Tune into plenty of self-improvement experts, and it’s tempting to think that napping is a secret weapon: more than a sticking plaster following poor sleep, but a route towards enhanced cognition, improved mood and perhaps a faster 5k run time. Elite footballers are all at it – as do professional piano players, UFC champions & business leaders. However, if you don't have a room for napping or a career that allows frequent naps, is it *truly* sufficient advantages to a quick nap to merit the hassle? Does there exist a surefire technique to fall asleep fast? And can you truly ensure you will get up feeling improved, instead of groggy?
Exploring The Nap Motivation
“We can identify three key drivers for daytime sleep in the adult population,” explains a leading sleep and circadian science specialist. “One is what we call recovery napping, that is the action you take following poor sleep overnight. Secondly, there's pre-emptive sleep, which involves preparing for insufficient sleep ahead, for instance during overnight shifts. The third is called “hedonic napping”, which basically comes down to wanting: there is an opportunity to doze in the daytime, and it's enjoyable to indulge.”
The primary task to consider, so, is consider your reason for napping. “Napping can be truly beneficial when night sleeping is disturbed due to causes beyond your control – such as, if you’re caring for an infant, or if you are healing from sickness or heavy physical exertion,” explains a sleep specialist. “However, if you’re napping since your nighttime sleep feels fragile or unreliable, that’s often a signal your sleep drive is not at the level it should be. In those cases, naps can become part of the issue, not the solution. Use napping as a temporary measure to address immediate needs – the main goal should still be a robust and regular sleep at night.”
The Optimal Nap Length
Therefore that naps must not be sufficiently lengthy to affect your sleep at night, and ideally should not occur in the late afternoon (based on when you sleep at night). What's a reasonable length? Advice differs. From the most-cited studies on the subject, space agency scientists discovered that space travelers experienced up to a 54% increase in attentiveness plus a 34% rise in cognitive performance after a 26-minute nap (to be precise, this involved a six-minute falling asleep phase). “I’d suggest using an alarm for 20-30 minutes – most people fall asleep quickly,” notes a specialist. “There’s a lot of advice around concerning the perfect length for sleeping, but that tends to make people feel more stressed than anything – and the least helpful action you can do when trying to nod off is worry about it.”
Should you decide to sleep for longer, steer clear of the 45 to 60 minute range that induces sleep inertia, that disoriented sensation when you awaken. “The science suggests it’s better to opt for a longer nap of 60 to 90 minutes rather than a mid-length nap,” explains the professor. “45 minutes is sufficient to plunge you into slow-wave sleep making it more likely to feel groggy when you wake up – while if you take it a little longer to a full sleep cycle, you will probably to finish a natural sleep cycle and should awaken feeling more alert. However, if you’re sleeping for a long period, it will affect the quality of your sleep that night.”
Creating the Right Nap Environment
As for exact methodologies, advice differs. A few professionals propose using comparable habits you use to foster restful sleep: a quiet room, a cozy bed and minimal light as is feasible. Some advise that one could just doze in a chair in whatever light happens to be around – both to discourage post-nap grogginess and to “protect” your bedroom as the environment you associate with nighttime rest. “Falling asleep is notoriously difficult to command,” notes a specialist. “Without the urge to sleep, it is tougher to get comfortable and essentially tell yourself to fall asleep. There’s got to be a natural inclination there to initiate sleep to begin with. Personally, I can often nap in broad daylight and wake up naturally without an alarm, but what helps most folks is to anticipate a moment when they are naturally feeling a bit drowsy and then simply ease into sleep.”
Experimentation is key, and if your choices are limited – such as, if you’re trying to grab 40 winks on a train or at the office – it is perfectly fine to employ a few tools. “Coaching footballers, I recommend that they not rely on sleeping in their bed, since they’re going to have|they will
