Tune into enough self-improvement podcasters, and you'll be tempting to think that a nap is a superpower: rather than a quick fix after restless night, but a path to a better memory, improved mood and possibly a faster 5k run time. Professional soccer players are all at it – and so are musicians, mixed martial artists and business leaders. But if you don't have a room for napping or a job that permits frequent naps, can there *honestly* enough benefits to a quick nap for it to be worth the kerfuffle? Can you find a reliable way to get to sleep quickly enough? And can you truly ensure you will arise feeling refreshed, instead of groggy?
Understanding Your Drive to Snooze
“Experts note three main reasons for napping among most adults,” notes a professor of circadian rhythm specialist. “The first is what we call recovery napping, which is the action you take when you’ve had insufficient sleep the night before. Secondly, there's pre-emptive sleep, which involves pre-empting insufficient sleep in the future, for example when working overnight shifts. The third reason is “hedonic napping”, which simply comes down to desire: there is an opportunity to doze in the daytime, and it's pleasant to do it.”
The initial step to do, therefore, is to think about your nap motivation. “Napping can be really helpful when overnight rest is being disrupted due to causes outside your control – for instance, if you’re caring for an infant, or recovering from sickness or intense exercise,” explains a sleep expert. “However, if you’re napping because your night sleep feels fragile or unreliable, that can be a sign your need for sleep is not where required. In those cases, naps can become part of the problem, rather than the answer. Employ naps as a temporary measure for temporary issues – the priority should still be a solid and consistent sleep at night.”
The Optimal Nap Duration
Therefore that daytime sleep ought not to be sufficiently lengthy to interfere with your sleep at night, and best should not occur in the late afternoon (depending on when you go to bed overnight). What's a reasonable length? Recommendations vary. Among a prominent study on the subject, space agency scientists found that crew members had a boost of up to 54% in attentiveness and a 34% increase in task performance post a 26-minute snooze (in detail, this included a six-minute long nodding-off period). “I’d suggest using an alarm for 20-30 minutes – most people doze off within 10 minutes,” explains a sleep coach. “There’s a lot of recommendations about the perfect length of time, yet that often cause people to feel more stressed above all – and the least helpful action you can possibly do when attempting to get to sleep is to be anxious.”
If you’re going to nap for a longer period, avoid the period between 45 and 60 minutes that encourages sleep grogginess, that spaced-out feeling when you awaken. “Research would say it's more effective to opt for a longer nap of one to one and a half hours than a medium-length one,” notes the sleep scientist. “Forty-five minutes is sufficient to send you into a deep sleep stage and it is more probable to feel disoriented upon awakening – however, if you extend it a bit longer to an hour or 90 minutes, you will probably to finish a full cycle and will probably get up feeling more rejuvenated. However, if you’re sleeping for a long period, it will affect your sleep later that night.”
Establishing an Ideal Sleep Space
As for specific techniques, recommendations vary. Some experts propose employing similar routines one would use to promote a good night’s sleep: a peaceful area, a supportive surface and as much darkness as is feasible. Others suggest that it's fine to just doze on the sofa with ambient lighting is present – to avoid that groggy feeling and to preserve your bed as the place your brain links with *real* sleep. “Sleep is something really tricky to command,” notes an expert. “Without the urge to sleep, it is more challenging to get comfortable and practically instruct yourself to fall asleep. There must be a natural inclination available to bring the sleep on initially. For me, it's possible to snooze during the day and naturally wake up without a timer, but what helps a lot of people is to look for a time where they feel naturally somewhat sleepy and calmly allow sleep to come.”
It’s worth experimenting, and should options are scarce – such as, if attempting to grab some shut-eye on a train or in a work pod – it's acceptable to employ sleep aids. “When I’m working with footballers, I suggest that they don’t get used to their own bed for naps, as they’re going to have|they will
