Tune into enough productivity podcasters, and you'll be tempting to convince yourself that dozing is a superpower: more than a band-aid following a bad night’s sleep, but a route towards enhanced cognition, improved mood and perhaps quicker running times. Elite footballers do it regularly – along with professional piano players, fighters & high-profile executives. Yet, when you haven’t got a special sleep space or a job that allows daytime sleep, is it *truly* worthwhile perks to a short sleep to justify the hassle? Is there a surefire technique to nod off promptly? Plus, is it possible to truly ensure you will get up feeling improved, instead of groggy?
Understanding The Nap Motivation
“We can identify three main reasons for napping in the adult population,” explains a leading sleep and circadian science specialist. “Firstly, there's what we call make-up sleep, which is what happens when you’ve had insufficient sleep the previous night. Another is pre-emptive sleep, when you are preparing for a sleep deficit coming up, such as when working on night shifts. The third reason is “appetitive drive”, which simply is about desire: you get a moment to doze in the daytime, and it's pleasant to nap.”
The primary task to consider, therefore, is to examine your reason for napping. “Napping can be genuinely useful when overnight rest gets interrupted for reasons outside your control – for instance, for caring for an infant, or recovering from sickness or heavy physical exertion,” explains a sleep physiologist. “But if you nap because your nighttime sleep seems unreliable or poor, that’s often an indicator your sleep drive is not at the level it needs to be. In such situations, naps can become part of the problem, rather than the answer. Utilize daytime sleep as a temporary measure for short-term problems – the main goal must always be a robust and regular overnight rest.”
The Ideal Nap Duration
This implies that napping ought not to be sufficiently lengthy to interfere with your nighttime sleep, and preferably shouldn’t take place after about 3pm (based on the time you go to bed in the evening). How long is sensible? Guidelines are mixed. In one of the most-cited studies on the subject, experts discovered that astronauts had improvements of over 50% in vigilance and a 34% boost in task performance following a nap of 26 minutes (technically, this counted a six-minute long nodding-off period). “I recommend setting a timer for half an hour or less – most people doze off within 10 minutes,” notes a sleep expert. “There’s a lot of guidance out there regarding the perfect length for sleeping, yet that often cause people to feel more stressed than anything else – and the worst thing you can do when trying to nod off is worry about it.”
If you’re going to take an extended nap, avoid the 45-60 minute window that encourages that sluggish feeling, that foggy state when you awaken. “Studies suggests it’s better to have a longer nap of one to one and a half hours compared to a medium-length nap,” explains the professor. “Three-quarters of an hour is sufficient to put you into deep sleep making it more likely to feel sluggish when you wake up – while if you nap for a bit longer to 60 or 90 minutes, you’re likely to be completing a full cycle and will probably awaken feeling more alert. However, if you’re sleeping for a long period, it can influence how you sleep that night.”
Creating the Right Nap Environment
When it comes to precise methods, suggestions are diverse. A few professionals recommend employing the same protocol you’d use to encourage a good night’s sleep: a peaceful area, a cozy bed and maximum darkness as possible. Alternatively, experts propose that one could simply nap in a chair in whatever light is present – to prevent post-nap grogginess and to maintain your bedroom as the space your mind associates with *real* sleep. “Sleep is quite challenging to command,” says an expert. “Lacking the urge to sleep, it becomes harder to lie down and essentially tell yourself to go to sleep. There’s got to be a natural inclination there to bring the sleep on initially. Personally, I can often take a nap during the day and wake up naturally without an alarm, however, what assists a lot of people is to look for a time where they feel naturally somewhat sleepy and calmly ease into sleep.”
Experimentation is key, and when your choices are limited – for instance, if attempting to grab 40 winks on a train or at the office – it's acceptable to employ a few tools. “Coaching footballers, I suggest that they avoid becoming accustomed to their own bed for naps, since they’re going to have|they will
