Listen to a few performance gurus, making it tempting to convince yourself that a nap is a superpower: not just a quick fix following poor sleep, but a route to improved recall, a brighter outlook and perhaps improved athletic performance. Elite soccer players are all at it – along with concert pianists, fighters and high-profile executives. However, if you don't have a dedicated nap-room or employment that allows frequent naps, can there *honestly* worthwhile perks to a quick nap to justify the effort? Does there exist a surefire technique to fall asleep fast? And can you honestly promise you will arise feeling better, rather than worse?
Exploring The Nap Motivation
“Experts note three key drivers for taking a nap among most adults,” explains a leading sleep and circadian science specialist. “One is what we call compensatory napping, essentially the action you take following insufficient sleep the night before. Secondly, there's prophylactic napping, where you are pre-empting a sleep deficit coming up, for instance when working graveyard shifts. Finally, there's “appetitive drive”, which essentially comes down to the wish: there is a moment to sleep in the daytime, and it's pleasant to nap.”
The primary task to undertake, so, is to think about your reason for napping. “Daytime sleep can be really helpful when night sleeping is being disrupted for reasons you cannot change – for example, for a parent of a newborn, or if you are healing from illness or strenuous activity,” states a sleep physiologist. “But if you’re napping because your night sleep seems unreliable or broken, that’s often an indicator your sleep drive is not at the level required. Under those circumstances, naps can become part of the problem, not the solution. Use napping for brief periods for short-term problems – the focus must always be a solid and consistent sleep at night.”
The Perfect Nap Length
Therefore that naps must not be long enough to interfere with your overnight rest, and preferably are not recommended after about 3pm (contingent on what time you go to bed at night). What duration is wise? Recommendations vary. From the most-cited studies on the subject, space agency scientists found that astronauts experienced a boost of up to 54% in vigilance and a 34% increase in performance following a nap of 26 minutes (technically, this counted a six-minute long sleep onset time). “My advice is using an alarm for half an hour or less – the majority are asleep quickly,” explains a sleep expert. “There is plenty of guidance out there concerning the ideal number of time, however, that can cause people to feel more worried than anything else – and the least helpful action you can possibly do when attempting to fall asleep is worry about it.”
If you’re going to take an extended nap, bypass the 45 to 60 minute range that promotes sleep inertia, that foggy state when you awaken. “Studies indicates it's more effective to take an extended nap lasting 60-90 minutes compared to a medium-length nap,” explains the expert. “45 minutes is long enough to plunge you into deep sleep and you’re more likely to feel sluggish when you get up – whereas if you take it a little longer to an hour or 90 minutes, you’re likely to finish a natural sleep cycle and are likely to awaken feeling more rejuvenated. Though if you're dozing for 90 minutes, it will affect the quality of your sleep later that night.”
Creating the Right Snooze Setting
When it comes to exact methodologies, recommendations vary. Certain specialists suggest using comparable habits you use to foster a good night’s sleep: a quiet room, a cozy bed and as much darkness as is feasible. Alternatively, experts propose that you should simply nap on the sofa with ambient lighting happens to be around – to prevent that groggy feeling and to “protect” your bedroom as the space your mind associates with proper sleep. “Sleep is notoriously difficult to will,” says a specialist. “Without any drowsiness, it becomes harder to get comfortable and practically tell yourself to nod off. You need some drive present to start the process to begin with. Personally, I can often take a nap in broad daylight and awaken on my own alarm-free, but what helps most folks is to anticipate a time when they are naturally somewhat sleepy and just gently relax into it.”
Experimentation is key, and when options are scarce – for example, when aiming to grab a quick nap during a commute or in a soundproof office pod – it is perfectly fine to use sleep aids. “When I’m working with footballers, I advise that they don’t get used to their own bed for naps, because they’re going to have|they will
