Hear plenty of self-improvement gurus, and you'll be tempting to believe that napping is a powerful tool: rather than a sticking plaster after restless night, but a route towards improved recall, better spirits and possibly quicker running times. Premier League footballers are all at it – and so are concert pianists, mixed martial artists and high-profile executives. Yet, when you don't have a room for napping or a job that encourages frequent naps, is it *truly* worthwhile perks to a short sleep to justify the effort? Does there exist a dependable method to get to sleep quickly enough? Plus, is it possible to truly ensure you will arise feeling refreshed, not worse?
Exploring The Drive to Snooze
“Experts note three main reasons for daytime sleep for many people,” notes a leading circadian rhythm professor. “The first is termed compensatory napping, which is what you do following a lack of sleep the night before. Another is pre-emptive sleep, when you are pre-empting insufficient sleep in the future, such as during graveyard shifts. The third reason is “appetitive drive”, which simply is about the wish: you get a chance to doze during the day, and it feels nice to nap.”
The primary task to consider, therefore, is to think about your reason for napping. “Daytime sleep can be really helpful when overnight rest is being disrupted because of factors beyond your control – for example, for a parent of a newborn, or you’re recovering after being ill or strenuous activity,” explains a sleep expert. “However, if you take a nap because your sleep at night feels fragile or unreliable, that’s often an indicator your body's sleep pressure is not where it needs to be. In those cases, naps can become a contributing factor, not the solution. Use napping as a temporary measure to address immediate needs – the main goal must always be a strong and predictable night’s sleep.”
The Perfect Nap Length
This means that daytime sleep shouldn’t be sufficiently lengthy to disrupt your nighttime sleep, and ideally are not recommended in the late afternoon (contingent on the time you go to bed in the evening). How long is sensible? Advice differs. From the most referenced research regarding daytime sleep, space agency scientists noted that space travelers showed a boost of up to 54% in vigilance plus a 34% rise in cognitive performance following a nap of 26 minutes (in detail, this included a six-minute nodding-off period). “I recommend using an alarm for 20-30 minutes – most people fall asleep quickly,” explains a specialist. “There’s a lot of guidance out there about the optimal amount of minutes, however, that can lead individuals to become more worried than anything – and the least helpful action one can do while aiming to get to sleep is worry about it.”
Should you decide to nap for a longer period, steer clear of the period between 45 and 60 minutes that induces that sluggish feeling, that spaced-out feeling upon waking. “Research suggests it’s better to take a longer nap lasting 60-90 minutes compared to a medium-length nap,” says the professor. “45 minutes is long enough to put you into slow-wave sleep and you’re more likely to feel disoriented when you wake up – while if you extend it slightly longer to an hour or 90 minutes, you will probably to be on the end a natural sleep cycle and are likely to get up feeling more alert. But if you're dozing for 90 minutes, it will affect the quality of your sleep later that night.”
Establishing the Perfect Snooze Setting
As for specific techniques, advice differs. Some experts suggest employing the same protocol you’d use to encourage restful sleep: a peaceful area, a comfortable bed and maximum darkness as you can manage. Alternatively, experts propose that you should simply nap on a couch with ambient lighting happens to be around – to avoid that groggy feeling and to “protect” your bedroom as the place you associate with *real* sleep. “Falling asleep is notoriously difficult to force,” notes a sleep coach. “If you don’t have the urge to sleep, it becomes harder to get comfortable and basically instruct yourself to fall asleep. You need some sleep pressure there to bring the sleep on to begin with. Personally, I can often nap during the day and wake up naturally alarm-free, but what helps many individuals is to anticipate a time where they feel naturally feeling a bit drowsy and then simply ease into sleep.”
Trying different approaches is valuable, and if options are scarce – for example, if attempting to squeeze in 40 winks during a commute or at the office – it is perfectly fine to use some accessories. “When I’m working with footballers, I advise that they not rely on napping in bed, since they’re going to have|they will
