Tune into plenty of performance podcasters, making it tempting to convince yourself that dozing is a secret weapon: rather than a sticking plaster following a bad night’s sleep, but a route towards a better memory, a brighter outlook and maybe a faster 5k run time. Professional athletes swear by it – and so are professional piano players, fighters & media moguls. However, if you don't have a special sleep space or a job that permits regular snoozing, can there *honestly* sufficient advantages to a burst of shut-eye to justify the hassle? Does there exist a reliable way to get to sleep quickly enough? Furthermore, can you truly ensure you will get up feeling better, instead of groggy?
Exploring Your Drive to Snooze
“We can identify three main reasons for napping among most adults,” notes an expert sleep and circadian science specialist. “One is what we call make-up sleep, which is the action you take following a lack of sleep overnight. The second is preparatory napping, where you are preparing for sleep loss coming up, for example if you’re working overnight shifts. Finally, there's “hedonic napping”, which essentially is about the wish: you have an opportunity to doze in the afternoon, and it's enjoyable to indulge.”
The first thing to do, then, is consider why you want to nap. “Daytime sleep can be genuinely useful when night sleeping gets interrupted because of factors you cannot change – for instance, if you’re caring for an infant, or you’re recovering after being ill or heavy physical exertion,” states a sleep physiologist. “However, if you take a nap because your night sleep feels fragile or broken, that can be an indicator your sleep drive is not as strong as it needs to be. Under those circumstances, daytime sleep can turn into part of the problem, not the solution. Employ naps for brief periods to address immediate needs – the focus must always be a strong and predictable sleep at night.”
The Perfect Snooze Time
This implies that naps shouldn’t be sufficiently lengthy to affect your nighttime sleep, and best shouldn’t take place in the late afternoon (contingent on the time you retire overnight). How long is sensible? Advice differs. In one of a prominent study on the subject, space agency scientists noted that crew members had up to a 54% increase in attentiveness and a 34% increase in task performance after a 26-minute nap (in detail, this counted a six-minute falling asleep phase). “I recommend using an alarm for 20-30 minutes – most people fall asleep in under ten minutes,” says a sleep coach. “There’s a lot of guidance out there about the perfect length for sleeping, but that tends to cause people to feel more worried than anything else – and the most counterproductive thing you can possibly do when trying to fall asleep is to be anxious.”
If you’re going to sleep for longer, avoid the 45-60 minute window that encourages sleep grogginess, that spaced-out feeling upon waking. “Research would say it's more effective to have an extended nap of 60 to 90 minutes than a medium-length one,” says the expert. “Three-quarters of an hour is sufficient to send you into deep sleep and it is more probable to feel disoriented when you wake up – however, if you extend it a bit longer to a full sleep cycle, you’re likely to be on the end of a sleep cycle and should wake up feeling more refreshed. Though if you're dozing for a long period, it can influence your sleep later that night.”
Establishing the Perfect Nap Environment
Regarding precise methods, recommendations vary. Some experts suggest employing the same protocol you use to promote a good night’s sleep: a peaceful area, a supportive surface and maximum darkness as you can manage. Others suggest that it's fine to just doze on the sofa in the existing light is present – both to discourage post-nap grogginess and to maintain your bedroom as the space you associate with nighttime rest. “Sleep is notoriously difficult to command,” notes an expert. “Lacking any drowsiness, it is tougher to recline and basically command yourself to fall asleep. There’s got to be a natural inclination available to initiate sleep in the first place. I can usually nap in broad daylight and naturally wake up without a timer, however, what assists most folks is to wait for an instance where they feel naturally somewhat sleepy and then simply allow sleep to come.”
Experimentation is key, and should your choices are limited – for example, when aiming to fit in 40 winks while traveling or in a soundproof office pod – it is perfectly fine to employ sleep aids. “Coaching professional sportspeople, I suggest that they avoid becoming accustomed to their own bed for naps, because they’re going to have|they will
