Hear a few self-improvement experts, and it’s simple to think that dozing is a superpower: not just a band-aid following poor sleep, but a shortcut to improved recall, a brighter outlook and perhaps a faster 5k run time. Professional athletes are all at it – along with musicians, fighters & business leaders. But if you don't have a dedicated nap-room or a career that permits daytime sleep, can there *honestly* sufficient advantages to a short sleep for it to be worth the kerfuffle? Can you find a surefire technique to nod off promptly? Furthermore, can you really guarantee you’ll wake up feeling improved, rather than worse?
Understanding Your Nap Motivation
“We can identify three main reasons for napping for many people,” notes an expert sleep science professor. “One is what we call recovery napping, that is what happens after experiencing a lack of sleep the night before. Secondly, there's prophylactic napping, when you are preparing for a sleep deficit in the future, for example during on night shifts. The third reason is “appetitive drive”, which basically is about wanting: you get a chance to sleep in the daytime, and it's pleasant to nap.”
The first thing to do, then, is to think about your reason for napping. “Naps can be genuinely useful when night sleeping is being disrupted because of factors you cannot change – for instance, for a parent of a newborn, or recovering from illness or heavy physical exertion,” explains a sleep specialist. “But if you take a nap because your sleep at night is unstable or broken, that’s often a sign your body's sleep pressure is not where it should be. Under those circumstances, napping can become part of the problem, instead of the fix. Employ naps as a temporary measure for temporary issues – the main goal should still be a robust and regular overnight rest.”
The Ideal Nap Duration
This means that naps shouldn’t be sufficiently lengthy to interfere with your overnight rest, and ideally shouldn’t take place in the late afternoon (depending on the time you go to bed at night). How long is sensible? Guidelines are mixed. Among the most referenced research on the subject, space agency scientists discovered that space travelers showed improvements of over 50% in alertness and a 34% increase in task performance following a nap of 26 minutes (to be precise, this included an initial six-minute nodding-off period). “I recommend setting a timer for half an hour or less – many individuals are asleep in under ten minutes,” says a specialist. “You'll find much recommendations concerning the optimal amount of time, but that tends to cause people to feel more worried than anything – and the least helpful action one can do when trying to get to sleep is worry about it.”
Should you decide to take an extended nap, steer clear of the 45 to 60 minute range that promotes that sluggish feeling, that disoriented sensation when you awaken. “The science indicates it's more effective to take a lengthier snooze of one to one and a half hours rather than a mid-length nap,” says the professor. “Forty-five minutes is enough time to plunge you into slow-wave sleep and it is more probable to feel groggy when you get up – while if you take it a little longer to an hour or 90 minutes, you will probably to be completing of a sleep cycle and should get up feeling more rejuvenated. However, if you nap for an hour and a half, it can influence how you sleep later that night.”
Creating the Perfect Nap Environment
When it comes to exact methodologies, suggestions are diverse. Certain specialists suggest using similar routines you’d use to foster quality nighttime sleep: a peaceful area, a cozy bed and minimal light as possible. Others suggest that it's fine to merely snooze in a chair in the existing light is available – to prevent post-nap grogginess and to maintain your sleeping quarters as the place you associate with nighttime rest. “Falling asleep is something really tricky to command,” says a sleep coach. “Without any drowsiness, it becomes harder to get comfortable and practically command yourself to go to sleep. There’s got to be some drive available to start the process in the first place. For me, it's possible to nap during the day and wake up naturally without an alarm, but what helps most folks is to wait for a time when they are naturally somewhat sleepy and calmly ease into sleep.”
It’s worth experimenting, and should options are scarce – such as, if attempting to squeeze in 40 winks while traveling or at the office – it's acceptable to employ sleep aids. “When I’m working with footballers, I suggest that they avoid becoming accustomed to napping in bed, because they’re going to have|they will
