Hear enough self-improvement experts, and you'll be tempting to believe that a nap is a superpower: not just a band-aid after poor sleep, but a path to improved recall, better spirits and possibly improved athletic performance. Professional athletes do it regularly – along with musicians, mixed martial artists & business leaders. However, if you haven’t got a dedicated nap-room or employment that encourages regular snoozing, is it *truly* enough benefits to a burst of shut-eye to justify the effort? Can you find a reliable way to fall asleep fast? Plus, is it possible to honestly promise you’ll wake up feeling better, rather than worse?
Exploring The Reasons for Napping
“Experts note three primary motivations for taking a nap among most adults,” explains an expert sleep science specialist. “One is termed compensatory napping, that is the action you take when you’ve had a lack of sleep overnight. Secondly, there's preparatory napping, where you are pre-empting a sleep deficit coming up, for example when working graveyard shifts. The third is called “pleasure-based sleep”, which simply is about desire: there is a moment to nap during the day, and it's pleasant to do it.”
The initial step to do, therefore, is to think about your reason for napping. “Daytime sleep can be truly beneficial when nighttime sleep is being disrupted because of factors outside your control – for example, for a new parent, or if you are healing after being ill or heavy physical exertion,” explains a sleep specialist. “However, if you nap because your sleep at night is unstable or broken, that’s often a sign your sleep drive is not where it should be. In such situations, napping can become a contributing factor, rather than the answer. Utilize daytime sleep for brief periods to address immediate needs – the main goal should still be a solid and consistent overnight rest.”
The Optimal Nap Duration
This means that daytime sleep shouldn’t be too extended to affect your nighttime sleep, and ideally are not recommended in the late afternoon (based on what time you go to bed in the evening). How long is sensible? Advice differs. In one of the most referenced research about napping, space agency scientists noted that astronauts experienced a boost of up to 54% in attentiveness and a 34% boost in cognitive performance after a 26-minute nap (technically, this counted an initial six-minute sleep onset time). “I’d suggest setting a timer for 20 to 30 minutes – most people doze off quickly,” explains a sleep expert. “There is plenty of guidance out there concerning the optimal amount for sleeping, but that tends to make people feel 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 nap for a longer period, avoid the 45-60 minute window that induces that sluggish feeling, that disoriented sensation upon waking. “The science would say it is preferable to opt for a lengthier snooze lasting 60-90 minutes than a medium-length one,” notes the professor. “Three-quarters of an hour is sufficient to send you into deep sleep and it is more probable to feel disoriented when you get up – whereas if you take it a little longer to a full sleep cycle, it's likely you'll to be completing a full cycle and are likely to wake up feeling more rejuvenated. But if you're dozing for 90 minutes, it may impact how you sleep later that night.”
Establishing the Perfect Snooze Setting
Regarding precise methods, recommendations vary. Some experts suggest adopting comparable habits you’d use to promote quality nighttime sleep: a quiet room, a comfortable bed and maximum darkness as is feasible. Some advise that it's fine to merely snooze on the sofa with ambient lighting is available – to avoid sleep inertia and to preserve your sleeping quarters as the environment your brain links with *real* sleep. “Napping is quite challenging to force,” says a sleep coach. “If you don’t have the urge to sleep, it becomes harder to get comfortable and essentially tell yourself to go to sleep. You need some sleep pressure available to start the process in the first place. For me, it's possible to nap in full light and awaken on my own without a timer, but what helps most folks is to anticipate a time where they feel naturally somewhat sleepy and just gently relax into it.”
Experimentation is key, and if options are scarce – for example, when aiming to grab some shut-eye on a train or in a work pod – it's acceptable to use some accessories. “When I’m working with professional sportspeople, I suggest that they don’t get used to napping in bed, because they’re going to have|they will
