Listen to plenty of productivity experts, and it’s tempting to believe that napping is a secret weapon: rather than a sticking plaster following restless night, but a path to improved recall, better spirits and perhaps a faster 5k run time. Premier League athletes are all at it – along with concert pianists, UFC champions & high-profile executives. Yet, when you lack a room for napping or a career that allows regular snoozing, is it *truly* enough benefits to a short sleep to merit the kerfuffle? Is there a dependable method to fall asleep fast? And can you honestly promise you will arise feeling improved, rather than worse?
Identifying The Reasons for Napping
“Experts note three main reasons for napping for many people,” notes a professor of sleep science specialist. “The first is what we call recovery napping, essentially what you do following a lack of sleep the previous night. Secondly, there's preparatory napping, when you are anticipating a sleep deficit ahead, such as during on night shifts. The third is called “hedonic napping”, which essentially comes down to wanting: there is a moment to nap in the afternoon, and it feels nice to indulge.”
The first thing to undertake, therefore, is consider why you want to nap. “Napping can be genuinely useful when nighttime sleep is disturbed for reasons beyond your control – such as, for caring for an infant, or recovering from illness or strenuous activity,” says a sleep specialist. “However, if you take a nap as your night sleep feels fragile or poor, that is frequently a sign your body's sleep pressure is not where required. In those cases, napping can become part of the problem, rather than the answer. Use napping for brief periods to address immediate needs – the focus should still be a robust and regular night’s sleep.”
The Ideal Nap Length
This implies that napping shouldn’t be sufficiently lengthy to interfere with your sleep at night, and ideally should not occur post-3 p.m. (contingent on when you sleep overnight). What duration is wise? Advice differs. From a prominent study about napping, space agency scientists discovered that space travelers experienced up to a 54% increase in alertness and a 34% increase in task performance post a 26-minute snooze (technically, this involved a six-minute long sleep onset time). “I’d suggest using an alarm for 20-30 minutes – many individuals fall asleep in under ten minutes,” explains a sleep expert. “There is plenty of advice around about the ideal number of time, but that tends to make people feel more stressed than anything – and the least helpful action you can possibly do while aiming to fall asleep is to be anxious.”
If you plan to sleep for longer, avoid the 45-60 minute window that promotes sleep grogginess, that foggy state upon waking. “Research would say it's more effective to opt for a longer nap of one to one and a half hours compared to a medium-length nap,” explains the professor. “Forty-five minutes is long enough to plunge you into a deep sleep stage and it is more probable to feel sluggish upon awakening – however, if you extend it a bit longer to 60 or 90 minutes, you will probably to be on the end of a sleep cycle and are likely to get up feeling more refreshed. But if you’re sleeping for a long period, it can influence how you sleep later that night.”
Creating the Perfect Nap Environment
When it comes to specific techniques, suggestions are diverse. Certain specialists suggest adopting the same protocol you use to promote restful sleep: a silent space, a supportive surface and as much darkness as is feasible. Others suggest that you should just doze on the sofa with ambient lighting is available – to avoid sleep inertia and to maintain your sleeping quarters as the environment your brain links with nighttime rest. “Falling asleep is notoriously difficult to force,” says a sleep coach. “Lacking any drowsiness, it becomes harder to recline and basically command yourself to go to sleep. There’s got to be some sleep pressure there to bring the sleep on initially. I can usually nap in full light and awaken on my own without a timer, though, what aids many individuals is to anticipate an instance when they are naturally feeling a bit drowsy and just gently allow sleep to come.”
Experimentation is key, and should options are scarce – such as, if attempting to squeeze in 40 winks during a commute or in a work pod – there’s nothing wrong to employ sleep aids. “When I’m working with footballers, I advise that they not rely on napping in bed, as they’re going to have|they will
