Hear plenty of productivity experts, and you'll be tempting to convince yourself that napping is a powerful tool: rather than a quick fix following restless night, but a route towards a better memory, improved mood and possibly improved athletic performance. Elite athletes are all at it – as do professional piano players, mixed martial artists and business leaders. Yet, when you lack a dedicated nap-room or employment that permits frequent naps, is it *truly* worthwhile perks to a burst of shut-eye to justify the hassle? Can you find a dependable method to get to sleep quickly enough? Plus, is it possible to honestly promise you will get up feeling better, not worse?
Understanding The Reasons for Napping
“We can identify three primary motivations for napping for many people,” explains an expert sleep and circadian science professor. “One is termed recovery napping, which is what happens following poor sleep the night before. The second is preparatory napping, when you are preparing for insufficient sleep coming up, for example if you’re working on night shifts. Finally, there's “pleasure-based sleep”, which essentially comes down to the wish: you have a chance to sleep in the afternoon, and it's pleasant to do it.”
The first thing to do, so, is to examine your nap motivation. “Napping can be truly beneficial when night sleeping is being disrupted due to causes you cannot change – for instance, when you are caring for an infant, or recovering from illness or heavy physical exertion,” explains a sleep physiologist. “But if you nap since your nighttime sleep seems unreliable or poor, that is frequently an indicator your sleep drive is not at the level it needs to be. Under those circumstances, daytime sleep can turn into part of the issue, instead of the fix. Use napping as a short-term solution for short-term problems – the priority ought to remain a solid and consistent night’s sleep.”
The Ideal Snooze Time
This means that naps must not be sufficiently lengthy to affect your overnight rest, and best are not recommended post-3 p.m. (depending on what time you retire overnight). How long is sensible? Guidelines are mixed. From the most referenced research on the subject, researchers at Nasa noted that crew members had a boost of up to 54% in alertness and a 34% increase in task performance post a 26-minute snooze (to be precise, this counted a six-minute falling asleep phase). “I recommend setting a timer for 20-30 minutes – most people fall asleep in under ten minutes,” notes a specialist. “There’s a lot of advice around about the ideal number of time, yet that often cause people to feel more anxious than anything – and the least helpful action you can do while aiming to fall asleep is to stress over it.”
If you plan to sleep for longer, steer clear of the 45 to 60 minute range that induces sleep inertia, that spaced-out feeling when you awaken. “The science would say it’s better to opt for a lengthier snooze of 60 to 90 minutes than a medium-length one,” notes the expert. “Forty-five minutes is sufficient to send you into slow-wave sleep and you’re more likely to feel disoriented upon awakening – while if you extend it a little longer to 60 or 90 minutes, you will probably to be on the end a full cycle and are likely to awaken feeling more refreshed. But if you nap for 90 minutes, it will affect how you sleep in the evening.”
Establishing the Right Sleep Space
As for specific techniques, recommendations vary. Certain specialists propose employing comparable habits you use to encourage restful sleep: a quiet room, a comfortable bed and as much darkness as possible. Some advise that one could simply nap in a chair in whatever light is present – both to discourage that groggy feeling and to preserve your bedroom as the place your brain links with *real* sleep. “Napping is quite challenging to command,” notes a specialist. “If you don’t have any drowsiness, it becomes harder to lie down and essentially command yourself to nod off. There must be some drive available to start the process initially. For me, it's possible to snooze in full light and naturally wake up alarm-free, but what helps a lot of people is to anticipate a time where they feel naturally slightly tired and just gently allow sleep to come.”
Experimentation is key, and should your choices are limited – for example, if you’re trying to fit in some shut-eye while traveling or in a work pod – there’s nothing wrong with bringing a few tools. “When I’m working with elite athletes, I advise that they don’t get used to their own bed for naps, since they’re going to have|they will
