Hear enough productivity experts, and you'll be tempting to think that dozing is a secret weapon: rather than a quick fix following restless night, but a shortcut to improved recall, better spirits and possibly quicker running times. Elite soccer players are all at it – as do musicians, mixed martial artists & high-profile executives. However, if you haven’t got a special sleep space or a job that permits daytime sleep, is it *truly* sufficient advantages to a short sleep to merit the effort? Can you find a reliable way to fall asleep fast? And can you truly ensure you’ll wake up feeling better, not worse?
Identifying Your Drive to Snooze
“We can identify three primary motivations for napping among most adults,” explains an expert sleep science professor. “The first is what we call recovery napping, that is what you do when you’ve had poor sleep the night before. Another is preparatory napping, which involves pre-empting insufficient sleep ahead, such as during on night shifts. Finally, there's “pleasure-based sleep”, which simply comes down to desire: you have a chance to sleep in the afternoon, and it feels nice to indulge.”
The first thing to consider, so, is to examine your reason for napping. “Naps can be genuinely useful when nighttime sleep is disturbed for reasons outside your control – for instance, for caring for an infant, or recovering from sickness or heavy physical exertion,” explains a sleep expert. “But if you take a nap as your night sleep seems unreliable or poor, that is frequently a sign your sleep drive is not at the level it needs to be. Under those circumstances, napping can become part of the problem, rather than the answer. Employ naps for brief periods for temporary issues – the priority ought to remain a solid and consistent night’s sleep.”
The Optimal Snooze Time
Therefore that daytime sleep ought not to be sufficiently lengthy to interfere with your nighttime sleep, and ideally should not occur in the late afternoon (based on what time you retire overnight). What duration is wise? Guidelines are mixed. In one of a prominent study on the subject, researchers at Nasa noted that crew members experienced up to a 54% increase in alertness and a 34% increase in task performance following a nap of 26 minutes (to be precise, this counted an initial six-minute nodding-off period). “My advice is using an alarm for half an hour or less – most people doze off quickly,” says a specialist. “There’s a lot of guidance out there regarding the optimal amount for sleeping, however, that can cause people to feel more stressed than anything – and the worst thing you can do while aiming to get to sleep is to be anxious.”
If you’re going to nap for a longer period, steer clear of the period between 45 and 60 minutes that induces sleep inertia, that spaced-out feeling when you wake. “The science suggests it's more effective to take a longer nap lasting 60-90 minutes rather than a mid-length nap,” explains the expert. “45 minutes is long enough to send you into a deep sleep stage and you’re more likely to feel groggy upon awakening – however, if you take it a bit longer to 60 or 90 minutes, you will probably to finish a natural sleep cycle and should get up feeling more rejuvenated. Though if you're dozing for an hour and a half, it can influence how you sleep later that night.”
Establishing the Right Nap Environment
As for exact methodologies, suggestions are diverse. Some experts propose employing the same protocol you’d use to foster restful sleep: a quiet room, a comfortable bed and maximum darkness as is feasible. Some advise that you should just doze in a chair in whatever light is present – to prevent that groggy feeling and to preserve your bedroom as the place your brain links with proper sleep. “Sleep is notoriously difficult to will,” explains a sleep coach. “Without any sleepiness, it is tougher to get comfortable and essentially instruct yourself to go to sleep. You need a natural inclination available to start the process initially. Personally, I can often take a nap in full light and awaken on my own without an alarm, though, what aids most folks is to wait for a time when they are naturally feeling a bit drowsy and then simply allow sleep to come.”
Experimentation is key, and should your choices are limited – for example, when aiming to fit in a quick nap on a train or in a work pod – it is perfectly fine to employ sleep aids. “When I’m working with elite athletes, I suggest that they don’t get used to sleeping in their bed, because they’re going to have|they will
