Hear a few self-improvement gurus, and it’s easy to believe that a nap is a secret weapon: rather than a sticking plaster after poor sleep, but a path towards enhanced cognition, improved mood and possibly quicker running times. Professional athletes swear by it – along with professional piano players, mixed martial artists & high-profile executives. However, if you lack a dedicated nap-room or employment that allows frequent naps, is it *truly* enough benefits to a quick nap for it to be worth the effort? Does there exist a dependable method to nod off promptly? And can you truly ensure you will get up feeling better, instead of groggy?
Understanding Your Reasons for Napping
“There are three main reasons for taking a nap for many people,” says an expert sleep science researcher. “Firstly, there's what we call compensatory napping, which is the action you take following poor sleep the previous night. The second is prophylactic napping, where you are anticipating insufficient sleep coming up, such as if you’re working on night shifts. Finally, there's “appetitive drive”, which simply is about the wish: there is a chance to doze in the afternoon, and it's pleasant to do it.”
The initial step to undertake, so, is consider your nap motivation. “Naps can be truly beneficial when nighttime sleep gets interrupted for reasons you cannot change – for instance, if you’re a parent of a newborn, or recovering from illness or heavy physical exertion,” explains a sleep physiologist. “However, if you’re napping since your nighttime sleep is unstable or broken, that is frequently a signal your body's sleep pressure is not at the level required. In those cases, naps can become part of the issue, not the solution. Employ naps as a short-term solution for short-term problems – the priority must always be a robust and regular sleep at night.”
The Optimal Nap Length
This means that naps must not be too extended to interfere with your nighttime sleep, and preferably should not occur after about 3pm (contingent on when you sleep in the evening). What duration is wise? Guidelines are mixed. From the most referenced research on the subject, experts found that crew members experienced a boost of up to 54% in vigilance and a 34% boost in cognitive performance post a 26-minute snooze (in detail, this included a six-minute sleep onset time). “My advice is setting an alarm for 20 to 30 minutes – the majority are asleep in under ten minutes,” notes a sleep coach. “There is plenty of recommendations regarding the optimal amount for sleeping, however, that can lead individuals to become more stressed than anything – and the most counterproductive thing you can do while aiming to fall asleep is to stress over it.”
If you plan to sleep for longer, bypass the period between 45 and 60 minutes that encourages sleep inertia, that disoriented sensation when you awaken. “Studies indicates it’s better to opt for an extended nap lasting 60-90 minutes compared to a medium-length nap,” says the sleep scientist. “45 minutes is enough time to plunge you into a deep sleep stage making it more likely to feel disoriented when you wake up – while if you extend it slightly longer to 60 or 90 minutes, you’re likely to be completing of a sleep cycle and are likely to awaken feeling more refreshed. Though if you nap for 90 minutes, it may impact the quality of your sleep that night.”
Establishing an Ideal Snooze Setting
Regarding precise methods, suggestions are diverse. A few professionals recommend employing the same protocol one would use to foster quality nighttime sleep: a silent space, a supportive surface and minimal light as possible. Others suggest that one could simply nap on the sofa in the existing light is available – both to discourage post-nap grogginess and to “protect” your sleeping quarters as the environment your brain links with *real* sleep. “Napping is something really tricky to force,” notes a specialist. “If you don’t have any sleepiness, it is tougher to lie down and basically command yourself to nod off. There’s got to be some sleep pressure there to initiate sleep initially. Personally, I can often nap during the day and wake up naturally without an alarm, but what helps many individuals is to wait for a time that they’re naturally slightly tired and then simply relax into it.”
Trying different approaches is valuable, and if you have few options – for example, if you’re trying to fit in a quick nap while traveling or in a work pod – it is perfectly fine to use a few tools. “When I’m working with professional sportspeople, I recommend that they avoid becoming accustomed to napping in bed, since they’re going to have|they will
