Tune into enough self-improvement podcasters, making it easy to think that napping is a powerful tool: more than a quick fix following restless night, but a path to improved recall, improved mood and perhaps quicker running times. Premier League soccer players swear by it – and so are musicians, mixed martial artists & business leaders. However, if you haven’t got a special sleep space or a job that allows regular snoozing, is it *truly* enough benefits to a quick nap to justify the hassle? Does there exist a dependable method to nod off promptly? Furthermore, can you really guarantee you will get up feeling better, not worse?
Understanding Your Nap Motivation
“We can identify three primary motivations for taking a nap among most adults,” explains an expert sleep science researcher. “One is termed make-up sleep, which is what you do after experiencing a lack of sleep overnight. The second is pre-emptive sleep, which involves anticipating sleep loss in the future, such as if you’re working overnight shifts. The third reason is “appetitive drive”, which essentially boils down to the wish: you have a chance to sleep in the afternoon, and it feels nice to indulge.”
The primary task to consider, therefore, is consider your nap motivation. “Naps can be truly beneficial when night sleeping is being disrupted for reasons beyond your control – such as, if you’re a new parent, or recovering from sickness or strenuous activity,” says a sleep specialist. “Yet when you take a nap because your sleep at night seems unreliable or broken, that can be a sign your need for sleep is not at the level it needs to be. In such situations, daytime sleep can turn into part of the problem, instead of the fix. Use napping as a short-term solution for temporary issues – the main goal must always be a solid and consistent night’s sleep.”
The Ideal Snooze Time
This means that napping ought not to be long enough to disrupt your overnight rest, and preferably are not recommended post-3 p.m. (based on what time you sleep overnight). What duration is wise? Recommendations vary. Among a prominent study about napping, experts found that crew members experienced a boost of up to 54% in vigilance and a 34% boost in task performance following a nap of 26 minutes (technically, this included a six-minute long sleep onset time). “I recommend using an alarm for 20 to 30 minutes – most people fall asleep within 10 minutes,” notes a sleep coach. “There’s a lot of recommendations concerning the perfect length for sleeping, but that tends to lead individuals to become more stressed than anything – and the most counterproductive thing one can do when trying to get to sleep is to be anxious.”
If you’re going to sleep for longer, avoid the 45 to 60 minute range that encourages that sluggish feeling, that spaced-out feeling when you wake. “Research indicates it is preferable to opt for an extended nap lasting 60-90 minutes than a medium-length one,” says the expert. “Three-quarters of an hour is enough time to plunge you into a deep sleep stage and you’re more likely to feel sluggish when you wake up – whereas if you take it a bit longer to a full sleep cycle, you’re likely to finish of a sleep cycle and are likely to wake up feeling more refreshed. However, if you nap for an hour and a half, it will affect how you sleep later that night.”
Creating the Right Sleep Space
Regarding specific techniques, advice differs. Some experts recommend adopting comparable habits one would use to foster a good night’s sleep: a silent space, a comfortable bed and as much darkness as possible. Others suggest that you should simply nap on the sofa with ambient lighting is available – to prevent that groggy feeling and to maintain your bed as the space your mind associates with proper sleep. “Sleep is quite challenging to force,” explains an expert. “Lacking any drowsiness, it is tougher to lie down and basically tell yourself to nod off. There’s got to be some drive available to initiate sleep initially. For me, it's possible to snooze in full light and naturally wake up alarm-free, but what helps a lot of people is to look for a time that they’re naturally slightly tired and calmly ease into sleep.”
Trying different approaches is valuable, and if you have few options – such as, if you’re trying to squeeze in some shut-eye on a train or at the office – it's acceptable to employ some accessories. “When I’m working with professional sportspeople, I suggest that they avoid becoming accustomed to sleeping in their bed, since they’re going to have|they will
