Listen to a few productivity podcasters, making it tempting to believe that dozing is a powerful tool: more than a band-aid after poor sleep, but a route towards enhanced cognition, improved mood and possibly improved athletic performance. Professional soccer players swear by it – as do concert pianists, UFC champions and high-profile executives. Yet, when you don't have a room for napping or a job that allows regular snoozing, can there *honestly* sufficient advantages to a short sleep to merit the kerfuffle? Is there a reliable way to fall asleep fast? Furthermore, can you really guarantee you’ll wake up feeling refreshed, not worse?
Understanding Your Nap Motivation
“Experts note three key drivers for daytime sleep among most adults,” says an expert sleep science researcher. “Firstly, there's known as compensatory napping, that is the action you take after experiencing insufficient sleep the night before. Secondly, there's pre-emptive sleep, when you are pre-empting sleep loss ahead, such as when working overnight shifts. The third is called “hedonic napping”, which simply comes down to desire: you get a chance to doze during the day, and it's enjoyable to nap.”
The primary task to undertake, then, is to think about your nap motivation. “Napping can be really helpful when night sleeping is disturbed for reasons outside your control – for instance, if you’re caring for an infant, or if you are healing from sickness or strenuous activity,” explains a sleep physiologist. “But if you nap since your nighttime sleep is unstable or unreliable, that’s often a signal your body's sleep pressure is not as strong as it should be. Under those circumstances, napping can become a contributing factor, instead of the fix. Use napping as a short-term solution to address immediate needs – the main goal should still be a robust and regular night’s sleep.”
The Optimal Nap Duration
Therefore that daytime sleep shouldn’t be sufficiently lengthy to interfere with your overnight rest, and preferably should not occur in the late afternoon (depending on the time you go to bed in the evening). How long is sensible? Guidelines are mixed. From the most referenced research on the subject, experts noted that crew members experienced a boost of up to 54% in vigilance and a 34% increase in task performance following a nap of 26 minutes (technically, this involved a six-minute falling asleep phase). “My advice is using an alarm for 20 to 30 minutes – most people are asleep within 10 minutes,” says a specialist. “There’s a lot of recommendations about the perfect length of time, yet that often lead individuals to become more worried than anything else – and the most counterproductive thing you can possibly do when trying to get to sleep is to stress over it.”
If you’re going to nap for a longer period, bypass the 45 to 60 minute range that promotes sleep grogginess, that disoriented sensation when you awaken. “Research suggests it is preferable to have an extended nap of one to one and a half hours rather than a mid-length nap,” notes the professor. “45 minutes is enough time to plunge you into a deep sleep stage and it is more probable to feel groggy when you get up – whereas if you nap for a bit longer to a full sleep cycle, it's likely you'll to be completing of a sleep cycle and are likely to awaken feeling more alert. However, if you're dozing for an hour and a half, it can influence how you sleep in the evening.”
Creating an Ideal Snooze Setting
Regarding exact methodologies, advice differs. Some experts propose using the same protocol one would use to encourage a good night’s sleep: a silent space, a comfortable bed and as much darkness as possible. Others suggest that you should simply nap in a chair in whatever light happens to be around – to avoid post-nap grogginess and to “protect” your bed as the environment your brain links with proper sleep. “Sleep is quite challenging to force,” notes a specialist. “If you don’t have any drowsiness, it becomes harder to lie down and basically command yourself to fall asleep. You need a natural inclination there to start the process initially. I can usually nap in full light and wake up naturally alarm-free, but what helps a lot of people is to look for a moment when they are naturally slightly tired and then simply relax into it.”
Experimentation is key, and should you have few options – for instance, if you’re trying to grab some shut-eye while traveling or in a soundproof office pod – it is perfectly fine to employ sleep aids. “When I’m working with professional sportspeople, I recommend that they not rely on sleeping in their bed, as they’re going to have|they will
