Hear plenty of productivity gurus, making it simple to think that dozing is a secret weapon: not just a band-aid after poor sleep, but a path towards enhanced cognition, a brighter outlook and perhaps a faster 5k run time. Premier League soccer players swear by it – along with concert pianists, UFC champions & business leaders. However, if you don't have a room for napping or employment that encourages daytime sleep, are there *really* sufficient advantages to a burst of shut-eye to merit the hassle? Does there exist a surefire technique to get to sleep quickly enough? And can you honestly promise you will arise feeling refreshed, instead of groggy?
Understanding Your Drive to Snooze
“Experts note three key drivers for taking a nap in the adult population,” notes an expert sleep and circadian science specialist. “One is what we call compensatory napping, that is what happens following poor sleep overnight. The second is pre-emptive sleep, where you are anticipating a sleep deficit ahead, for instance if you’re working on night shifts. The third reason is “appetitive drive”, which basically is about desire: you have an opportunity to sleep in the afternoon, and it's enjoyable to indulge.”
The initial step to undertake, therefore, is consider why you want to nap. “Naps can be genuinely useful when night sleeping is being disrupted due to causes outside your control – for instance, when you are a new parent, or recovering after being ill or strenuous activity,” says a sleep expert. “But if you take a nap because your night sleep seems unreliable or poor, that is frequently a sign your sleep drive is not where required. Under those circumstances, daytime sleep can turn into part of the issue, instead of the fix. Utilize daytime sleep for brief periods to address immediate needs – the focus ought to remain a strong and predictable night’s sleep.”
The Ideal Nap Length
Therefore that daytime sleep must not be sufficiently lengthy to disrupt your nighttime sleep, and best are not recommended after about 3pm (contingent on what time you sleep in the evening). What duration is wise? Recommendations vary. From a prominent study regarding daytime sleep, experts noted that crew members showed a boost of up to 54% in alertness and a 34% increase in cognitive performance after a 26-minute nap (to be precise, this involved a six-minute long nodding-off period). “I’d suggest setting an alarm for 20-30 minutes – most people are asleep within 10 minutes,” explains a specialist. “There’s a lot of advice around concerning the ideal number of minutes, but that tends to lead individuals to become more worried above all – and the worst thing you can do when trying to fall asleep is to be anxious.”
If you’re going to take an extended nap, bypass the 45 to 60 minute range that promotes that sluggish feeling, that foggy state when you awaken. “The science indicates it’s better to have a longer nap of one to one and a half hours rather than a mid-length nap,” explains the expert. “Forty-five minutes is enough time to send you into deep sleep and you’re more likely to feel groggy upon awakening – whereas if you nap for a little longer to a full sleep cycle, you’re likely to finish a full cycle and should wake up feeling more refreshed. Though if you're dozing for 90 minutes, it can influence the quality of your sleep later that night.”
Establishing an Ideal Nap Environment
When it comes to exact methodologies, advice differs. A few professionals suggest employing similar routines you’d use to encourage a good night’s sleep: a quiet room, a supportive surface and maximum darkness as possible. Some advise that it's fine to just doze on a couch in the existing light happens to be around – to avoid that groggy feeling and to preserve your bed as the space your mind associates with *real* sleep. “Falling asleep is notoriously difficult to will,” notes a sleep coach. “Lacking any drowsiness, it is more challenging to get comfortable and essentially instruct yourself to go to sleep. You need a natural inclination there to start the process to begin with. For me, it's possible to snooze in broad daylight and naturally wake up alarm-free, but what helps many individuals is to wait for an instance where they feel naturally slightly tired and calmly relax into it.”
Trying different approaches is valuable, and if options are scarce – for instance, when aiming to squeeze in 40 winks while traveling or at the office – there’s nothing wrong to use sleep aids. “In my work with professional sportspeople, I recommend that they not rely on napping in bed, as they’re going to have|they will
