Listen to plenty of performance experts, and you'll be simple to believe that dozing is a superpower: more than a sticking plaster after a bad night’s sleep, but a path to a better memory, improved mood and perhaps improved athletic performance. Professional athletes swear by it – and so are professional piano players, mixed martial artists & media moguls. Yet, when you don't have a special sleep space or a job that permits frequent naps, are there *really* sufficient advantages to a burst of shut-eye to merit the kerfuffle? Does there exist a dependable method to nod off promptly? Plus, is it possible to truly ensure you will arise feeling improved, rather than worse?
Identifying The Drive to Snooze
“We can identify three main reasons for taking a nap among most adults,” notes a professor of sleep and circadian science researcher. “Firstly, there's known as make-up sleep, essentially what happens after experiencing a lack of sleep the night before. Secondly, there's preparatory napping, when you are anticipating sleep loss ahead, for instance when working graveyard shifts. The third reason is “pleasure-based sleep”, which essentially boils down to the wish: there is an opportunity to nap during the day, and it feels nice to indulge.”
The primary task to undertake, then, is to think about your reason for napping. “Napping can be truly beneficial when overnight rest is being disrupted due to causes beyond your control – for example, if you’re a parent of a newborn, or you’re recovering from sickness or heavy physical exertion,” says a sleep specialist. “But if you take a nap as your sleep at night is unstable or poor, that’s often a sign your body's sleep pressure is not as strong as it should be. Under those circumstances, naps can become a contributing factor, not the solution. Utilize daytime sleep as a temporary measure for temporary issues – the focus should still be a strong and predictable sleep at night.”
The Perfect Nap Duration
This means that daytime sleep ought not to be too extended to interfere with your overnight rest, and best should not occur after about 3pm (contingent on the time you go to bed overnight). What's a reasonable length? Recommendations vary. In one of the most referenced research regarding daytime sleep, researchers at Nasa found that crew members showed a boost of up to 54% in attentiveness and a 34% increase in performance post a 26-minute snooze (technically, this included a six-minute nodding-off period). “I’d suggest using an alarm for half an hour or less – most people doze off within 10 minutes,” says a sleep expert. “There is plenty of advice around regarding the perfect length for sleeping, yet that often make people feel more anxious than anything else – and the most counterproductive thing one can do while aiming to fall asleep is to stress over it.”
If you’re going to nap for a longer period, avoid the 45 to 60 minute range that promotes that sluggish feeling, that foggy state when you awaken. “Studies would say it’s better to have an extended nap of one to one and a half hours than a medium-length one,” notes the professor. “Forty-five minutes is enough time to put you into deep sleep and it is more probable to feel groggy when you get up – while if you take it a bit longer to 60 or 90 minutes, it's likely you'll to be on the end a natural sleep cycle and are likely to get up feeling more rejuvenated. But if you're dozing for 90 minutes, it will affect how you sleep later that night.”
Finding the Right Sleep Space
When it comes to specific techniques, suggestions are diverse. Some experts recommend using similar routines you’d use to foster a good night’s sleep: a quiet room, a supportive surface and minimal light as you can manage. Others suggest that you should just doze in a chair with ambient lighting happens to be around – to avoid post-nap grogginess and to preserve your bed as the environment your brain links with proper sleep. “Falling asleep is quite challenging to command,” notes a sleep coach. “Lacking the urge to sleep, it becomes harder to get comfortable and basically tell yourself to go to sleep. There must be some drive present to start the process to begin with. I can usually nap in full light and naturally wake up without a timer, though, what aids many individuals is to look for a moment when they are naturally somewhat sleepy and then simply allow sleep to come.”
It’s worth experimenting, and when options are scarce – such as, if you’re trying to fit in 40 winks while traveling or in a soundproof office pod – it is perfectly fine with bringing some accessories. “In my work with professional sportspeople, I suggest that they not rely on their own bed for naps, since they’re going to have|they will
