Hear plenty of performance experts, and you'll be tempting to think that a nap is a powerful tool: more than a quick fix following restless night, but a path towards a better memory, better spirits and possibly improved athletic performance. Elite soccer players are all at it – as do musicians, fighters and media moguls. But if you lack a special sleep space or a job that encourages regular snoozing, are there *really* enough benefits to a short sleep for it to be worth the hassle? Is there a reliable way to nod off promptly? Furthermore, can you honestly promise you will arise feeling better, instead of groggy?
Identifying Your Nap Motivation
“Experts note three primary motivations for daytime sleep in the adult population,” explains a leading sleep science researcher. “One is known as compensatory napping, which is what you do after experiencing poor sleep the previous night. Secondly, there's prophylactic napping, which involves preparing for insufficient sleep in the future, such as when working on night shifts. The third reason is “appetitive drive”, which basically boils down to desire: you have a moment to sleep in the afternoon, and it's enjoyable to indulge.”
The first thing to do, then, is to think about why you want to nap. “Daytime sleep can be genuinely useful when night sleeping is being disrupted because of factors you cannot change – such as, when you are a parent of a newborn, or recovering from illness or intense exercise,” says a sleep expert. “Yet when you nap since your night sleep seems unreliable or broken, that can be a signal your body's sleep pressure is not at the level it needs to be. Under those circumstances, naps can become a contributing factor, rather than the answer. Utilize daytime sleep as a short-term solution for short-term problems – the priority must always be a robust and regular night’s sleep.”
The Ideal Nap Length
This means that daytime sleep must not be long enough to interfere with your nighttime sleep, and ideally are not recommended after about 3pm (depending on what time you go to bed at night). What duration is wise? Recommendations vary. From the most-cited studies on the subject, space agency scientists noted that space travelers experienced a boost of up to 54% in vigilance and a 34% boost in cognitive performance following a nap of 26 minutes (in detail, this counted a six-minute long falling asleep phase). “My advice is setting a timer for 20 to 30 minutes – most people are asleep in under ten minutes,” notes a specialist. “There is plenty of guidance out there concerning the optimal amount of minutes, yet that often make people feel more stressed above all – and the most counterproductive thing you can possibly do while aiming to get to sleep is to be anxious.”
Should you decide to nap for a longer period, steer clear of the 45-60 minute window that promotes sleep inertia, that disoriented sensation upon waking. “The science indicates it’s better to opt for an extended nap of one to one and a half hours rather than a mid-length nap,” says the sleep scientist. “45 minutes is enough time to plunge you into a deep sleep stage making it more likely to feel sluggish when you get up – whereas if you nap for slightly longer to an hour or 90 minutes, it's likely you'll to finish of a sleep cycle and should awaken feeling more refreshed. Though if you’re sleeping for 90 minutes, it will affect how you sleep in the evening.”
Establishing the Right Sleep Space
As for specific techniques, recommendations vary. Certain specialists suggest employing comparable habits you use to encourage a good night’s sleep: a peaceful area, a comfortable bed and minimal light as you can manage. Some advise that it's fine to simply nap on a couch with ambient lighting happens to be around – to prevent that groggy feeling and to “protect” your bedroom as the space you associate with proper sleep. “Napping is notoriously difficult to will,” notes a specialist. “Lacking the urge to sleep, it becomes harder to lie down and essentially instruct yourself to nod off. You need some sleep pressure there to initiate sleep to begin with. Personally, I can often snooze in broad daylight and naturally wake up without a timer, however, what assists most folks is to wait for a time that they’re naturally slightly tired and calmly relax into it.”
It’s worth experimenting, and when options are scarce – such as, if you’re trying to squeeze in some shut-eye during a commute or in a work pod – there’s nothing wrong to employ a few tools. “When I’m working with footballers, I advise that they avoid becoming accustomed to napping in bed, as they’re going to have|they will
