Tune into a few self-improvement experts, and you'll be easy to think that napping is a powerful tool: not just a band-aid following restless night, but a route towards enhanced cognition, a brighter outlook and perhaps improved athletic performance. Premier League athletes swear by it – and so are musicians, fighters and business leaders. But if you haven’t got a special sleep space or a career that allows frequent naps, is it *truly* enough benefits to a quick nap to justify the effort? Does there exist a dependable method to fall asleep fast? Furthermore, can you truly ensure you will get up feeling refreshed, rather than worse?
Exploring The Reasons for Napping
“There are three primary motivations for daytime sleep for many people,” says an expert sleep science professor. “Firstly, there's termed compensatory napping, essentially what happens after experiencing poor sleep overnight. The second is pre-emptive sleep, where you are anticipating a sleep deficit coming up, for instance if you’re working overnight shifts. The third is called “pleasure-based sleep”, which simply is about the wish: you have a moment to nap during the day, and it feels nice to do it.”
The primary task to do, then, is to examine why you want to nap. “Daytime sleep can be truly beneficial when overnight rest is disturbed because of factors beyond your control – for example, for a parent of a newborn, or if you are healing from illness or strenuous activity,” states a sleep specialist. “However, if you nap since your night sleep is unstable or broken, that can be a sign your body's sleep pressure is not as strong as it needs to be. In such situations, naps can become a contributing factor, not the solution. Employ naps for brief periods for temporary issues – the main goal must always be a solid and consistent sleep at night.”
The Perfect Nap Length
This implies that daytime sleep shouldn’t be long enough to affect your nighttime sleep, and preferably should not occur post-3 p.m. (depending on what time you go to bed overnight). What's a reasonable length? Guidelines are mixed. In one of the most-cited studies about napping, researchers at Nasa discovered that crew members had improvements of over 50% in vigilance and a 34% increase in task performance post a 26-minute snooze (to be precise, this counted a six-minute long nodding-off period). “I recommend setting an alarm for 20-30 minutes – the majority doze off within 10 minutes,” says a specialist. “You'll find much guidance out there about the optimal amount for sleeping, yet that often lead individuals to become more worried above all – and the worst thing you can do when trying to fall asleep is to be anxious.”
Should you decide to take an extended nap, bypass the 45-60 minute window that induces sleep inertia, that foggy state upon waking. “Studies would say it is preferable to have an extended nap of one to one and a half hours than a medium-length one,” says the expert. “Three-quarters of an hour is long enough to send you into deep sleep and it is more probable to feel groggy when you wake up – whereas if you extend it a bit longer to 60 or 90 minutes, you’re likely to finish a full cycle and will probably wake up feeling more rejuvenated. But if you nap for a long period, it may impact how you sleep that night.”
Establishing the Perfect Nap Environment
Regarding precise methods, advice differs. A few professionals suggest employing the same protocol one would use to foster a good night’s sleep: a peaceful area, a cozy bed and maximum darkness as possible. Alternatively, experts propose that it's fine to just doze in a chair in the existing light is available – to avoid sleep inertia and to preserve your sleeping quarters as the place your brain links with proper sleep. “Falling asleep is something really tricky to will,” explains an expert. “Without any sleepiness, it becomes harder to recline and practically command yourself to go to sleep. There must be some sleep pressure available to bring the sleep on initially. Personally, I can often snooze in broad daylight and naturally wake up without a timer, however, what assists a lot of people is to wait for a time that they’re naturally feeling a bit drowsy and then simply ease into sleep.”
Experimentation is key, and when options are scarce – such as, if you’re trying to squeeze in 40 winks on a train or at the office – it is perfectly fine with bringing sleep aids. “In my work with professional sportspeople, I suggest that they avoid becoming accustomed to napping in bed, as they’re going to have|they will
