Tune into plenty of productivity experts, making it easy to believe that a nap is a powerful tool: more than a band-aid following poor sleep, but a route to enhanced cognition, better spirits and maybe quicker running times. Professional athletes do it regularly – along with concert pianists, fighters and business leaders. Yet, when you haven’t got a special sleep space or employment that allows regular snoozing, can there *honestly* worthwhile perks to a short sleep to justify the effort? Is there a reliable way to nod off promptly? Plus, is it possible to really guarantee you will arise feeling better, instead of groggy?
Identifying Your Nap Motivation
“Experts note three primary motivations for daytime sleep among most adults,” notes a professor of sleep science professor. “One is termed make-up sleep, which is the action you take after experiencing insufficient sleep the night before. Another is prophylactic napping, when you are preparing for insufficient sleep ahead, for instance during on night shifts. Finally, there's “hedonic napping”, which simply boils down to desire: you have a moment to nap during the day, and it feels nice to indulge.”
The primary task to do, so, is to think about why you want to nap. “Daytime sleep can be truly beneficial when overnight rest is being disrupted due to causes you cannot change – for instance, if you’re a new parent, or if you are healing from illness or strenuous activity,” explains a sleep physiologist. “Yet when you take a nap because your nighttime sleep seems unreliable or poor, that can be a signal your body's sleep pressure is not where it should be. In those cases, daytime sleep can turn into a contributing factor, not the solution. Employ naps as a short-term solution for short-term problems – the priority must always be a robust and regular night’s sleep.”
The Optimal Nap Duration
This means that napping shouldn’t be too extended to interfere with your nighttime sleep, and ideally are not recommended post-3 p.m. (depending on when you go to bed overnight). What duration is wise? Recommendations vary. From the most-cited studies regarding daytime sleep, space agency scientists found that astronauts showed improvements of over 50% in vigilance plus a 34% rise in task performance following a nap of 26 minutes (to be precise, this involved an initial six-minute falling asleep phase). “My advice is setting a timer for half an hour or less – most people doze off within 10 minutes,” explains a sleep coach. “You'll find much guidance out there concerning the optimal amount of minutes, however, that can lead individuals to become more anxious than anything – and the most counterproductive thing you can do while aiming to get to sleep is to stress over it.”
If you plan to sleep for longer, steer clear of the 45 to 60 minute range that promotes sleep grogginess, that foggy state when you wake. “Research suggests it's more effective to opt for a lengthier snooze of 60 to 90 minutes compared to a medium-length nap,” notes the expert. “45 minutes is long enough to send you into a deep sleep stage making it more likely to feel disoriented upon awakening – however, if you extend it a little longer to a full sleep cycle, you will probably to be on the end a natural sleep cycle and will probably get up feeling more alert. However, if you’re sleeping for 90 minutes, it may impact how you sleep that night.”
Establishing the Perfect Sleep Space
When it comes to exact methodologies, suggestions are diverse. Some experts suggest adopting the same protocol one would use to foster a good night’s sleep: a peaceful area, a supportive surface and as much darkness as is feasible. Alternatively, experts propose that you should just doze on the sofa in the existing light is available – to avoid that groggy feeling and to “protect” your sleeping quarters as the environment your brain links with proper sleep. “Napping is quite challenging to will,” says a sleep coach. “If you don’t have any drowsiness, it is tougher to get comfortable and essentially command yourself to go to sleep. You need a natural inclination present to initiate sleep to begin with. Personally, I can often take a nap during the day and awaken on my own without a timer, however, what assists most folks is to anticipate a time where they feel naturally somewhat sleepy and just gently ease into sleep.”
Experimentation is key, and should your choices are limited – for example, when aiming to squeeze in some shut-eye while traveling or at the office – it is perfectly fine with bringing sleep aids. “When I’m working with footballers, I advise that they avoid becoming accustomed to napping in bed, as they’re going to have|they will
