Tune into a few self-improvement podcasters, and you'll be simple to believe that dozing is a powerful tool: more than a sticking plaster after restless night, but a path to improved recall, a brighter outlook and possibly a faster 5k run time. Elite athletes do it regularly – and so are musicians, mixed martial artists and media moguls. But if you haven’t got a room for napping or a job that permits daytime sleep, is it *truly* enough benefits to a short sleep to justify the effort? Does there exist a surefire technique to fall asleep fast? And can you honestly promise you’ll wake up feeling refreshed, rather than worse?
Identifying The Nap Motivation
“There are three primary motivations for napping among most adults,” explains a leading sleep and circadian science professor. “Firstly, there's termed compensatory napping, that is the action you take after experiencing insufficient sleep overnight. Another is pre-emptive sleep, where you are anticipating sleep loss in the future, for example if you’re working on night shifts. Finally, there's “pleasure-based sleep”, which simply is about wanting: you get a moment to sleep during the day, and it's enjoyable to nap.”
The initial step to undertake, so, is to think about your nap motivation. “Naps can be really helpful when nighttime sleep is disturbed for reasons you cannot change – such as, when you are caring for an infant, or if you are healing from illness or strenuous activity,” says a sleep expert. “But if you’re napping since your nighttime sleep feels fragile or broken, that is frequently a sign your sleep drive is not as strong as it needs to be. In such situations, napping can become part of the problem, rather than the answer. Utilize daytime sleep as a temporary measure to address immediate needs – the focus ought to remain a strong and predictable overnight rest.”
The Perfect Nap Duration
Therefore that daytime sleep must not be sufficiently lengthy to interfere with your overnight rest, and preferably should not occur post-3 p.m. (depending on what time you go to bed overnight). How long is sensible? Advice differs. Among the most-cited studies about napping, researchers at Nasa discovered that astronauts had up to a 54% increase in attentiveness plus a 34% rise in task performance following a nap of 26 minutes (in detail, this counted an initial six-minute falling asleep phase). “I’d suggest setting an alarm for half an hour or less – many individuals doze off quickly,” says a sleep coach. “There’s a lot of recommendations concerning the optimal amount for sleeping, but that tends to lead individuals to become more stressed than anything – and the least helpful action one can do when trying to nod off is to stress over it.”
If you’re going to take an extended nap, bypass the 45 to 60 minute range that promotes that sluggish feeling, that disoriented sensation when you awaken. “Studies indicates it's more effective to take an extended nap of 60 to 90 minutes than a medium-length one,” notes the professor. “Three-quarters of an hour is sufficient to put you into a deep sleep stage and it is more probable to feel disoriented when you wake up – whereas if you nap for slightly longer to 60 or 90 minutes, you will probably to finish a full cycle and should get up feeling more rejuvenated. Though if you're dozing for 90 minutes, it may impact the quality of your sleep that night.”
Establishing an Ideal Nap Environment
As for exact methodologies, recommendations vary. Certain specialists suggest adopting similar routines you use to foster a good night’s sleep: a peaceful area, a cozy bed and as much darkness as possible. Others suggest that one could simply nap in a chair with ambient lighting is available – to prevent post-nap grogginess and to “protect” your bedroom as the space you associate with *real* sleep. “Napping is notoriously difficult to will,” explains an expert. “Without the urge to sleep, it becomes harder to lie down and practically command yourself to fall asleep. There’s got to be a natural inclination there to start the process in the first place. For me, it's possible to snooze during the day and naturally wake up without an alarm, but what helps a lot of people is to anticipate an instance that they’re naturally slightly tired and calmly ease into sleep.”
Experimentation is key, and should your choices are limited – such as, when aiming to squeeze in a quick nap during a commute or in a work pod – there’s nothing wrong to use sleep aids. “In my work with elite athletes, I suggest that they not rely on sleeping in their bed, since they’re going to have|they will
