Hear enough performance gurus, and you'll be simple to think that a nap is a secret weapon: more than a band-aid following restless night, but a shortcut to a better memory, better spirits and maybe quicker running times. Professional footballers swear by it – and so are professional piano players, fighters & business leaders. But if you haven’t got a dedicated nap-room or a job that encourages regular snoozing, are there *really* enough benefits to a short sleep to merit the effort? Is there a surefire technique to get to sleep quickly enough? Plus, is it possible to really guarantee you will get up feeling improved, not worse?
Exploring The Nap Motivation
“We can identify three main reasons for daytime sleep among most adults,” notes a professor of circadian rhythm researcher. “Firstly, there's termed make-up sleep, essentially what you do after experiencing insufficient sleep the previous night. The second is preparatory napping, when you are pre-empting sleep loss ahead, for instance during graveyard shifts. The third is called “hedonic napping”, which basically boils down to wanting: you get an opportunity to sleep in the afternoon, and it's enjoyable to nap.”
The primary task to undertake, so, is to examine your reason for napping. “Naps can be genuinely useful when overnight rest gets interrupted because of factors you cannot change – for example, for caring for an infant, or you’re recovering after being ill or intense exercise,” explains a sleep specialist. “However, if you take a nap as your night sleep is unstable or unreliable, that can be a sign your sleep drive is not where it needs to be. In such situations, daytime sleep can turn into part of the problem, instead of the fix. Employ naps for brief periods for temporary issues – the main goal must always be a strong and predictable overnight rest.”
The Optimal Snooze Time
Therefore that daytime sleep shouldn’t be long enough to disrupt your nighttime sleep, and ideally are not recommended post-3 p.m. (based on when you retire at night). What duration is wise? Advice differs. From the most-cited studies on the subject, space agency scientists found that astronauts experienced a boost of up to 54% in attentiveness and a 34% increase in performance following a nap of 26 minutes (to be precise, this involved a six-minute nodding-off period). “I recommend setting a timer for 20 to 30 minutes – the majority are asleep within 10 minutes,” says a sleep expert. “You'll find much guidance out there about the ideal number for sleeping, but that tends to lead individuals to become more worried than anything else – and the most counterproductive thing one can do when trying to get to sleep is to stress over it.”
If you’re going to take an extended nap, bypass the 45-60 minute window that encourages sleep grogginess, that disoriented sensation when you wake. “Research would say it's more effective to take a lengthier snooze of one to one and a half hours compared to a medium-length nap,” says the expert. “45 minutes is sufficient to plunge you into slow-wave sleep and it is more probable to feel groggy when you get up – whereas if you nap for slightly longer to an hour or 90 minutes, you’re likely to be on the end of a sleep cycle and should awaken feeling more alert. Though if you’re sleeping for a long period, it may impact your sleep later that night.”
Establishing the Perfect Sleep Space
As for specific techniques, advice differs. Some experts suggest adopting comparable habits you’d use to promote a good night’s sleep: a quiet room, a comfortable bed and maximum darkness as is feasible. Some advise that it's fine to merely snooze on a couch with ambient lighting is available – both to discourage sleep inertia and to preserve your bedroom as the space your mind associates with nighttime rest. “Napping is quite challenging to command,” explains an expert. “If you don’t have the urge to sleep, it is tougher to lie down and essentially tell yourself to fall asleep. There must be a natural inclination present to start the process initially. For me, it's possible to snooze in broad daylight and naturally wake up without an alarm, but what helps a lot of people is to wait for a time where they feel naturally somewhat sleepy and just gently relax into it.”
Experimentation is key, and if your choices are limited – for instance, if attempting to grab a quick nap while traveling or at the office – it is perfectly fine to employ sleep aids. “When I’m working with footballers, I recommend that they not rely on sleeping in their bed, as they’re going to have|they will
