Hear a few performance experts, making it tempting to think that a nap is a powerful tool: rather than a quick fix following a bad night’s sleep, but a route towards a better memory, improved mood and maybe quicker running times. Premier League footballers are all at it – as do professional piano players, mixed martial artists and business leaders. Yet, when you don't have a room for napping or a job that permits daytime sleep, can there *honestly* enough benefits to a burst of shut-eye to justify the hassle? Can you find a reliable way to get to sleep quickly enough? Plus, is it possible to honestly promise you’ll wake up feeling refreshed, rather than worse?
Understanding Your Nap Motivation
“Experts note three main reasons for daytime sleep among most adults,” says an expert sleep science researcher. “The first is what we call make-up sleep, that is what you do after experiencing a lack of sleep the previous night. Secondly, there's prophylactic napping, when you are preparing for insufficient sleep ahead, such as when working overnight shifts. Finally, there's “hedonic napping”, which simply is about wanting: you have a moment to nap in the afternoon, and it feels nice to indulge.”
The initial step to do, so, is to examine why you want to nap. “Napping can be really helpful when night sleeping gets interrupted for reasons beyond your control – such as, if you’re a parent of a newborn, or if you are healing after being ill or strenuous activity,” states a sleep specialist. “However, if you’re napping as your sleep at night is unstable or broken, that’s often an indicator your sleep drive is not where required. In such situations, daytime sleep can turn into part of the problem, instead of the fix. Use napping as a temporary measure for short-term problems – the main goal ought to remain a solid and consistent night’s sleep.”
The Perfect Snooze Time
This means that daytime sleep shouldn’t be sufficiently lengthy to interfere with your overnight rest, and best are not recommended post-3 p.m. (contingent on the time you go to bed at night). What duration is wise? Recommendations vary. Among the most referenced research about napping, researchers at Nasa noted that crew members had a boost of up to 54% in vigilance and a 34% increase in cognitive performance following a nap of 26 minutes (in detail, this counted an initial six-minute nodding-off period). “I recommend using an alarm for half an hour or less – many individuals doze off within 10 minutes,” says a specialist. “There is plenty of recommendations concerning the ideal number of minutes, but that tends to cause people to feel more anxious than anything – and the most counterproductive thing you can possibly do when trying to nod off is to be anxious.”
Should you decide to sleep for longer, avoid the period between 45 and 60 minutes that encourages sleep grogginess, that foggy state when you wake. “Research indicates it is preferable to have a longer nap of 60 to 90 minutes compared to a medium-length nap,” explains the sleep scientist. “Three-quarters of an hour is sufficient to send you into slow-wave sleep making it more likely to feel groggy upon awakening – whereas if you take it a bit longer to 60 or 90 minutes, you will probably to finish of a sleep cycle and will probably awaken feeling more refreshed. But if you're dozing for a long period, it can influence your sleep that night.”
Finding the Right Nap Environment
As for exact methodologies, suggestions are diverse. A few professionals recommend adopting comparable habits one would use to foster quality nighttime sleep: a peaceful area, a comfortable bed and maximum darkness as possible. Others suggest that you should just doze on the sofa in the existing light is present – both to discourage sleep inertia and to maintain your bedroom as the environment your brain links with nighttime rest. “Sleep is notoriously difficult to command,” explains an expert. “Lacking the urge to sleep, it is tougher to recline and basically command yourself to fall asleep. There must be some drive available to bring the sleep on initially. Personally, I can often snooze in broad daylight and awaken on my own without a timer, however, what assists most folks is to anticipate a time when they are naturally slightly tired and calmly allow sleep to come.”
Trying different approaches is valuable, and if options are scarce – such as, if attempting to squeeze in a quick nap on a train or in a soundproof office pod – there’s nothing wrong to employ a few tools. “In my work with footballers, I advise that they don’t get used to napping in bed, because they’re going to have|they will
