Hear plenty of performance gurus, making it simple to think that a nap is a powerful tool: not just a band-aid after a bad night’s sleep, but a path towards improved recall, improved mood and maybe quicker running times. Professional soccer players are all at it – along with professional piano players, mixed martial artists and media moguls. But if you lack a dedicated nap-room or a career that permits regular snoozing, are there *really* worthwhile perks to a burst of shut-eye to merit the kerfuffle? Can you find a dependable method to fall asleep fast? Plus, is it possible to truly ensure you’ll wake up feeling better, not worse?
Identifying Your Drive to Snooze
“Experts note three main reasons for napping in the adult population,” notes an expert sleep and circadian science professor. “The first is known as recovery napping, essentially the action you take when you’ve had a lack of sleep the night before. Another is preparatory napping, which involves anticipating sleep loss in the future, for instance when working on night shifts. Finally, there's “pleasure-based sleep”, which essentially is about desire: you get a moment to nap in the afternoon, and it's pleasant to nap.”
The first thing to consider, then, is consider why you want to nap. “Daytime sleep can be truly beneficial when overnight rest is disturbed because of factors outside your control – such as, when you are a new parent, or if you are healing from illness or heavy physical exertion,” states a sleep specialist. “But if you take a nap since your night sleep is unstable or unreliable, that can be a signal your sleep drive is not at the level required. Under those circumstances, daytime sleep can turn into part of the issue, rather than the answer. Employ naps as a temporary measure for temporary issues – the focus should still be a solid and consistent sleep at night.”
The Ideal Nap Length
This implies that naps must not be long enough to disrupt your overnight rest, and best should not occur in the late afternoon (contingent on when you go to bed in the evening). How long is sensible? Advice differs. From the most referenced research about napping, researchers at Nasa noted that astronauts experienced up to a 54% increase in vigilance plus a 34% rise in performance after a 26-minute nap (technically, this included an initial six-minute falling asleep phase). “I recommend setting an alarm for 20-30 minutes – most people fall asleep in under ten minutes,” notes a sleep expert. “There’s a lot of advice around concerning the optimal amount of minutes, but that tends to cause people to feel more anxious above all – and the most counterproductive thing you can possibly do when attempting to nod off is worry about it.”
Should you decide to sleep for longer, avoid the 45-60 minute window that induces that sluggish feeling, that disoriented sensation upon waking. “The science would say it is preferable to take an extended nap lasting 60-90 minutes compared to a medium-length nap,” notes the expert. “Forty-five minutes is enough time to send you into slow-wave sleep and you’re more likely to feel sluggish when you wake up – however, if you take it a little longer to an hour or 90 minutes, it's likely you'll to be on the end a full cycle and will probably wake up feeling more alert. However, if you're dozing for an hour and a half, it will affect how you sleep later that night.”
Finding an Ideal Snooze Setting
When it comes to precise methods, advice differs. Certain specialists recommend adopting the same protocol one would use to foster a good night’s sleep: a silent space, a supportive surface and minimal light as possible. Some advise that you should merely snooze in a chair in whatever light is available – to prevent that groggy feeling and to “protect” your bedroom as the environment you associate with nighttime rest. “Sleep is notoriously difficult to command,” explains an expert. “Without any drowsiness, it becomes harder to lie down and basically command yourself to nod off. There must be some sleep pressure there to start the process initially. I can usually nap during the day and naturally wake up alarm-free, but what helps a lot of people is to anticipate an instance where they feel naturally slightly tired and just gently ease into sleep.”
Experimentation is key, and should you have few options – such as, if you’re trying to fit in 40 winks during a commute or at the office – it's acceptable to employ sleep aids. “Coaching professional sportspeople, I advise that they not rely on napping in bed, since they’re going to have|they will
