Tune into a few productivity podcasters, and you'll be easy to believe that napping is a superpower: more than a sticking plaster after restless night, but a route to enhanced cognition, a brighter outlook and maybe a faster 5k run time. Premier League soccer players do it regularly – and so are musicians, fighters & business leaders. Yet, when you haven’t got a room for napping or a job that allows regular snoozing, can there *honestly* worthwhile perks to a burst of shut-eye for it to be worth the hassle? Is there a surefire technique to fall asleep fast? Plus, is it possible to honestly promise you’ll wake up feeling improved, instead of groggy?
Understanding Your Nap Motivation
“There are three main reasons for taking a nap for many people,” explains a professor of circadian rhythm researcher. “Firstly, there's what we call make-up sleep, which is what you do when you’ve had poor sleep the previous night. Another is preparatory napping, which involves anticipating insufficient sleep ahead, such as when working on night shifts. The third is called “hedonic napping”, which essentially comes down to wanting: there is a moment to nap during the day, and it feels nice to indulge.”
The initial step to undertake, then, is consider why you want to nap. “Naps can be really helpful when night sleeping gets interrupted because of factors beyond your control – such as, for a parent of a newborn, or you’re recovering from sickness or strenuous activity,” states a sleep physiologist. “But if you’re napping because your night sleep seems unreliable or broken, that is frequently a signal your body's sleep pressure is not where required. In such situations, naps can become part of the issue, not the solution. Utilize daytime sleep as a temporary measure for short-term problems – the focus must always be a robust and regular overnight rest.”
The Optimal Snooze Time
This implies that napping shouldn’t be sufficiently lengthy to affect your sleep at night, and ideally shouldn’t take place post-3 p.m. (contingent on when you sleep in the evening). How long is sensible? Guidelines are mixed. In one of the most referenced research regarding daytime sleep, experts discovered that space travelers experienced improvements of over 50% in alertness and a 34% increase in cognitive performance following a nap of 26 minutes (to be precise, this involved a six-minute falling asleep phase). “I recommend setting a timer for half an hour or less – many individuals fall asleep in under ten minutes,” notes a sleep coach. “You'll find much guidance out there about the ideal number for sleeping, however, that can cause people to feel more worried than anything else – and the worst thing you can possibly do when attempting to nod off is to stress over it.”
If you plan to take an extended nap, avoid the 45 to 60 minute range that promotes that sluggish feeling, that foggy state upon waking. “The science suggests it's more effective to opt for a longer nap lasting 60-90 minutes than a medium-length one,” notes the expert. “45 minutes is long enough to plunge you into slow-wave sleep making it more likely to feel sluggish when you wake up – however, if you extend it a bit longer to 60 or 90 minutes, you’re likely to be completing of a sleep cycle and will probably awaken feeling more refreshed. But if you nap for an hour and a half, it may impact the quality of your sleep later that night.”
Creating an Ideal Snooze Setting
As for exact methodologies, suggestions are diverse. Some experts propose using the same protocol you use to promote restful sleep: a peaceful area, a comfortable bed and maximum darkness as possible. Alternatively, experts propose that you should merely snooze on a couch in the existing light happens to be around – to prevent sleep inertia and to preserve your sleeping quarters as the place you associate with *real* sleep. “Napping is quite challenging to will,” notes a specialist. “If you don’t have any drowsiness, it becomes harder to recline and essentially instruct yourself to nod off. There must be some sleep pressure there to start the process to begin with. I can usually nap in full light and naturally wake up without a timer, though, what aids a lot of people is to wait for an instance that they’re naturally somewhat sleepy and just gently allow sleep to come.”
Experimentation is key, and if you have few options – such as, if attempting to grab some shut-eye during a commute or in a work pod – it is perfectly fine with bringing a few tools. “When I’m working with footballers, I suggest that they not rely on napping in bed, as they’re going to have|they will
