Hear plenty of productivity experts, and you'll be simple to think that dozing is a powerful tool: rather than a quick fix after restless night, but a shortcut to improved recall, a brighter outlook and maybe quicker running times. Professional athletes are all at it – along with concert pianists, fighters and business leaders. Yet, when you lack a room for napping or employment that allows frequent naps, can there *honestly* worthwhile perks to a quick nap to justify the hassle? Can you find a surefire technique to get to sleep quickly enough? And can you truly ensure you will arise feeling refreshed, rather than worse?
Identifying The Reasons for Napping
“Experts note three key drivers for napping for many people,” notes a professor of sleep and circadian science researcher. “One is what we call recovery napping, which is the action you take when you’ve had poor sleep the previous night. Secondly, there's prophylactic napping, which involves pre-empting insufficient sleep in the future, for instance when working graveyard shifts. The third is called “pleasure-based sleep”, which basically comes down to desire: there is a chance to doze during the day, and it feels nice to indulge.”
The first thing to do, then, is to think about why you want to nap. “Naps can be really helpful when overnight rest is being disrupted due to causes you cannot change – such as, for caring for an infant, or you’re recovering after being ill or strenuous activity,” explains a sleep specialist. “Yet when you take a nap because your nighttime sleep seems unreliable or unreliable, that’s often a sign your body's sleep pressure is not at the level required. In those cases, naps can become part of the problem, instead of the fix. Employ naps for brief periods to address immediate needs – the focus should still be a robust and regular sleep at night.”
The Perfect Nap Duration
This implies that daytime sleep must not be sufficiently lengthy to disrupt your overnight rest, and preferably shouldn’t take place post-3 p.m. (depending on what time you retire in the evening). What duration is wise? Recommendations vary. In one of a prominent study on the subject, researchers at Nasa discovered that space travelers had a boost of up to 54% in attentiveness plus a 34% rise in task performance after a 26-minute nap (technically, this included a six-minute sleep onset time). “My advice is setting an alarm for 20 to 30 minutes – the majority are asleep within 10 minutes,” explains a specialist. “There is plenty of recommendations regarding the ideal number of minutes, however, that can make people feel more stressed than anything else – and the least helpful action you can possibly do when trying to fall asleep is to be anxious.”
If you’re going to take an extended nap, avoid the 45 to 60 minute range that promotes sleep inertia, that disoriented sensation upon waking. “Research would say it is preferable to have an extended nap lasting 60-90 minutes compared to a medium-length nap,” notes the expert. “Three-quarters of an hour is enough time to plunge you into slow-wave sleep and it is more probable to feel sluggish when you get up – however, if you take it a little longer to a full sleep cycle, you’re likely to be on the end of a sleep cycle and are likely to get up feeling more rejuvenated. Though if you nap for 90 minutes, it will affect your sleep later that night.”
Creating the Right Snooze Setting
As for specific techniques, suggestions are diverse. A few professionals suggest using comparable habits you’d use to promote restful sleep: a quiet room, a supportive surface and as much darkness as you can manage. Alternatively, experts propose that you should merely snooze on a couch in the existing light is available – to prevent sleep inertia and to preserve your sleeping quarters as the space your brain links with proper sleep. “Sleep is something really tricky to force,” explains a sleep coach. “Lacking any sleepiness, it becomes harder to get comfortable and essentially tell yourself to go to sleep. You need a natural inclination available to bring the sleep on initially. Personally, I can often nap in full light and wake up naturally without a timer, however, what assists many individuals is to look for a moment where they feel naturally feeling a bit drowsy and then simply allow sleep to come.”
Experimentation is key, and should your choices are limited – such as, if attempting to squeeze in 40 winks on a train or in a soundproof office pod – there’s nothing wrong with bringing some accessories. “When I’m working with footballers, I suggest that they not rely on sleeping in their bed, since they’re going to have|they will
