Listen to a few performance podcasters, and you'll be tempting to believe that napping is a superpower: not just a quick fix following poor sleep, but a route to improved recall, a brighter outlook and maybe a faster 5k run time. Professional athletes are all at it – and so are professional piano players, UFC champions & media moguls. But if you haven’t got a dedicated nap-room or a career that allows frequent naps, is it *truly* enough benefits to a burst of shut-eye for it to be worth the kerfuffle? Is there a surefire technique to get to sleep quickly enough? Plus, is it possible to honestly promise you will arise feeling improved, rather than worse?
Identifying The Reasons for Napping
“There are three main reasons for napping in the adult population,” notes a professor of sleep science professor. “Firstly, there's known as recovery napping, essentially what happens following insufficient sleep the night before. Another is prophylactic napping, where you are anticipating insufficient sleep ahead, such as when working graveyard shifts. Finally, there's “hedonic napping”, which essentially is about the wish: there is a chance to sleep in the afternoon, and it feels nice to indulge.”
The primary task to consider, then, is to think about your nap motivation. “Naps can be truly beneficial when nighttime sleep is being disrupted because of factors beyond your control – for instance, for a parent of a newborn, or you’re recovering from sickness or intense exercise,” states a sleep physiologist. “Yet when you’re napping since your nighttime sleep feels fragile or poor, that’s often a sign your sleep drive is not as strong as it should be. In those cases, naps can become part of the issue, rather than the answer. Utilize daytime sleep as a temporary measure for short-term problems – the focus must always be a solid and consistent sleep at night.”
The Ideal Snooze Time
This means that daytime sleep shouldn’t be sufficiently lengthy to affect your overnight rest, and ideally should not occur after about 3pm (contingent on what time you sleep at night). What duration is wise? Guidelines are mixed. From a prominent study regarding daytime sleep, space agency scientists noted that astronauts had a boost of up to 54% in alertness and a 34% boost in performance after a 26-minute nap (technically, this counted an initial six-minute sleep onset time). “I recommend setting a timer for 20-30 minutes – the majority fall asleep quickly,” explains a sleep coach. “There’s a lot of guidance out there concerning the ideal number of time, yet that often make people feel more anxious than anything else – and the most counterproductive thing one can do when trying to nod off is worry about it.”
Should you decide to nap for a longer period, bypass the 45 to 60 minute range that induces sleep inertia, that disoriented sensation when you awaken. “Research indicates it’s better to take an extended nap of 60 to 90 minutes than a medium-length one,” says the sleep scientist. “Three-quarters of an hour is enough time to send you into slow-wave sleep and you’re more likely to feel sluggish when you get up – however, if you take it slightly longer to 60 or 90 minutes, you will probably to finish a full cycle and should wake up feeling more rejuvenated. But if you’re sleeping for a long period, it will affect your sleep that night.”
Finding an Ideal Nap Environment
When it comes to precise methods, suggestions are diverse. Certain specialists suggest employing comparable habits one would use to foster restful sleep: a quiet room, a supportive surface and as much darkness as possible. Others suggest that it's fine to just doze on a couch with ambient lighting is available – both to discourage post-nap grogginess and to “protect” your sleeping quarters as the place you associate with nighttime rest. “Falling asleep is something really tricky to force,” explains a specialist. “Without any drowsiness, it is tougher to recline and basically instruct yourself to fall asleep. There’s got to be some drive present to bring the sleep on in the first place. Personally, I can often take a nap during the day and awaken on my own without a timer, however, what assists many individuals is to anticipate a moment that they’re naturally somewhat sleepy and calmly allow sleep to come.”
Trying different approaches is valuable, and if you have few options – such as, when aiming to fit in a quick nap while traveling or in a soundproof office pod – it is perfectly fine with bringing a few tools. “In my work with footballers, I recommend that they avoid becoming accustomed to napping in bed, since they’re going to have|they will
