Listen to plenty of performance gurus, and you'll be tempting to believe that a nap is a powerful tool: more than a band-aid after a bad night’s sleep, but a shortcut to a better memory, a brighter outlook and perhaps a faster 5k run time. Premier League soccer players do it regularly – along with professional piano players, UFC champions & high-profile executives. However, if you don't have a dedicated nap-room or a job that allows frequent naps, is it *truly* worthwhile perks to a burst of shut-eye to merit the hassle? Does there exist a surefire technique to fall asleep fast? Plus, is it possible to truly ensure you’ll wake up feeling improved, rather than worse?
Understanding Your Reasons for Napping
“We can identify three primary motivations for daytime sleep for many people,” notes an expert sleep and circadian science professor. “One is what we call recovery napping, that is the action you take after experiencing insufficient sleep the previous night. The second is prophylactic napping, when you are preparing for sleep loss in the future, such as when working overnight shifts. The third is called “hedonic napping”, which simply boils down to the wish: you have an opportunity to sleep during the day, and it's pleasant to do it.”
The initial step to undertake, then, is to examine why you want to nap. “Napping can be genuinely useful when nighttime sleep gets interrupted for reasons beyond your control – such as, when you are a parent of a newborn, or recovering from illness or intense exercise,” says a sleep physiologist. “But if you’re napping as your night sleep seems unreliable or unreliable, that’s often a sign your need for sleep is not where it should be. Under those circumstances, napping can become part of the problem, not the solution. Employ naps as a temporary measure for temporary issues – the priority ought to remain a robust and regular overnight rest.”
The Ideal Snooze Time
This implies that naps ought not to be sufficiently lengthy to affect your nighttime sleep, and ideally shouldn’t take place post-3 p.m. (depending on what time you go to bed in the evening). How long is sensible? Advice differs. Among the most referenced research about napping, experts discovered that space travelers had a boost of up to 54% in vigilance and a 34% boost in task performance post a 26-minute snooze (in detail, this involved an initial six-minute falling asleep phase). “I recommend setting a timer for half an hour or less – many individuals fall asleep in under ten minutes,” notes a sleep coach. “There is plenty of guidance out there about the ideal number for sleeping, yet that often make people feel more worried than anything else – and the least helpful action you can possibly do when trying to get to sleep is to be anxious.”
If you’re going to take an extended nap, bypass the period between 45 and 60 minutes that promotes sleep inertia, that disoriented sensation when you awaken. “Studies indicates it's more effective to opt for an extended nap lasting 60-90 minutes than a medium-length one,” notes the expert. “Forty-five minutes is long enough to plunge you into slow-wave sleep making it more likely to feel disoriented when you wake up – whereas if you take it a bit longer to an hour or 90 minutes, you will probably to finish a full cycle and will probably get up feeling more alert. Though if you nap for an hour and a half, it can influence the quality of your sleep later that night.”
Finding the Perfect Sleep Space
When it comes to exact methodologies, advice differs. Some experts suggest using similar routines you’d use to encourage restful sleep: a peaceful area, a supportive surface and minimal light as is feasible. Alternatively, experts propose that it's fine to simply nap in a chair in whatever light is available – both to discourage sleep inertia and to maintain your sleeping quarters as the place your mind associates with proper sleep. “Napping is quite challenging to command,” notes a specialist. “Without any sleepiness, it is tougher to get comfortable and essentially instruct yourself to nod off. You need some drive present to start the process in the first place. For me, it's possible to nap in broad daylight and awaken on my own without an alarm, though, what aids most folks is to wait for an instance that they’re naturally somewhat sleepy and then simply ease into sleep.”
It’s worth experimenting, and should you have few options – for example, when aiming to fit in 40 winks while traveling or in a work pod – it's acceptable to employ some accessories. “When I’m working with elite athletes, I suggest that they not rely on sleeping in their bed, since they’re going to have|they will
