Listen to plenty of self-improvement podcasters, and you'll be tempting to convince yourself that a nap is a superpower: rather than a quick fix after a bad night’s sleep, but a path to a better memory, improved mood and possibly quicker running times. Premier League athletes do it regularly – as do musicians, UFC champions & media moguls. But if you haven’t got a dedicated nap-room or employment that permits regular snoozing, are there *really* enough benefits to a quick nap for it to be worth the effort? Does there exist a dependable method to fall asleep fast? Furthermore, can you honestly promise you’ll wake up feeling refreshed, instead of groggy?
Identifying Your Drive to Snooze
“There are three main reasons for daytime sleep for many people,” notes an expert sleep science professor. “Firstly, there's termed recovery napping, that is the action you take when you’ve had poor sleep overnight. The second is preparatory napping, where you are preparing for a sleep deficit ahead, for example if you’re working overnight shifts. The third reason is “pleasure-based sleep”, which simply is about the wish: you get a moment to doze in the daytime, and it's enjoyable to indulge.”
The first thing to do, therefore, is to think about your reason for napping. “Napping can be really helpful when overnight rest is disturbed for reasons outside your control – such as, when you are a new parent, or recovering from illness or strenuous activity,” states a sleep specialist. “Yet when you’re napping because your nighttime sleep seems unreliable or broken, that can be a signal your sleep drive is not where required. In such situations, daytime sleep can turn into part of the issue, not the solution. Employ naps as a short-term solution for short-term problems – the focus ought to remain a solid and consistent sleep at night.”
The Perfect Nap Length
This implies that naps shouldn’t be sufficiently lengthy to disrupt your sleep at night, and best should not occur in the late afternoon (based on what time you sleep overnight). How long is sensible? Advice differs. From a prominent study about napping, researchers at Nasa found that astronauts experienced a boost of up to 54% in attentiveness plus a 34% rise in performance after a 26-minute nap (to be precise, this counted an initial six-minute nodding-off period). “I’d suggest setting an alarm for half an hour or less – most people are asleep within 10 minutes,” says a sleep expert. “There’s a lot of recommendations about the perfect length of minutes, however, that can lead individuals to become more worried than anything – and the least helpful action you can do when attempting to nod off is to be anxious.”
If you plan to sleep for longer, avoid the 45-60 minute window that encourages that sluggish feeling, that disoriented sensation when you wake. “Studies would say it is preferable to have a longer nap of 60 to 90 minutes than a medium-length one,” explains the expert. “Forty-five minutes is enough time to plunge you into deep sleep and you’re more likely to feel disoriented when you get up – while if you nap for a bit longer to a full sleep cycle, you will probably to be on the end a full cycle and should wake up feeling more refreshed. Though if you're dozing for an hour and a half, it may impact how you sleep later that night.”
Finding an Ideal Nap Environment
As for exact methodologies, recommendations vary. Some experts recommend adopting similar routines you use to encourage quality nighttime sleep: a quiet room, a supportive surface and as much darkness as possible. Alternatively, experts propose that it's fine to just doze on a couch in the existing light happens to be around – to prevent sleep inertia and to “protect” your bedroom as the place your mind associates with proper sleep. “Sleep is notoriously difficult to command,” notes an expert. “Lacking any sleepiness, it is tougher to recline and essentially tell yourself to go to sleep. You need some sleep pressure there to start the process in the first place. Personally, I can often nap in full light and naturally wake up without a timer, but what helps many individuals is to look for a moment where they feel naturally slightly tired and just gently ease into sleep.”
Experimentation is key, and when options are scarce – for instance, if you’re trying to grab some shut-eye while traveling or at the office – it's acceptable with bringing a few tools. “In my work with professional sportspeople, I recommend that they not rely on their own bed for naps, as they’re going to have|they will
