Listen to a few productivity gurus, and you'll be tempting to think that dozing is a secret weapon: rather than a band-aid following a bad night’s sleep, but a shortcut to a better memory, improved mood and maybe a faster 5k run time. Premier League footballers swear by it – as do concert pianists, mixed martial artists and business leaders. But if you don't have a special sleep space or employment that allows regular snoozing, can there *honestly* sufficient advantages to a short sleep for it to be worth the effort? Can you find a dependable method to get to sleep quickly enough? Plus, is it possible to truly ensure you will arise feeling better, not worse?
Exploring Your Reasons for Napping
“We can identify three key drivers for taking a nap for many people,” notes an expert sleep science professor. “One is termed compensatory napping, which is the action you take after experiencing a lack of sleep the night before. Secondly, there's pre-emptive sleep, which involves pre-empting a sleep deficit coming up, such as when working on night shifts. Finally, there's “pleasure-based sleep”, which basically is about desire: there is a moment to nap in the afternoon, and it feels nice to indulge.”
The primary task to undertake, then, is consider your nap motivation. “Daytime sleep can be truly beneficial when nighttime sleep is being disrupted due to causes outside your control – for instance, for a parent of a newborn, or recovering from illness or heavy physical exertion,” says a sleep specialist. “However, if you take a nap since your nighttime sleep is unstable or unreliable, that is frequently a signal your body's sleep pressure is not as strong as it needs to be. In such situations, napping can become a contributing factor, rather than the answer. Utilize daytime sleep as a temporary measure for temporary issues – the focus ought to remain a solid and consistent sleep at night.”
The Optimal Nap Duration
Therefore that daytime sleep ought not to be sufficiently lengthy to disrupt your overnight rest, and best should not occur after about 3pm (contingent on what time you retire at night). What duration is wise? Guidelines are mixed. From the most-cited studies regarding daytime sleep, researchers at Nasa found that astronauts experienced improvements of over 50% in alertness plus a 34% rise in cognitive performance after a 26-minute nap (in detail, this involved an initial six-minute nodding-off period). “I recommend setting an alarm for 20 to 30 minutes – the majority fall asleep in under ten minutes,” notes a sleep expert. “You'll find much guidance out there concerning the perfect length for sleeping, yet that often make people feel more anxious than anything else – and the most counterproductive thing one can do when attempting to nod off is to be anxious.”
If you’re going to sleep for longer, steer clear of the 45 to 60 minute range that encourages sleep inertia, that disoriented sensation when you wake. “Studies suggests it’s better to have a lengthier snooze lasting 60-90 minutes compared to a medium-length nap,” says the sleep scientist. “45 minutes is long enough to plunge you into deep sleep and it is more probable to feel disoriented when you get up – however, if you nap for a little longer to a full sleep cycle, you’re likely to be completing of a sleep cycle and should awaken feeling more alert. However, if you nap for an hour and a half, it can influence your sleep later that night.”
Finding the Perfect Sleep Space
As for precise methods, suggestions are diverse. A few professionals suggest adopting the same protocol one would use to foster quality nighttime sleep: a peaceful area, a supportive surface and minimal light as possible. Others suggest that one could simply nap on the sofa in the existing light is present – to avoid sleep inertia and to “protect” your bedroom as the space your brain links with *real* sleep. “Sleep is something really tricky to command,” notes an expert. “If you don’t have the urge to sleep, it is more challenging to lie down and essentially command yourself to fall asleep. There’s got to be some drive there to bring the sleep on initially. I can usually take a nap during the day and wake up naturally without an alarm, though, what aids most folks is to wait for a moment when they are naturally slightly tired and then simply relax into it.”
It’s worth experimenting, and if your choices are limited – for instance, when aiming to fit in 40 winks while traveling or at the office – it is perfectly fine to use a few tools. “Coaching footballers, I advise that they don’t get used to napping in bed, since they’re going to have|they will
