Tune into enough productivity podcasters, making it simple to convince yourself that napping is a secret weapon: not just a sticking plaster after a bad night’s sleep, but a path towards improved recall, better spirits and possibly improved athletic performance. Elite soccer players do it regularly – as do musicians, UFC champions and business leaders. But if you don't have a room for napping or a career that encourages regular snoozing, is it *truly* sufficient advantages to a quick nap to merit the kerfuffle? Can you find a reliable way to get to sleep quickly enough? Plus, is it possible to really guarantee you’ll wake up feeling refreshed, rather than worse?
Exploring The Drive to Snooze
“Experts note three main reasons for taking a nap for many people,” says a professor of sleep science researcher. “The first is what we call make-up sleep, essentially what you do after experiencing a lack of sleep overnight. Another is preparatory napping, which involves pre-empting a sleep deficit coming up, such as during on night shifts. Finally, there's “appetitive drive”, which basically comes down to wanting: there is an opportunity to nap in the daytime, and it's pleasant to nap.”
The primary task to consider, then, is to think about your reason for napping. “Napping can be truly beneficial when overnight rest is disturbed due to causes beyond your control – for instance, for a new parent, or recovering from illness or heavy physical exertion,” explains a sleep physiologist. “Yet when you take a nap since your nighttime sleep seems unreliable or poor, that’s often a signal your need for sleep is not as strong as it needs to be. Under those circumstances, naps can become part of the issue, instead of the fix. Use napping as a short-term solution for temporary issues – the focus ought to remain a robust and regular sleep at night.”
The Ideal Snooze Time
This implies that naps ought not to be too extended to affect your sleep at night, and best are not recommended after about 3pm (depending on when you sleep in the evening). What's a reasonable length? Guidelines are mixed. In one of the most referenced research about napping, space agency scientists noted that astronauts showed a boost of up to 54% in attentiveness and a 34% increase in performance following a nap of 26 minutes (in detail, this counted a six-minute long falling asleep phase). “My advice is using an alarm for half an hour or less – most people fall asleep within 10 minutes,” explains a sleep coach. “There’s a lot of guidance out there concerning the perfect length of time, but that tends to cause people to feel more anxious than anything else – and the most counterproductive thing you can possibly do when trying to get to sleep is to stress over it.”
If you plan to take an extended nap, avoid the 45-60 minute window that encourages that sluggish feeling, that spaced-out feeling upon waking. “The science would say it’s better to have an extended nap of 60 to 90 minutes compared to a medium-length nap,” says the sleep scientist. “45 minutes is enough time to plunge you into slow-wave sleep and it is more probable to feel groggy when you wake up – while if you nap for slightly longer to 60 or 90 minutes, it's likely you'll to be on the end a natural sleep cycle and should get up feeling more refreshed. But if you’re sleeping for an hour and a half, it will affect how you sleep later that night.”
Creating the Perfect Sleep Space
Regarding exact methodologies, advice differs. Some experts suggest employing the same protocol you’d use to promote restful sleep: a quiet room, a cozy bed and maximum darkness as you can manage. Alternatively, experts propose that it's fine to merely snooze on a couch in whatever light is present – both to discourage sleep inertia and to maintain your bedroom as the environment your brain links with nighttime rest. “Napping is something really tricky to command,” notes a sleep coach. “If you don’t have the urge to sleep, it is tougher to get comfortable and practically tell yourself to go to sleep. There’s got to be some sleep pressure available to initiate sleep to begin with. For me, it's possible to take a nap in full light and naturally wake up without an alarm, though, what aids most folks is to anticipate a time where they feel naturally slightly tired and then simply ease into sleep.”
Experimentation is key, and when you have few options – for instance, if you’re trying to fit in some shut-eye while traveling or at the office – it is perfectly fine with bringing some accessories. “In my work with elite athletes, I advise that they don’t get used to sleeping in their bed, since they’re going to have|they will
