Tune into a few productivity experts, making it tempting to think that napping is a secret weapon: more than a sticking plaster after a bad night’s sleep, but a shortcut towards a better memory, better spirits and maybe a faster 5k run time. Professional footballers do it regularly – along with musicians, mixed martial artists and business leaders. Yet, when you don't have a dedicated nap-room or a job that allows daytime sleep, are there *really* sufficient advantages to a short sleep to justify the kerfuffle? Is there a surefire technique to nod off promptly? Plus, is it possible to truly ensure you’ll wake up feeling improved, instead of groggy?
Identifying The Reasons for Napping
“We can identify three main reasons for daytime sleep in the adult population,” notes a leading sleep and circadian science professor. “Firstly, there's known as make-up sleep, which is the action you take after experiencing a lack of sleep the night before. Another is prophylactic napping, when you are preparing for a sleep deficit ahead, such as when working on night shifts. The third reason is “hedonic napping”, which essentially comes down to desire: there is a moment to sleep in the daytime, and it feels nice to nap.”
The primary task to consider, then, is to examine why you want to nap. “Napping can be really helpful when overnight rest is disturbed for reasons you cannot change – such as, when you are a new parent, or if you are healing from sickness or intense exercise,” says a sleep physiologist. “However, if you’re napping because your nighttime sleep is unstable or poor, that is frequently a signal your body's sleep pressure is not where it needs to be. Under those circumstances, daytime sleep can turn into part of the issue, instead of the fix. Employ naps as a temporary measure to address immediate needs – the priority must always be a solid and consistent overnight rest.”
The Ideal Snooze Time
This implies that napping ought not to be too extended to affect your nighttime sleep, and ideally are not recommended in the late afternoon (contingent on the time you go to bed at night). How long is sensible? Advice differs. From a prominent study on the subject, researchers at Nasa found that crew members showed up to a 54% increase in alertness and a 34% increase in performance post a 26-minute snooze (technically, this included a six-minute long nodding-off period). “My advice is using an alarm for half an hour or less – most people fall asleep quickly,” explains a specialist. “You'll find much advice around regarding the ideal number for sleeping, however, that can cause people to feel more stressed above all – and the least helpful action you can possibly do while aiming to nod off is to stress over it.”
If you plan to take an extended nap, steer clear of the 45 to 60 minute range that induces sleep grogginess, that foggy state when you wake. “Research would say it's more effective to take an extended nap of 60 to 90 minutes rather than a mid-length nap,” notes the expert. “Three-quarters of an hour is long enough to put you into a deep sleep stage and you’re more likely to feel sluggish when you wake up – whereas if you take it slightly longer to an hour or 90 minutes, you’re likely to be completing a natural sleep cycle and are likely to awaken feeling more refreshed. However, if you’re sleeping for 90 minutes, it will affect how you sleep that night.”
Finding the Perfect Nap Environment
As for specific techniques, suggestions are diverse. A few professionals recommend employing similar routines you’d use to foster a good night’s sleep: a silent space, a comfortable bed and minimal light as possible. Some advise that you should just doze in a chair in the existing light happens to be around – to avoid post-nap grogginess and to preserve your sleeping quarters as the environment your brain links with *real* sleep. “Sleep is quite challenging to command,” explains a specialist. “Lacking any sleepiness, it is tougher to get comfortable and practically tell yourself to go to sleep. There’s got to be some sleep pressure present to start the process in the first place. I can usually take a nap in broad daylight and awaken on my own without a timer, though, what aids many individuals is to anticipate a time when they are naturally feeling a bit drowsy and calmly ease into sleep.”
Experimentation is key, and if options are scarce – such as, when aiming to fit in some shut-eye on a train or in a work pod – it's acceptable to employ sleep aids. “In my work with footballers, I suggest that they not rely on napping in bed, because they’re going to have|they will
