives. But if you haven’t got a dedicated nap-room or a job that permits regular snoozing, are there *really* enough benefits to a short sleep to merit the effort? Is there a surefire technique to nod off promptly? Furthermore, can you really guarantee you will arise feeling improved, instead of groggy?
Exploring The Drive to Snooze
“There are three main reasons for napping in the adult population,” explains a professor of circadian rhythm specialist. “One is termed make-up sleep, essentially what you do when you’ve had insufficient sleep overnight. Another is prophylactic napping, when you are anticipating a sleep deficit in the future, for example when working on night shifts. Finally, there's “hedonic napping”, which basically comes down to desire: you have a moment to nap during the day, and it's enjoyable to do it.”
The first thing to do, so, is consider why you want to nap. “Naps can be really helpful when nighttime sleep is being disrupted because of factors outside your control – for example, for caring for an infant, or you’re recovering from illness or strenuous activity,” says a sleep specialist. “Yet when you take a nap because your night sleep feels fragile or unreliable, that is frequently an indicator your need for sleep is not at the level it needs to be. In those cases, naps can become part of the problem, rather than the answer. Employ naps as a short-term solution to address immediate needs – the main goal should still be a strong and predictable overnight rest.”
The Optimal Nap Length
This means that daytime sleep must not be too extended to interfere with your nighttime sleep, and ideally should not occur post-3 p.m. (depending on what time you retire at night). What duration is wise? Advice differs. Among the most-cited studies regarding daytime sleep, space agency scientists found that space travelers experienced up to a 54% increase in attentiveness plus a 34% rise in cognitive performance following a nap of 26 minutes (to be precise, this involved an initial six-minute sleep onset time). “I recommend using an alarm for half an hour or less – the majority are asleep in under ten minutes,” explains a sleep coach. “There’s a lot of advice around regarding the perfect length of time, yet that often make people feel more anxious than anything – and the most counterproductive thing you can do when trying to nod off is to be anxious.”
If you plan to sleep for longer, avoid the 45 to 60 minute range that encourages that sluggish feeling, that disoriented sensation when you wake. “Studies suggests it’s better to opt for a longer nap of 60 to 90 minutes compared to a medium-length nap,” notes the sleep scientist. “Forty-five minutes is enough time to send you into a deep sleep stage making it more likely to feel groggy when you get up – whereas if you take it slightly longer to an hour or 90 minutes, it's likely you'll to finish of a sleep cycle and should get up feeling more refreshed. However, if you're dozing for an hour and a half, it will affect the quality of your sleep in the evening.”
Finding the Perfect Sleep Space
Regarding exact methodologies, suggestions are diverse. Some experts recommend employing the same protocol you’d use to foster a good night’s sleep: a silent space, a supportive surface and as much darkness as possible. Others suggest that one could merely snooze on a couch with ambient lighting happens to be around – both to discourage sleep inertia and to preserve your sleeping quarters as the place you associate with nighttime rest. “Napping is something really tricky to command,” explains an expert. “If you don’t have any drowsiness, it is more challenging to lie down and practically instruct yourself to go to sleep. There’s got to be some sleep pressure present to start the process to begin with. I can usually snooze during the day and awaken on my own without an alarm, however, what assists most folks is to wait for a moment that they’re naturally feeling a bit drowsy and then simply relax into it.”
Trying different approaches is valuable, and if your choices are limited – for example, when aiming to grab a quick nap while traveling or at the office – there’s nothing wrong to use a few tools. “Coaching footballers, I advise that they not rely on napping in bed, since they’re going to have|they will