Hear plenty of performance podcasters, making it simple to think that napping is a secret weapon: rather than a quick fix following a bad night’s sleep, but a route to improved recall, a brighter outlook and possibly improved athletic performance. Premier League soccer players do it regularly – and so are musicians, UFC champions & business leaders. But if you lack a room for napping or a job that encourages regular snoozing, is it *truly* worthwhile perks to a short sleep to merit the kerfuffle? Can you find a reliable way to get to sleep quickly enough? Furthermore, can you really guarantee you will arise feeling better, not worse?
Identifying The Reasons for Napping
“We can identify three primary motivations for taking a nap for many people,” explains a leading sleep science specialist. “The first is known as recovery napping, essentially what you do when you’ve had poor sleep the previous night. The second is preparatory napping, which involves anticipating insufficient sleep ahead, for instance if you’re working on night shifts. The third reason is “pleasure-based sleep”, which basically boils down to desire: there is a chance to nap during the day, and it feels nice to indulge.”
The initial step to undertake, then, is to examine your nap motivation. “Naps can be truly beneficial when overnight rest gets interrupted for reasons outside your control – for instance, for a new parent, or you’re recovering from sickness or strenuous activity,” says a sleep physiologist. “Yet when you nap as your night sleep feels fragile or broken, that’s often a sign your sleep drive is not where required. In those cases, daytime sleep can turn into part of the issue, instead of the fix. Employ naps for brief periods to address immediate needs – the focus should still be a strong and predictable overnight rest.”
The Ideal Nap Duration
This means that naps ought not to be long enough to disrupt your nighttime sleep, and preferably are not recommended in the late afternoon (contingent on what time you sleep at night). What duration is wise? Recommendations vary. From a prominent study on the subject, space agency scientists noted that astronauts experienced a boost of up to 54% in attentiveness and a 34% boost in performance following a nap of 26 minutes (to be precise, this involved an initial six-minute falling asleep phase). “I’d suggest using an alarm for half an hour or less – the majority fall asleep in under ten minutes,” says a sleep expert. “You'll find much advice around regarding the ideal number of minutes, however, that can cause people to feel more stressed than anything – and the least helpful action one can do when trying to fall asleep is worry about it.”
If you’re going to sleep for longer, bypass the 45 to 60 minute range that promotes sleep grogginess, that foggy state when you wake. “Studies indicates it's more effective to have a longer nap of 60 to 90 minutes than a medium-length one,” explains the professor. “45 minutes is enough time to plunge you into deep sleep and it is more probable to feel disoriented when you wake up – while if you nap for slightly longer to an hour or 90 minutes, you’re likely to be on the end of a sleep cycle and are likely to awaken feeling more refreshed. Though if you're dozing for an hour and a half, it can influence the quality of your sleep that night.”
Establishing an Ideal Snooze Setting
Regarding exact methodologies, suggestions are diverse. A few professionals recommend employing comparable habits one would use to foster a good night’s sleep: a peaceful area, a cozy bed and maximum darkness as possible. Some advise that you should just doze on a couch with ambient lighting happens to be around – both to discourage sleep inertia and to maintain your bedroom as the space your brain links with nighttime rest. “Sleep is quite challenging to command,” notes a specialist. “Lacking the urge to sleep, it is tougher to recline and practically command yourself to fall asleep. There must be a natural inclination present to initiate sleep initially. For me, it's possible to snooze in full light and awaken on my own without a timer, but what helps a lot of people is to wait for an instance that they’re naturally somewhat sleepy and then simply allow sleep to come.”
Experimentation is key, and if you have few options – for instance, if attempting to grab 40 winks during a commute or in a soundproof office pod – it's acceptable with bringing sleep aids. “Coaching footballers, I recommend that they don’t get used to napping in bed, as they’re going to have|they will
