Tune into enough productivity podcasters, and you'll be simple to think that napping is a powerful tool: not just a sticking plaster following restless night, but a route to a better memory, a brighter outlook and maybe improved athletic performance. Elite soccer players do it regularly – along with concert pianists, fighters and media moguls. However, if you haven’t got a dedicated nap-room or employment that encourages regular snoozing, are there *really* sufficient advantages to a quick nap to merit the hassle? Does there exist a reliable way to get to sleep quickly enough? Plus, is it possible to really guarantee you will get up feeling refreshed, rather than worse?
Understanding The Reasons for Napping
“We can identify three key drivers for taking a nap for many people,” explains an expert sleep science professor. “The first is known as compensatory napping, that is what you do after experiencing a lack of sleep the previous night. Another is pre-emptive sleep, which involves preparing for insufficient sleep in the future, such as during on night shifts. The third reason is “appetitive drive”, which basically comes down to wanting: you have a chance to sleep in the daytime, and it feels nice to indulge.”
The initial step to consider, then, is consider your reason for napping. “Napping can be genuinely useful when nighttime sleep is disturbed for reasons you cannot change – such as, when you are caring for an infant, or recovering from illness or intense exercise,” explains a sleep specialist. “However, if you take a nap because your night sleep feels fragile or poor, that is frequently a signal your need for sleep is not where it should be. In those cases, naps can become part of the issue, rather than the answer. Employ naps as a short-term solution for short-term problems – the focus must always be a robust and regular sleep at night.”
The Perfect Snooze Time
Therefore that napping shouldn’t be sufficiently lengthy to disrupt your sleep at night, and best shouldn’t take place after about 3pm (contingent on the time you go to bed at night). What duration is wise? Recommendations vary. From the most referenced research about napping, space agency scientists discovered that crew members had improvements of over 50% in attentiveness plus a 34% rise in task performance after a 26-minute nap (technically, this counted a six-minute long nodding-off period). “I’d suggest setting an alarm for 20-30 minutes – the majority are asleep in under ten minutes,” notes a sleep expert. “There’s a lot of guidance out there concerning the optimal amount for sleeping, however, that can cause people to feel more stressed than anything – and the least helpful action you can do when attempting to fall asleep is to stress over it.”
If you’re going to take an extended nap, bypass the period between 45 and 60 minutes that encourages sleep inertia, that disoriented sensation when you awaken. “Research would say it's more effective to take a lengthier snooze lasting 60-90 minutes than a medium-length one,” notes the professor. “45 minutes is long enough to put you into slow-wave sleep and you’re more likely to feel sluggish when you wake up – whereas if you take it a bit longer to an hour or 90 minutes, you’re likely to be on the end a natural sleep cycle and will probably awaken feeling more refreshed. However, if you’re sleeping for an hour and a half, it may impact your sleep that night.”
Finding an Ideal Nap Environment
As for precise methods, advice differs. Certain specialists recommend using the same protocol you use to foster a good night’s sleep: a silent space, a comfortable bed and minimal light as you can manage. Alternatively, experts propose that it's fine to simply nap on the sofa in the existing light is available – both to discourage that groggy feeling and to maintain your sleeping quarters as the space you associate with proper sleep. “Napping is quite challenging to will,” notes a sleep coach. “Without the urge to sleep, it becomes harder to lie down and practically command yourself to go to sleep. You need some drive available to start the process to begin with. I can usually nap in full light and awaken on my own without an alarm, however, what assists many individuals is to look for a time that they’re naturally slightly tired and calmly ease into sleep.”
It’s worth experimenting, and if options are scarce – for example, if you’re trying to squeeze in a quick nap while traveling or in a work pod – it is perfectly fine to use a few tools. “When I’m working with professional sportspeople, I recommend that they not rely on their own bed for naps, because they’re going to have|they will
