Listen to enough self-improvement experts, and you'll be tempting to believe that napping is a powerful tool: more than a sticking plaster following restless night, but a route towards improved recall, better spirits and possibly quicker running times. Professional athletes are all at it – as do musicians, mixed martial artists & media moguls. However, if you lack a special sleep space or a career that allows frequent naps, are there *really* worthwhile perks to a short sleep for it to be worth the effort? Is there a dependable method to nod off promptly? And can you really guarantee you will arise feeling improved, rather than worse?
Exploring The Nap Motivation
“Experts note three key drivers for daytime sleep among most adults,” explains a professor of circadian rhythm specialist. “One is termed make-up sleep, which is the action you take when you’ve had a lack of sleep the previous night. Another is pre-emptive sleep, where you are pre-empting a sleep deficit ahead, for instance if you’re working on night shifts. The third reason is “pleasure-based sleep”, which essentially boils down to wanting: you have a moment to sleep in the afternoon, and it's pleasant to do it.”
The primary task to undertake, then, is to examine your reason for napping. “Daytime sleep can be really helpful when overnight rest is being disrupted due to causes beyond your control – such as, when you are a new parent, or recovering after being ill or strenuous activity,” explains a sleep physiologist. “Yet when you take a nap because your night sleep seems unreliable or poor, that’s often a sign your body's sleep pressure is not where required. In such situations, napping can become part of the problem, rather than the answer. Utilize daytime sleep for brief periods for short-term problems – the main goal ought to remain a solid and consistent sleep at night.”
The Optimal Snooze Time
This implies that napping shouldn’t be too extended to affect your sleep at night, and preferably should not occur post-3 p.m. (depending on when you retire at night). How long is sensible? Recommendations vary. In one of the most referenced research about napping, researchers at Nasa found that astronauts experienced a boost of up to 54% in vigilance and a 34% increase in task performance following a nap of 26 minutes (in detail, this included a six-minute long sleep onset time). “I’d suggest setting an alarm for half an hour or less – the majority are asleep within 10 minutes,” says a sleep expert. “You'll find much guidance out there regarding the optimal amount of time, but that tends to lead individuals to become more anxious above all – and the most counterproductive thing one can do while aiming to fall asleep is to stress over it.”
If you’re going to nap for a longer period, avoid the 45 to 60 minute range that promotes that sluggish feeling, that spaced-out feeling when you wake. “Studies suggests it is preferable to opt for a lengthier snooze of 60 to 90 minutes rather than a mid-length nap,” says the expert. “45 minutes is enough time to plunge you into deep sleep and it is more probable to feel sluggish upon awakening – while if you take it a little longer to 60 or 90 minutes, you’re likely to finish a full cycle and are likely to wake up feeling more rejuvenated. But if you're dozing for a long period, it will affect the quality of your sleep later that night.”
Finding an Ideal Sleep Space
As for exact methodologies, suggestions are diverse. A few professionals recommend adopting similar routines you use to encourage quality nighttime sleep: a quiet room, a supportive surface and as much darkness as possible. Some advise that one could just doze on a couch in whatever light is available – to prevent post-nap grogginess and to maintain your bed as the space your mind associates with nighttime rest. “Falling asleep is something really tricky to force,” explains a specialist. “If you don’t have the urge to sleep, it becomes harder to get comfortable and practically tell yourself to fall asleep. There’s got to be a natural inclination available to initiate sleep initially. I can usually snooze during the day and naturally wake up without a timer, but what helps many individuals is to anticipate an instance when they are naturally somewhat sleepy and calmly relax into it.”
Trying different approaches is valuable, and should you have few options – such as, if attempting to grab some shut-eye on a train or in a work pod – it is perfectly fine to use sleep aids. “In my work with professional sportspeople, I recommend that they avoid becoming accustomed to sleeping in their bed, as they’re going to have|they will
