Hear enough self-improvement experts, making it simple to think that dozing is a secret weapon: rather than a quick fix after a bad night’s sleep, but a route towards a better memory, improved mood and maybe quicker running times. Elite footballers do it regularly – along with musicians, UFC champions & business leaders. But if you haven’t got a special sleep space or a career that encourages frequent naps, can there *honestly* sufficient advantages to a quick nap to merit the effort? Can you find a reliable way to fall asleep fast? And can you truly ensure you’ll wake up feeling refreshed, instead of groggy?
Understanding The Reasons for Napping
“We can identify three key drivers for daytime sleep for many people,” says a professor of circadian rhythm professor. “One is known as recovery napping, essentially what you do when you’ve had a lack of sleep the night before. Secondly, there's prophylactic napping, where you are anticipating a sleep deficit coming up, for example when working graveyard shifts. The third is called “hedonic napping”, which essentially boils down to wanting: there is a moment to sleep in the daytime, and it's enjoyable to nap.”
The initial step to do, then, is consider your nap motivation. “Daytime sleep can be genuinely useful when overnight rest is being disrupted because of factors you cannot change – such as, if you’re a parent of a newborn, or recovering from sickness or heavy physical exertion,” states a sleep expert. “But if you’re napping because your nighttime sleep feels fragile or poor, that is frequently a signal your need for sleep is not at the level it should be. Under those circumstances, napping can become part of the issue, instead of the fix. Use napping as a short-term solution for short-term problems – the focus must always be a strong and predictable night’s sleep.”
The Perfect Nap Duration
This means that naps ought not to be long enough to interfere with your sleep at night, and best are not recommended post-3 p.m. (based on what time you retire at night). How long is sensible? Advice differs. From a prominent study regarding daytime sleep, space agency scientists discovered that space travelers had a boost of up to 54% in attentiveness and a 34% boost in task performance post a 26-minute snooze (to be precise, this counted a six-minute nodding-off period). “My advice is setting an alarm for 20 to 30 minutes – many individuals fall asleep within 10 minutes,” explains a sleep expert. “There is plenty of advice around concerning the ideal number of minutes, yet that often make people feel more stressed than anything else – and the least helpful action you can possibly do when attempting to fall asleep is worry about it.”
If you plan to sleep for longer, steer clear of the 45-60 minute window that encourages sleep grogginess, that foggy state when you awaken. “Research indicates it’s better to take a lengthier snooze of 60 to 90 minutes rather than a mid-length nap,” says the professor. “Forty-five minutes is enough time to plunge you into slow-wave sleep making it more likely to feel disoriented when you get up – while if you extend it slightly longer to a full sleep cycle, it's likely you'll to finish a full cycle and will probably wake up feeling more rejuvenated. But if you're dozing for an hour and a half, it can influence your sleep that night.”
Creating an Ideal Nap Environment
Regarding exact methodologies, advice differs. A few professionals suggest employing similar routines you’d use to encourage quality nighttime sleep: a peaceful area, a supportive surface and maximum darkness as you can manage. Alternatively, experts propose that you should simply nap on the sofa with ambient lighting happens to be around – to avoid that groggy feeling and to maintain your bed as the space you associate with nighttime rest. “Falling asleep is quite challenging to force,” notes an expert. “Lacking any drowsiness, it is tougher to recline and essentially command yourself to nod off. You need some sleep pressure there to bring the sleep on to begin with. For me, it's possible to nap in full light and awaken on my own without an alarm, though, what aids many individuals is to wait for an instance where they feel naturally feeling a bit drowsy and then simply relax into it.”
It’s worth experimenting, and if options are scarce – for example, when aiming to grab some shut-eye on a train or in a work pod – there’s nothing wrong with bringing some accessories. “In my work with footballers, I advise that they avoid becoming accustomed to napping in bed, as they’re going to have|they will
