Listen to a few performance experts, and it’s tempting to believe that napping is a superpower: not just a quick fix after restless night, but a route towards improved recall, a brighter outlook and maybe a faster 5k run time. Elite athletes do it regularly – as do musicians, fighters and media moguls. But if you don't have a dedicated nap-room or a career that permits frequent naps, are there *really* worthwhile perks to a quick nap for it to be worth the kerfuffle? Is there a reliable way to nod off promptly? Furthermore, can you truly ensure you will arise feeling better, rather than worse?
Exploring Your Reasons for Napping
“There are three primary motivations for daytime sleep among most adults,” notes a leading sleep science researcher. “The first is known as compensatory napping, that is the action you take after experiencing poor sleep the night before. The second is pre-emptive sleep, which involves pre-empting sleep loss coming up, for instance when working on night shifts. The third is called “hedonic napping”, which basically is about wanting: you have a moment to sleep during the day, and it's pleasant to nap.”
The initial step to undertake, so, is consider your reason for napping. “Daytime sleep can be truly beneficial when nighttime sleep is disturbed because of factors beyond your control – such as, for a new parent, or if you are healing from illness or intense exercise,” states a sleep specialist. “Yet when you nap as your night sleep is unstable or broken, that is frequently a signal your need for sleep is not at the level it needs to be. In those cases, napping can become part of the issue, rather than the answer. Employ naps as a short-term solution to address immediate needs – the focus should still be a solid and consistent overnight rest.”
The Ideal Nap Length
This implies that napping must not be too extended to affect your sleep at night, and best are not recommended post-3 p.m. (based on when you retire in the evening). What's a reasonable length? Guidelines are mixed. Among a prominent study about napping, experts found that space travelers experienced a boost of up to 54% in attentiveness and a 34% boost in performance post a 26-minute snooze (to be precise, this counted an initial six-minute sleep onset time). “I recommend setting a timer for half an hour or less – the majority doze off quickly,” explains a specialist. “You'll find much advice around concerning the perfect length for sleeping, but that tends to cause people to feel more anxious than anything else – and the most counterproductive thing one can do when trying to get to sleep is to be anxious.”
Should you decide to nap for a longer period, avoid the 45 to 60 minute range that encourages sleep inertia, that foggy state when you wake. “Studies indicates it’s better to opt for a lengthier snooze of one to one and a half hours compared to a medium-length nap,” says the professor. “Three-quarters of an hour is sufficient to plunge you into a deep sleep stage making it more likely to feel sluggish when you get up – however, if you nap for a bit longer to 60 or 90 minutes, it's likely you'll to be on the end a natural sleep cycle and should awaken feeling more rejuvenated. However, if you nap for an hour and a half, it will affect the quality of your sleep in the evening.”
Finding the Right Snooze Setting
Regarding exact methodologies, suggestions are diverse. Certain specialists suggest using the same protocol you use to encourage restful sleep: a silent space, a cozy bed and as much darkness as is feasible. Alternatively, experts propose that you should merely snooze on a couch with ambient lighting happens to be around – to prevent post-nap grogginess and to maintain your bed as the place your mind associates with *real* sleep. “Falling asleep is notoriously difficult to will,” explains an expert. “Without any drowsiness, it becomes harder to get comfortable and essentially command yourself to fall asleep. There’s got to be some sleep pressure there to start the process initially. Personally, I can often take a nap during the day and naturally wake up alarm-free, though, what aids a lot of people is to look for a time that they’re naturally somewhat sleepy and just gently ease into sleep.”
Experimentation is key, and should options are scarce – for example, if attempting to squeeze in a quick nap during a commute or in a work pod – it's acceptable with bringing a few tools. “When I’m working with footballers, I recommend that they avoid becoming accustomed to napping in bed, since they’re going to have|they will
