Hear plenty of productivity experts, making it tempting to convince yourself that dozing is a superpower: not just a sticking plaster after a bad night’s sleep, but a path towards a better memory, improved mood and possibly a faster 5k run time. Premier League athletes swear by it – and so are professional piano players, fighters & business leaders. Yet, when you don't have a room for napping or a career that encourages regular snoozing, can there *honestly* enough benefits to a burst of shut-eye to merit the kerfuffle? Is there a surefire technique to nod off promptly? Furthermore, can you really guarantee you’ll wake up feeling improved, instead of groggy?
Identifying The Reasons for Napping
“There are three key drivers for daytime sleep for many people,” explains a professor of sleep science specialist. “One is what we call recovery napping, which is the action you take after experiencing insufficient sleep the previous night. The second is preparatory napping, where you are preparing for sleep loss coming up, such as when working graveyard shifts. The third reason is “pleasure-based sleep”, which simply boils down to the wish: there is a moment to sleep during the day, and it's pleasant to do it.”
The initial step to do, so, is to think about your reason for napping. “Daytime sleep can be truly beneficial when overnight rest is disturbed for reasons beyond your control – such as, for a new parent, or recovering from illness or intense exercise,” states a sleep physiologist. “Yet when you nap since your nighttime sleep feels fragile or unreliable, that can be a signal your sleep drive is not at the level it needs to be. Under those circumstances, daytime sleep can turn into part of the issue, not the solution. Employ naps as a short-term solution for temporary issues – the focus should still be a robust and regular night’s sleep.”
The Perfect Nap Duration
This means that naps shouldn’t be long enough to interfere with your sleep at night, and preferably are not recommended in the late afternoon (depending on when you go to bed in the evening). What's a reasonable length? Advice differs. From the most referenced research about napping, space agency scientists noted that space travelers showed improvements of over 50% in vigilance plus a 34% rise in task performance after a 26-minute nap (to be precise, this included an initial six-minute nodding-off period). “My advice is setting an alarm for 20-30 minutes – many individuals are asleep within 10 minutes,” explains a sleep coach. “There’s a lot of recommendations about the perfect length of minutes, however, that can cause people to feel more anxious than anything – and the worst thing one can do while aiming to nod off is worry about it.”
If you plan to sleep for longer, steer clear of the 45 to 60 minute range that induces that sluggish feeling, that spaced-out feeling upon waking. “Research suggests it is preferable to have a longer nap of one to one and a half hours compared to a medium-length nap,” explains the expert. “Three-quarters of an hour is long enough to put you into a deep sleep stage and you’re more likely to feel disoriented when you get up – however, if you nap for a bit longer to a full sleep cycle, it's likely you'll to be on the end a full cycle and are likely to wake up feeling more refreshed. But if you're dozing for a long period, it will affect your sleep in the evening.”
Finding an Ideal Snooze Setting
When it comes to specific techniques, suggestions are diverse. A few professionals recommend employing the same protocol one would use to encourage restful sleep: a peaceful area, a cozy bed and minimal light as you can manage. Alternatively, experts propose that you should merely snooze on the sofa with ambient lighting is present – both to discourage post-nap grogginess and to “protect” your bedroom as the environment your brain links with proper sleep. “Napping is notoriously difficult to force,” notes a sleep coach. “If you don’t have any drowsiness, it is tougher to recline and practically tell yourself to go to sleep. There’s got to be some sleep pressure present to initiate sleep initially. Personally, I can often snooze in full light and wake up naturally without a timer, but what helps most folks is to look for a moment when they are naturally feeling a bit drowsy and calmly relax into it.”
It’s worth experimenting, and when your choices are limited – such as, when aiming to fit in some shut-eye on a train or at the office – it's acceptable with bringing sleep aids. “When I’m working with footballers, I advise that they don’t get used to their own bed for naps, because they’re going to have|they will
