Listen to enough self-improvement experts, and it’s easy to believe that napping is a powerful tool: more than a sticking plaster after poor sleep, but a shortcut towards improved recall, a brighter outlook and perhaps quicker running times. Professional athletes swear by it – along with professional piano players, mixed martial artists and high-profile executives. However, if you haven’t got a room for napping or employment that allows frequent naps, are there *really* enough benefits to a short sleep for it to be worth the effort? Does there exist a reliable way to nod off promptly? Furthermore, can you really guarantee you will arise feeling improved, rather than worse?
Exploring The Nap Motivation
“We can identify three key drivers for taking a nap for many people,” says a professor of sleep science professor. “Firstly, there's what we call make-up sleep, that is what you do when you’ve had insufficient sleep the night before. The second is prophylactic napping, where you are anticipating sleep loss coming up, such as if you’re working on night shifts. Finally, there's “hedonic napping”, which simply is about desire: you get a moment to doze in the daytime, and it's pleasant to do it.”
The primary task to do, then, is consider your reason for napping. “Naps can be genuinely useful when nighttime sleep is disturbed because of factors you cannot change – for instance, if you’re a new parent, or recovering after being ill or strenuous activity,” states a sleep physiologist. “Yet when you’re napping as your sleep at night seems unreliable or broken, that’s often a signal your sleep drive is not as strong as it should be. In those cases, daytime sleep can turn into a contributing factor, instead of the fix. Utilize daytime sleep as a temporary measure for temporary issues – the main goal ought to remain a strong and predictable night’s sleep.”
The Optimal Snooze Time
This means that daytime sleep shouldn’t be sufficiently lengthy to affect your overnight rest, and preferably shouldn’t take place post-3 p.m. (based on what time you go to bed in the evening). What's a reasonable length? Advice differs. In one of a prominent study regarding daytime sleep, space agency scientists noted that crew members had improvements of over 50% in attentiveness and a 34% increase in performance following a nap of 26 minutes (to be precise, this counted an initial six-minute sleep onset time). “I recommend setting an alarm for 20-30 minutes – many individuals fall asleep in under ten minutes,” notes a sleep coach. “You'll find much advice around concerning the optimal amount of time, however, that can cause people to feel more worried than anything – and the most counterproductive thing one can do when trying to fall asleep is to be anxious.”
If you’re going to sleep for longer, avoid the 45 to 60 minute range that promotes that sluggish feeling, that spaced-out feeling when you awaken. “Studies indicates it’s better to take a longer nap of one to one and a half hours rather than a mid-length nap,” says the professor. “Forty-five minutes is enough time to send you into slow-wave sleep making it more likely to feel groggy upon awakening – while if you extend it slightly longer to a full sleep cycle, you’re likely to be completing a natural sleep cycle and will probably wake up feeling more refreshed. Though if you're dozing for an hour and a half, it may impact the quality of your sleep in the evening.”
Establishing the Right Sleep Space
As for exact methodologies, advice differs. A few professionals recommend employing the same protocol you use to foster a good night’s sleep: a silent space, a cozy bed and maximum darkness as possible. Some advise that it's fine to just doze in a chair in whatever light is available – to prevent sleep inertia and to preserve your sleeping quarters as the space your mind associates with *real* sleep. “Sleep is something really tricky to will,” notes an expert. “Without any drowsiness, it is more challenging to get comfortable and practically command yourself to go to sleep. There’s got to be some sleep pressure available to initiate sleep initially. For me, it's possible to take a nap in full light and naturally wake up without a timer, but what helps a lot of people is to look for a moment where they feel naturally somewhat sleepy and just gently ease into sleep.”
Experimentation is key, and when options are scarce – for example, if you’re trying to fit in 40 winks during a commute or in a soundproof office pod – it is perfectly fine to use sleep aids. “In my work with footballers, I advise that they avoid becoming accustomed to napping in bed, because they’re going to have|they will
