Hear a few self-improvement gurus, and you'll be tempting to think that a nap is a secret weapon: rather than a band-aid following restless night, but a route towards improved recall, a brighter outlook and maybe improved athletic performance. Professional footballers swear by it – and so are musicians, fighters and media moguls. However, if you don't have a special sleep space or a job that allows frequent naps, is it *truly* worthwhile perks to a short sleep for it to be worth the kerfuffle? Is there a reliable way to get to sleep quickly enough? And can you honestly promise you will arise feeling better, rather than worse?
Understanding The Reasons for Napping
“We can identify three key drivers for taking a nap in the adult population,” notes a leading sleep and circadian science specialist. “Firstly, there's known as recovery napping, that is what you do when you’ve had a lack of sleep overnight. The second is prophylactic napping, when you are anticipating sleep loss coming up, for instance when working on night shifts. Finally, there's “appetitive drive”, which essentially boils down to the wish: you get a chance to sleep in the afternoon, and it's enjoyable to indulge.”
The first thing to consider, then, is consider why you want to nap. “Napping can be really helpful when night sleeping is being disrupted because of factors outside your control – for example, when you are a new parent, or if you are healing from sickness or intense exercise,” states a sleep specialist. “But if you’re napping as your night sleep is unstable or unreliable, that’s often a sign your sleep drive is not at the level it needs to be. In such situations, naps can become part of the problem, not the solution. Utilize daytime sleep for brief periods for short-term problems – the main goal must always be a robust and regular sleep at night.”
The Optimal Nap Length
This means that naps shouldn’t be too extended to interfere with your overnight rest, and best should not occur post-3 p.m. (depending on the time you go to bed overnight). What duration is wise? Guidelines are mixed. In one of the most-cited studies regarding daytime sleep, space agency scientists discovered that crew members had improvements of over 50% in alertness and a 34% boost in performance following a nap of 26 minutes (in detail, this involved a six-minute long falling asleep phase). “I recommend setting an alarm for half an hour or less – most people doze off quickly,” says a specialist. “There is plenty of guidance out there concerning the ideal number of minutes, yet that often make people feel more worried above all – and the least helpful action you can possibly do when trying to nod off is worry about it.”
Should you decide to take an extended nap, steer clear of the period between 45 and 60 minutes that encourages sleep grogginess, that foggy state when you awaken. “Research indicates it's more effective to opt for a longer nap lasting 60-90 minutes than a medium-length one,” notes the expert. “Three-quarters of an hour is enough time to send you into slow-wave sleep and you’re more likely to feel groggy when you get up – while if you nap for a little longer to 60 or 90 minutes, you will probably to be completing a full cycle and should awaken feeling more refreshed. However, if you nap for an hour and a half, it will affect your sleep that night.”
Creating the Right Nap Environment
When it comes to specific techniques, suggestions are diverse. A few professionals recommend using the same protocol one would use to foster a good night’s sleep: a quiet room, a supportive surface and maximum darkness as you can manage. Alternatively, experts propose that it's fine to simply nap on the sofa with ambient lighting happens to be around – to avoid that groggy feeling and to maintain your bed as the environment your brain links with nighttime rest. “Sleep is notoriously difficult to command,” explains a sleep coach. “If you don’t have the urge to sleep, it becomes harder to recline and basically instruct yourself to nod off. There’s got to be some drive present to start the process in the first place. I can usually nap in broad daylight and naturally wake up without a timer, however, what assists a lot of people is to wait for a time that they’re naturally somewhat sleepy and calmly allow sleep to come.”
Trying different approaches is valuable, and when you have few options – for example, if you’re trying to squeeze in some shut-eye while traveling or in a work pod – it's acceptable to use a few tools. “When I’m working with elite athletes, I advise that they avoid becoming accustomed to sleeping in their bed, since they’re going to have|they will
