Tune into enough performance podcasters, making it simple to think that dozing is a secret weapon: not just a quick fix after a bad night’s sleep, but a path towards enhanced cognition, a brighter outlook and perhaps improved athletic performance. Premier League soccer players swear by it – along with musicians, fighters & media moguls. Yet, when you don't have a dedicated nap-room or a career that permits frequent naps, can there *honestly* worthwhile perks to a burst of shut-eye to justify the kerfuffle? Does there exist a surefire technique to fall asleep fast? And can you truly ensure you’ll wake up feeling improved, not worse?
Identifying Your Nap Motivation
“There are three primary motivations for napping for many people,” says a leading circadian rhythm professor. “Firstly, there's termed make-up sleep, essentially the action you take following insufficient sleep the previous night. Another is pre-emptive sleep, where you are anticipating insufficient sleep in the future, for instance during on night shifts. The third reason is “hedonic napping”, which simply is about wanting: you have a chance to doze during the day, and it's pleasant to nap.”
The initial step to consider, then, is consider your reason for napping. “Daytime sleep can be really helpful when overnight rest is being disrupted because of factors beyond your control – for example, if you’re a parent of a newborn, or if you are healing after being ill or strenuous activity,” says a sleep specialist. “Yet when you nap since your night sleep feels fragile or unreliable, that is frequently an indicator your need for sleep is not as strong as required. In such situations, napping can become part of the issue, not the solution. Use napping as a short-term solution for temporary issues – the main goal should still be a solid and consistent sleep at night.”
The Optimal Nap Duration
Therefore that naps must not be long enough to interfere with your sleep at night, and ideally are not recommended after about 3pm (based on what time you retire overnight). How long is sensible? Advice differs. Among the most-cited studies on the subject, researchers at Nasa found that crew members had improvements of over 50% in vigilance and a 34% increase in performance post a 26-minute snooze (in detail, this involved a six-minute long nodding-off period). “My advice is using an alarm for 20 to 30 minutes – most people are asleep quickly,” notes a specialist. “There is plenty of advice around regarding the ideal number of minutes, however, that can cause people to feel more anxious above all – and the worst thing you can possibly do while aiming to get to sleep is to be anxious.”
Should you decide to nap for a longer period, avoid the period between 45 and 60 minutes that induces sleep grogginess, that spaced-out feeling when you awaken. “Studies suggests it is preferable to have a lengthier snooze lasting 60-90 minutes compared to a medium-length nap,” explains the sleep scientist. “45 minutes is enough time to plunge you into deep sleep making it more likely to feel sluggish when you get up – however, if you take it slightly longer to an hour or 90 minutes, you’re likely to finish a full cycle and should wake up feeling more refreshed. Though if you nap for an hour and a half, it may impact how you sleep later that night.”
Creating an Ideal Snooze Setting
Regarding specific techniques, advice differs. A few professionals suggest employing comparable habits you’d use to encourage a good night’s sleep: a quiet room, a comfortable bed and as much darkness as possible. Others suggest that you should just doze on the sofa in the existing light happens to be around – both to discourage that groggy feeling and to “protect” your bedroom as the environment your brain links with *real* sleep. “Napping is quite challenging to will,” says a specialist. “If you don’t have any drowsiness, it is tougher to get comfortable and essentially command yourself to nod off. You need a natural inclination available to start the process to begin with. For me, it's possible to take a nap during the day and naturally wake up alarm-free, but what helps many individuals is to anticipate an instance that they’re naturally somewhat sleepy and just gently ease into sleep.”
Experimentation is key, and when options are scarce – for example, if attempting to fit in a quick nap on a train or in a soundproof office pod – there’s nothing wrong to employ sleep aids. “In my work with elite athletes, I suggest that they avoid becoming accustomed to their own bed for naps, because they’re going to have|they will
