Tune into a few performance experts, making it simple to think that a nap is a secret weapon: not just a band-aid following poor sleep, but a path to enhanced cognition, a brighter outlook and perhaps a faster 5k run time. Elite soccer players do it regularly – and so are musicians, mixed martial artists and media moguls. But if you lack a dedicated nap-room or employment that encourages regular snoozing, is it *truly* worthwhile perks to a quick nap to justify the effort? Is there a surefire technique to get to sleep quickly enough? Plus, is it possible to really guarantee you’ll wake up feeling better, rather than worse?
Understanding Your Reasons for Napping
“We can identify three primary motivations for taking a nap in the adult population,” says a leading sleep science professor. “Firstly, there's what we call compensatory napping, essentially the action you take following insufficient sleep the previous night. Secondly, there's pre-emptive sleep, when you are preparing for insufficient sleep in the future, for instance during on night shifts. The third is called “appetitive drive”, which essentially comes down to desire: there is a moment to sleep in the afternoon, and it's enjoyable to do it.”
The first thing to consider, so, is to examine why you want to nap. “Napping can be really helpful when overnight rest is disturbed because of factors outside your control – for example, when you are caring for an infant, or recovering from illness or strenuous activity,” states a sleep expert. “Yet when you take a nap because your night sleep seems unreliable or unreliable, that is frequently a sign your body's sleep pressure is not at the level it needs to be. Under those circumstances, napping can become part of the problem, rather than the answer. Utilize daytime sleep for brief periods for temporary issues – the priority must always be a solid and consistent overnight rest.”
The Optimal Snooze Time
Therefore that daytime sleep must not be too extended to interfere with your sleep at night, and best shouldn’t take place post-3 p.m. (contingent on when you sleep at night). What duration is wise? Advice differs. Among the most referenced research about napping, researchers at Nasa discovered that space travelers experienced a boost of up to 54% in vigilance plus a 34% rise in task performance after a 26-minute nap (to be precise, this included an initial six-minute sleep onset time). “My advice is setting an alarm for 20 to 30 minutes – most people fall asleep within 10 minutes,” notes a specialist. “You'll find much recommendations regarding the optimal amount of time, yet that often lead individuals to become more worried than anything – and the most counterproductive thing you can do when trying to nod off is to be anxious.”
Should you decide to nap for a longer period, steer clear of the 45 to 60 minute range that promotes sleep inertia, that foggy state when you wake. “The science would say it's more effective to opt for a longer nap lasting 60-90 minutes compared to a medium-length nap,” notes the expert. “Three-quarters of an hour is sufficient to send you into slow-wave sleep and you’re more likely to feel disoriented when you wake up – however, if you take it slightly longer to a full sleep cycle, you will probably to finish a full cycle and are likely to get up feeling more alert. But if you’re sleeping for 90 minutes, it can influence your sleep later that night.”
Establishing the Perfect Nap Environment
As for precise methods, advice differs. A few professionals recommend employing comparable habits you use to encourage quality nighttime sleep: a silent space, a supportive surface and minimal light as is feasible. Alternatively, experts propose that it's fine to merely snooze on a couch in the existing light is available – to prevent post-nap grogginess and to preserve your bed as the place your brain links with proper sleep. “Falling asleep is notoriously difficult to force,” says a specialist. “Without the urge to sleep, it is more challenging to lie down and basically tell yourself to go to sleep. You need some drive available to initiate sleep initially. I can usually snooze in broad daylight and wake up naturally without a timer, however, what assists a lot of people is to look for an instance where they feel naturally feeling a bit drowsy and then simply relax into it.”
It’s worth experimenting, and should options are scarce – such as, if you’re trying to squeeze in some shut-eye during a commute or in a soundproof office pod – there’s nothing wrong to use a few tools. “In my work with professional sportspeople, I recommend that they avoid becoming accustomed to napping in bed, since they’re going to have|they will
