Hear plenty of productivity gurus, and you'll be tempting to convince yourself that dozing is a superpower: not just a quick fix following a bad night’s sleep, but a path towards improved recall, improved mood and perhaps quicker running times. Elite athletes do it regularly – as do musicians, mixed martial artists & media moguls. But if you lack a room for napping or a career that allows regular snoozing, is it *truly* enough benefits to a quick nap to justify the kerfuffle? Is there a dependable method to nod off promptly? And can you honestly promise you will arise feeling improved, not worse?
Understanding Your Reasons for Napping
“We can identify three key drivers for daytime sleep among most adults,” notes a professor of circadian rhythm researcher. “Firstly, there's what we call make-up sleep, that is the action you take following a lack of sleep the previous night. The second is pre-emptive sleep, which involves pre-empting insufficient sleep ahead, for instance when working on night shifts. The third reason is “appetitive drive”, which essentially is about desire: there is a chance to sleep during the day, and it feels nice to indulge.”
The initial step to undertake, therefore, is to examine why you want to nap. “Naps can be truly beneficial when nighttime sleep is disturbed because of factors beyond your control – for instance, if you’re a new parent, or you’re recovering after being ill or heavy physical exertion,” states a sleep expert. “But if you’re napping because your sleep at night feels fragile or poor, that can be a sign your need for sleep is not where it should be. In such situations, napping can become part of the problem, not the solution. Employ naps as a temporary measure for short-term problems – the main goal should still be a strong and predictable night’s sleep.”
The Ideal Snooze Time
This means that naps ought not to be sufficiently lengthy to interfere with your sleep at night, and ideally shouldn’t take place post-3 p.m. (contingent on what time you retire overnight). How long is sensible? Recommendations vary. In one of a prominent study about napping, experts noted that space travelers had improvements of over 50% in vigilance and a 34% boost in task performance following a nap of 26 minutes (technically, this counted a six-minute long nodding-off period). “I’d suggest setting a timer for half an hour or less – most people are asleep in under ten minutes,” explains a sleep expert. “You'll find much advice around regarding the perfect length for sleeping, however, that can make people feel more worried above all – and the worst thing you can do while aiming to get to sleep is to be anxious.”
Should you decide to take an extended nap, steer clear of the 45 to 60 minute range that induces sleep inertia, that foggy state upon waking. “Research indicates it is preferable to take a longer nap of one to one and a half hours than a medium-length one,” explains the professor. “45 minutes is enough time to plunge you into a deep sleep stage and it is more probable to feel disoriented when you wake up – while if you extend it a little longer to 60 or 90 minutes, you’re likely to be completing of a sleep cycle and should get up feeling more alert. But if you’re sleeping for an hour and a half, it may impact the quality of your sleep later that night.”
Creating the Perfect Nap Environment
When it comes to exact methodologies, advice differs. Certain specialists suggest adopting comparable habits one would use to promote restful sleep: a quiet room, a cozy bed and as much darkness as is feasible. Others suggest that it's fine to merely snooze on the sofa in whatever light happens to be around – to prevent post-nap grogginess and to maintain your bed as the place your mind associates with nighttime rest. “Napping is notoriously difficult to will,” notes a sleep coach. “Lacking any sleepiness, it is more challenging to recline and essentially instruct yourself to go to sleep. You need some sleep pressure there to bring the sleep on initially. For me, it's possible to snooze in broad daylight and wake up naturally without a timer, however, what assists most folks is to look for a time that they’re naturally slightly tired and then simply ease into sleep.”
Experimentation is key, and when you have few options – for example, if you’re trying to grab some shut-eye on a train or in a work pod – it's acceptable to use some accessories. “Coaching footballers, I suggest that they avoid becoming accustomed to their own bed for naps, since they’re going to have|they will
