Tune into enough self-improvement gurus, and you'll be easy to believe that a nap is a superpower: rather than a band-aid after poor sleep, but a route towards improved recall, a brighter outlook and maybe improved athletic performance. Elite footballers do it regularly – as do concert pianists, mixed martial artists and business leaders. But if you don't have a dedicated nap-room or employment that permits daytime sleep, is it *truly* enough benefits to a short sleep for it to be worth the kerfuffle? Can you find a reliable way to nod off promptly? Plus, is it possible to really guarantee you will arise feeling improved, not worse?
Understanding Your Reasons for Napping
“Experts note three key drivers for taking a nap in the adult population,” notes a professor of sleep science professor. “The first is known as make-up sleep, which is what you do after experiencing poor sleep overnight. Another is prophylactic napping, which involves preparing for sleep loss coming up, such as when working overnight shifts. Finally, there's “pleasure-based sleep”, which essentially comes down to the wish: you get a chance to nap in the daytime, and it's pleasant to do it.”
The first thing to do, so, is to think about why you want to nap. “Naps can be genuinely useful when overnight rest is being disrupted due to causes beyond your control – such as, for a new parent, or recovering after being ill or strenuous activity,” states a sleep expert. “However, if you take a nap because your night sleep feels fragile or broken, that is frequently a signal your need for sleep is not where required. Under those circumstances, daytime sleep can turn into part of the problem, not the solution. Utilize daytime sleep for brief periods for short-term problems – the priority should still be a robust and regular sleep at night.”
The Perfect Nap Length
This implies that daytime sleep must not be too extended to interfere with your overnight rest, and ideally are not recommended post-3 p.m. (depending on when you go to bed at night). How long is sensible? Advice differs. In one of the most-cited studies about napping, researchers at Nasa noted that astronauts had a boost of up to 54% in attentiveness and a 34% increase in cognitive performance following a nap of 26 minutes (technically, this included a six-minute nodding-off period). “I recommend using an alarm for half an hour or less – many individuals doze off within 10 minutes,” notes a specialist. “There’s a lot of recommendations regarding the optimal amount of time, however, that can cause people to feel more anxious than anything else – and the most counterproductive thing one can do while aiming to get to sleep is to be anxious.”
If you’re going to nap for a longer period, avoid the 45 to 60 minute range that encourages that sluggish feeling, that foggy state when you awaken. “Studies suggests it’s better to opt for an extended nap of one to one and a half hours rather than a mid-length nap,” notes the professor. “45 minutes is long enough to send you into slow-wave sleep and it is more probable to feel sluggish when you wake up – whereas if you nap for a bit longer to an hour or 90 minutes, it's likely you'll to finish a natural sleep cycle and should get up feeling more rejuvenated. But if you’re sleeping for a long period, it can influence how you sleep later that night.”
Creating the Perfect Sleep Space
Regarding exact methodologies, recommendations vary. Certain specialists suggest using similar routines one would use to promote restful sleep: a quiet room, a comfortable bed and maximum darkness as possible. Others suggest that you should merely snooze on a couch in the existing light happens to be around – to avoid that groggy feeling and to preserve your bedroom as the environment your brain links with proper sleep. “Napping is quite challenging to will,” explains a sleep coach. “Lacking any sleepiness, it is more challenging to get comfortable and practically instruct yourself to go to sleep. There’s got to be a natural inclination available to initiate sleep initially. Personally, I can often nap in full light and wake up naturally without an alarm, however, what assists most folks is to wait for a moment when they are naturally somewhat sleepy and calmly allow sleep to come.”
It’s worth experimenting, and if options are scarce – for example, when aiming to fit in 40 winks while traveling or in a work pod – it is perfectly fine to employ a few tools. “In my work with elite athletes, I recommend that they don’t get used to their own bed for naps, because they’re going to have|they will
