Listen to plenty of performance gurus, making it simple to convince yourself that napping is a secret weapon: more than a band-aid following poor sleep, but a shortcut to improved recall, improved mood and perhaps quicker running times. Elite athletes swear by it – as do professional piano players, UFC champions and business leaders. However, if you lack a room for napping or a job that encourages regular snoozing, can there *honestly* sufficient advantages to a short sleep to justify the kerfuffle? Does there exist a reliable way to fall asleep fast? And can you honestly promise you will get up feeling better, instead of groggy?
Identifying The Drive to Snooze
“There are three main reasons for daytime sleep for many people,” explains an expert circadian rhythm specialist. “Firstly, there's termed make-up sleep, which is what happens when you’ve had a lack of sleep the previous night. The second is prophylactic napping, which involves preparing for a sleep deficit in the future, such as during on night shifts. Finally, there's “hedonic napping”, which simply boils down to the wish: you get an opportunity to doze in the afternoon, and it's enjoyable to do it.”
The primary task to do, therefore, is to examine why you want to nap. “Daytime sleep can be really helpful when overnight rest gets interrupted due to causes outside your control – such as, for a parent of a newborn, or recovering from sickness or heavy physical exertion,” says a sleep specialist. “Yet when you take a nap because your night sleep feels fragile or broken, that is frequently a signal your body's sleep pressure is not where it needs to be. In those cases, daytime sleep can turn into part of the problem, not the solution. Employ naps for brief periods for short-term problems – the priority must always be a solid and consistent sleep at night.”
The Perfect Nap Duration
Therefore that naps must not be long enough to disrupt your sleep at night, and ideally are not recommended after about 3pm (depending on the time you go to bed overnight). How long is sensible? Recommendations vary. In one of a prominent study on the subject, space agency scientists noted that crew members had improvements of over 50% in attentiveness plus a 34% rise in performance post a 26-minute snooze (in detail, this included a six-minute long falling asleep phase). “I’d suggest setting a timer for 20 to 30 minutes – many individuals doze off quickly,” explains a sleep expert. “There is plenty of advice around concerning the perfect length for sleeping, but that tends to lead individuals to become more stressed than anything – and the worst thing you can do when attempting to get to sleep is worry about it.”
If you’re going to nap for a longer period, avoid the 45 to 60 minute range that encourages sleep grogginess, that spaced-out feeling upon waking. “The science would say it is preferable to have an extended nap lasting 60-90 minutes than a medium-length one,” explains the professor. “Forty-five minutes is sufficient to put you into slow-wave sleep and it is more probable to feel groggy when you get up – whereas if you extend it a little longer to a full sleep cycle, you will probably to be on the end a full cycle and should wake up feeling more refreshed. But if you nap for a long period, it will affect the quality of your sleep that night.”
Establishing the Right Snooze Setting
Regarding exact methodologies, recommendations vary. Some experts recommend employing similar routines one would use to promote restful sleep: a silent space, a cozy bed and maximum darkness as is feasible. Alternatively, experts propose that you should simply nap on the sofa in the existing light is available – to prevent post-nap grogginess and to “protect” your bed as the place your mind associates with proper sleep. “Falling asleep is quite challenging to will,” notes a sleep coach. “Without the urge to sleep, it becomes harder to recline and practically command yourself to go to sleep. There must be some sleep pressure present to start the process in the first place. For me, it's possible to snooze in broad daylight and wake up naturally without an alarm, though, what aids most folks is to wait for a time when they are naturally somewhat sleepy and just gently ease into sleep.”
It’s worth experimenting, and when your choices are limited – for instance, if you’re trying to fit in some shut-eye while traveling or in a work pod – it's acceptable to employ sleep aids. “When I’m working with elite athletes, I advise that they avoid becoming accustomed to their own bed for naps, as they’re going to have|they will
