Tune into a few performance gurus, and it’s tempting to think that dozing is a superpower: not just a quick fix following poor sleep, but a path to a better memory, a brighter outlook and maybe quicker running times. Premier League footballers do it regularly – along with professional piano players, mixed martial artists and business leaders. Yet, when you haven’t got a room for napping or a career that allows frequent naps, is it *truly* worthwhile perks to a short sleep to merit the effort? Is there a reliable way to nod off promptly? Plus, is it possible to truly ensure you will arise feeling better, rather than worse?
Exploring Your Drive to Snooze
“There are three primary motivations for napping in the adult population,” says a leading sleep science researcher. “Firstly, there's what we call recovery napping, that is what you do after experiencing poor sleep the night before. Secondly, there's prophylactic napping, where you are pre-empting sleep loss in the future, for instance during graveyard shifts. The third reason is “hedonic napping”, which basically boils down to the wish: you get a moment to nap during the day, and it feels nice to nap.”
The primary task to undertake, therefore, is consider your reason for napping. “Daytime sleep can be truly beneficial when overnight rest is being disrupted due to causes you cannot change – for instance, when you are a new parent, or if you are healing after being ill or strenuous activity,” explains a sleep physiologist. “However, if you nap because your sleep at night feels fragile or unreliable, that is frequently a signal your body's sleep pressure is not where it needs to be. In those cases, naps can become part of the issue, instead of the fix. Utilize daytime sleep for brief periods for temporary issues – the priority must always be a strong and predictable sleep at night.”
The Ideal Nap Length
This implies that napping ought not to be sufficiently lengthy to interfere with your nighttime sleep, and ideally shouldn’t take place after about 3pm (contingent on the time you retire in the evening). What's a reasonable length? Recommendations vary. Among the most-cited studies regarding daytime sleep, experts found that crew members experienced up to a 54% increase in alertness and a 34% increase in cognitive performance post a 26-minute snooze (to be precise, this included an initial six-minute sleep onset time). “My advice is setting an alarm for 20-30 minutes – the majority doze off quickly,” notes a sleep coach. “There’s a lot of recommendations regarding the ideal number of time, however, that can make people feel more stressed than anything – and the worst thing you can possibly do when attempting to nod off is to be anxious.”
If you plan to take an extended nap, bypass the 45 to 60 minute range that induces that sluggish feeling, that disoriented sensation when you awaken. “Research would say it is preferable to have an extended nap lasting 60-90 minutes rather than a mid-length nap,” says the professor. “Forty-five minutes is long enough to plunge you into deep sleep and you’re more likely to feel groggy upon awakening – whereas if you nap for a little longer to 60 or 90 minutes, you’re likely to be on the end a natural sleep cycle and are likely to awaken feeling more rejuvenated. However, if you're dozing for an hour and a half, it may impact your sleep in the evening.”
Creating an Ideal Nap Environment
As for exact methodologies, suggestions are diverse. A few professionals propose using similar routines you’d use to foster restful sleep: a peaceful area, a cozy bed and maximum darkness as you can manage. Alternatively, experts propose that you should simply nap in a chair with ambient lighting happens to be around – to prevent post-nap grogginess and to “protect” your sleeping quarters as the place your mind associates with proper sleep. “Sleep is notoriously difficult to force,” explains an expert. “If you don’t have the urge to sleep, it is more challenging to recline and practically tell yourself to fall asleep. You need some drive present to start the process in the first place. Personally, I can often take a nap during the day and awaken on my own without an alarm, though, what aids many individuals is to look for an instance where they feel naturally feeling a bit drowsy and calmly ease into sleep.”
Trying different approaches is valuable, and if your choices are limited – such as, if you’re trying to squeeze in a quick nap on a train or in a soundproof office pod – there’s nothing wrong to use a few tools. “When I’m working with footballers, I advise that they avoid becoming accustomed to sleeping in their bed, as they’re going to have|they will
