Hear plenty of self-improvement podcasters, making it tempting to convince yourself that a nap is a superpower: more than a quick fix after poor sleep, but a shortcut to improved recall, better spirits and possibly a faster 5k run time. Professional athletes do it regularly – as do professional piano players, mixed martial artists and business leaders. But if you lack a room for napping or a job that permits daytime sleep, can there *honestly* worthwhile perks to a quick nap to justify the kerfuffle? Is there a reliable way to fall asleep fast? And can you honestly promise you will get up feeling improved, not worse?
Exploring Your Nap Motivation
“There are three main reasons for taking a nap in the adult population,” explains a professor of circadian rhythm researcher. “One is known as compensatory napping, which is the action you take after experiencing insufficient sleep the night before. Another is pre-emptive sleep, where you are preparing for sleep loss in the future, for example when working overnight shifts. Finally, there's “appetitive drive”, which essentially comes down to desire: you have an opportunity to sleep during the day, and it feels nice to do it.”
The initial step to consider, so, is to examine why you want to nap. “Naps can be genuinely useful when night sleeping gets interrupted for reasons outside your control – such as, when you are a parent of a newborn, or if you are healing after being ill or strenuous activity,” explains a sleep specialist. “However, if you take a nap as your night sleep feels fragile or unreliable, that’s often an indicator your sleep drive is not where required. In such situations, naps can become part of the problem, rather than the answer. Utilize daytime sleep as a temporary measure to address immediate needs – the priority ought to remain a robust and regular sleep at night.”
The Optimal Nap Length
This means that daytime sleep shouldn’t be long enough to affect your nighttime sleep, and ideally shouldn’t take place in the late afternoon (contingent on what time you sleep at night). What's a reasonable length? Recommendations vary. In one of a prominent study regarding daytime sleep, space agency scientists noted that space travelers experienced up to a 54% increase in attentiveness and a 34% increase in cognitive performance following a nap of 26 minutes (technically, this involved a six-minute nodding-off period). “I’d suggest using an alarm for half an hour or less – many individuals fall asleep in under ten minutes,” says a sleep coach. “There is plenty of recommendations concerning the optimal amount of time, yet that often make people feel more anxious above all – and the most counterproductive thing you can possibly do when attempting to nod off is worry about it.”
Should you decide to nap for a longer period, bypass the 45 to 60 minute range that promotes sleep inertia, that foggy state when you awaken. “Studies would say it’s better to opt for an extended nap of 60 to 90 minutes compared to a medium-length nap,” says the sleep scientist. “Three-quarters of an hour is enough time to put you into deep sleep making it more likely to feel disoriented when you wake up – however, if you extend it slightly longer to a full sleep cycle, it's likely you'll to finish a full cycle and should wake up feeling more refreshed. However, if you're dozing for an hour and a half, it may impact how you sleep that night.”
Finding an Ideal Nap Environment
When it comes to specific techniques, suggestions are diverse. A few professionals suggest employing the same protocol you’d use to promote quality nighttime sleep: a silent space, a supportive surface and maximum darkness as is feasible. Alternatively, experts propose that it's fine to simply nap in a chair with ambient lighting happens to be around – to avoid post-nap grogginess and to “protect” your bed as the place your brain links with *real* sleep. “Napping is quite challenging to will,” notes a specialist. “If you don’t have any drowsiness, it is more challenging to get comfortable and practically command yourself to fall asleep. There must be some sleep pressure present to initiate sleep in the first place. For me, it's possible to take a nap in broad daylight and naturally wake up alarm-free, but what helps many individuals is to look for a time when they are naturally slightly tired and just gently relax into it.”
It’s worth experimenting, and should your choices are limited – for example, if attempting to squeeze in a quick nap during a commute or in a soundproof office pod – it's acceptable to employ a few tools. “When I’m working with professional sportspeople, I advise that they not rely on their own bed for naps, because they’re going to have|they will
