Hear a few self-improvement experts, making it tempting to convince yourself that napping is a secret weapon: rather than a sticking plaster after poor sleep, but a path towards a better memory, better spirits and maybe a faster 5k run time. Elite footballers swear by it – and so are musicians, fighters & media moguls. Yet, when you lack a dedicated nap-room or a career that permits regular snoozing, are there *really* worthwhile perks to a quick nap to justify the hassle? Is there a surefire technique to get to sleep quickly enough? Furthermore, can you really guarantee you will get up feeling refreshed, not worse?
Understanding Your Drive to Snooze
“There are three key drivers for daytime sleep for many people,” says a leading sleep and circadian science specialist. “One is what we call compensatory napping, which is what happens when you’ve had poor sleep overnight. Secondly, there's prophylactic napping, which involves pre-empting sleep loss coming up, for example when working graveyard shifts. The third is called “hedonic napping”, which basically is about desire: there is a moment to sleep during the day, and it's pleasant to indulge.”
The primary task to undertake, then, is to examine your reason for napping. “Daytime sleep can be really helpful when nighttime sleep is disturbed because of factors beyond your control – for example, when you are caring for an infant, or you’re recovering from sickness or intense exercise,” states a sleep physiologist. “However, if you nap since your sleep at night feels fragile or broken, that is frequently a signal your need for sleep is not where it needs to be. Under those circumstances, napping can become a contributing factor, instead of the fix. Employ naps as a short-term solution for temporary issues – the focus must always be a strong and predictable sleep at night.”
The Perfect Snooze Time
This implies that daytime sleep must not be long enough to affect your nighttime sleep, and best are not recommended in the late afternoon (contingent on what time you sleep in the evening). How long is sensible? Guidelines are mixed. Among a prominent study regarding daytime sleep, experts found that crew members showed up to a 54% increase in vigilance and a 34% boost in performance following a nap of 26 minutes (technically, this included a six-minute long sleep onset time). “I recommend setting an alarm for 20-30 minutes – the majority doze off quickly,” notes a sleep coach. “You'll find much guidance out there about the optimal amount for sleeping, but that tends to cause people to feel more anxious than anything else – and the least helpful action one can do while aiming to get to sleep is worry about it.”
If you plan to take an extended nap, avoid the period between 45 and 60 minutes that induces sleep inertia, that spaced-out feeling upon waking. “The science suggests it's more effective to have a longer nap of 60 to 90 minutes than a medium-length one,” says the expert. “Forty-five minutes is long enough to put you into deep sleep making it more likely to feel groggy upon awakening – however, if you take it a little longer to 60 or 90 minutes, you will probably to be on the end a natural sleep cycle and are likely to get up feeling more refreshed. But if you're dozing for an hour and a half, it can influence how you sleep in the evening.”
Finding the Right Nap Environment
When it comes to specific techniques, suggestions are diverse. Some experts recommend adopting comparable habits you use to promote restful sleep: a silent space, a supportive surface and maximum darkness as is feasible. Some advise that one could simply nap on a couch in the existing light happens to be around – to avoid sleep inertia and to maintain your bed as the environment your mind associates with proper sleep. “Napping is notoriously difficult to command,” says a specialist. “Without any drowsiness, it is more challenging to lie down and essentially command yourself to fall asleep. There’s got to be some drive present to initiate sleep in the first place. I can usually snooze in broad daylight and naturally wake up without an alarm, however, what assists most folks is to wait for a time when they are naturally somewhat sleepy and calmly allow sleep to come.”
Trying different approaches is valuable, and should options are scarce – for example, when aiming to squeeze in some shut-eye during a commute or in a soundproof office pod – it's acceptable to employ sleep aids. “In my work with elite athletes, I suggest that they avoid becoming accustomed to sleeping in their bed, as they’re going to have|they will
