Tune into enough productivity podcasters, and it’s tempting to believe that a nap is a superpower: rather than a quick fix following restless night, but a path towards enhanced cognition, a brighter outlook and maybe improved athletic performance. Elite footballers are all at it – and so are musicians, mixed martial artists and business leaders. However, if you haven’t got a special sleep space or a career that permits frequent naps, are there *really* worthwhile perks to a short sleep to justify the kerfuffle? Is there a surefire technique to nod off promptly? Plus, is it possible to truly ensure you will arise feeling improved, rather than worse?
Exploring The Drive to Snooze
“We can identify three key drivers for taking a nap among most adults,” notes a professor of circadian rhythm specialist. “The first is what we call make-up sleep, which is the action you take after experiencing insufficient sleep the night before. Another is prophylactic napping, where you are preparing for sleep loss coming up, such as when working graveyard shifts. The third is called “appetitive drive”, which simply comes down to desire: there is an opportunity to doze during the day, and it's enjoyable to nap.”
The first thing to do, so, is consider your nap motivation. “Naps can be really helpful when night sleeping gets interrupted because of factors you cannot change – for instance, for a new parent, or recovering from illness or heavy physical exertion,” says a sleep expert. “Yet when you nap since your sleep at night is unstable or poor, that’s often a signal your need for sleep is not as strong as required. Under those circumstances, daytime sleep can turn into a contributing factor, instead of the fix. Employ naps as a short-term solution for temporary issues – the focus ought to remain a strong and predictable night’s sleep.”
The Ideal Snooze Time
Therefore that naps ought not to be long enough to affect your nighttime sleep, and preferably are not recommended in the late afternoon (depending on when you sleep in the evening). What duration is wise? Guidelines are mixed. In one of the most-cited studies regarding daytime sleep, experts found that astronauts experienced a boost of up to 54% in vigilance and a 34% increase in cognitive performance post a 26-minute snooze (in detail, this involved a six-minute long nodding-off period). “I recommend using an alarm for 20 to 30 minutes – the majority are asleep in under ten minutes,” notes a sleep expert. “There is plenty of guidance out there concerning the perfect length of minutes, however, that can cause people to feel more stressed than anything else – and the worst thing you can do when trying to get to sleep is to stress over it.”
Should you decide to sleep for longer, bypass the 45-60 minute window that encourages that sluggish feeling, that disoriented sensation when you wake. “Research indicates it's more effective to take a lengthier snooze lasting 60-90 minutes rather than a mid-length nap,” says the sleep scientist. “Three-quarters of an hour is long enough to plunge you into slow-wave sleep and it is more probable to feel groggy upon awakening – however, if you extend it a little longer to a full sleep cycle, you’re likely to be completing a full cycle and should wake up feeling more rejuvenated. Though if you're dozing for an hour and a half, it will affect the quality of your sleep later that night.”
Establishing the Right Sleep Space
As for precise methods, suggestions are diverse. A few professionals propose employing the same protocol you’d use to foster a good night’s sleep: a peaceful area, a comfortable bed and maximum darkness as possible. Others suggest that one could simply nap on a couch with ambient lighting happens to be around – to avoid post-nap grogginess and to “protect” your sleeping quarters as the place your mind associates with proper sleep. “Sleep is something really tricky to will,” says an expert. “Without the urge to sleep, it becomes harder to get comfortable and basically tell yourself to fall asleep. There’s got to be a natural inclination present to initiate sleep initially. Personally, I can often nap in full light and naturally wake up alarm-free, however, what assists a lot of people is to wait for an instance when they are naturally somewhat sleepy and calmly relax into it.”
It’s worth experimenting, and when your choices are limited – for instance, when aiming to squeeze in some shut-eye during a commute or at the office – there’s nothing wrong to use some accessories. “When I’m working with professional sportspeople, I suggest that they don’t get used to their own bed for naps, since they’re going to have|they will
