Tune into plenty of self-improvement podcasters, making it tempting to think that a nap is a superpower: not just a quick fix after restless night, but a shortcut to enhanced cognition, improved mood and maybe improved athletic performance. Elite footballers swear by it – as do professional piano players, mixed martial artists and business leaders. But if you haven’t got a special sleep space or a career that encourages daytime sleep, are there *really* worthwhile perks to a quick nap to justify the kerfuffle? Does there exist a surefire technique to fall asleep fast? Furthermore, can you really guarantee you will get up feeling improved, instead of groggy?
Identifying Your Drive to Snooze
“Experts note three primary motivations for daytime sleep among most adults,” says an expert circadian rhythm professor. “One is known as recovery napping, essentially the action you take when you’ve had insufficient sleep the night before. Secondly, there's pre-emptive sleep, where you are anticipating sleep loss ahead, for instance during on night shifts. The third is called “hedonic napping”, which basically comes down to wanting: there is a moment to sleep during the day, and it feels nice to indulge.”
The initial step to undertake, so, is to think about why you want to nap. “Daytime sleep can be genuinely useful when night sleeping is disturbed for reasons outside your control – such as, for a new parent, or if you are healing from sickness or intense exercise,” says a sleep expert. “However, if you nap because your nighttime sleep seems unreliable or poor, that is frequently an indicator your sleep drive is not at the level required. In such situations, daytime sleep can turn into part of the problem, not the solution. Use napping for brief periods to address immediate needs – the main goal should still be a solid and consistent night’s sleep.”
The Perfect Snooze Time
This implies that naps ought not to be long enough to affect your sleep at night, and preferably should not occur in the late afternoon (based on what time you sleep in the evening). How long is sensible? Recommendations vary. From a prominent study about napping, experts noted that crew members showed improvements of over 50% in alertness and a 34% increase in task performance after a 26-minute nap (technically, this included a six-minute sleep onset time). “My advice is using an alarm for 20-30 minutes – most people doze off in under ten minutes,” says a specialist. “There’s a lot of recommendations regarding the optimal amount for sleeping, but that tends to cause people to feel more stressed above all – and the least helpful action you can possibly do when attempting to get to sleep is to be anxious.”
Should you decide to take an extended nap, steer clear of the 45-60 minute window that encourages that sluggish feeling, that spaced-out feeling when you wake. “Studies indicates it's more effective to have an extended nap lasting 60-90 minutes rather than a mid-length nap,” explains the expert. “Forty-five minutes is sufficient to put you into a deep sleep stage making it more likely to feel sluggish upon awakening – while if you extend it slightly longer to 60 or 90 minutes, you’re likely to be completing a natural sleep cycle and should wake up feeling more refreshed. Though if you're dozing for a long period, it may impact how you sleep that night.”
Establishing the Perfect Sleep Space
As for specific techniques, suggestions are diverse. Certain specialists propose using similar routines you’d use to encourage quality nighttime sleep: a peaceful area, a comfortable bed and minimal light as you can manage. Alternatively, experts propose that you should just doze in a chair in whatever light is available – to prevent that groggy feeling and to preserve your sleeping quarters as the space your mind associates with nighttime rest. “Napping is quite challenging to force,” says a specialist. “Lacking the urge to sleep, it becomes harder to lie down and basically tell yourself to fall asleep. There must be some sleep pressure there to bring the sleep on to begin with. For me, it's possible to nap in broad daylight and naturally wake up without a timer, however, what assists most folks is to look for a time that they’re naturally feeling a bit drowsy and just gently allow sleep to come.”
It’s worth experimenting, and should you have few options – for example, if attempting to squeeze in some shut-eye while traveling or in a work pod – it's acceptable with bringing a few tools. “When I’m working with footballers, I recommend that they avoid becoming accustomed to napping in bed, as they’re going to have|they will
