Tune into a few productivity experts, and you'll be easy to think that napping is a powerful tool: not just a sticking plaster following a bad night’s sleep, but a route towards enhanced cognition, improved mood and perhaps improved athletic performance. Elite soccer players do it regularly – along with concert pianists, fighters & high-profile executives. However, if you lack a room for napping or employment that permits regular snoozing, can there *honestly* enough benefits to a short sleep for it to be worth the effort? Does there exist a dependable method to fall asleep fast? Furthermore, can you truly ensure you will arise feeling refreshed, rather than worse?
Exploring Your Reasons for Napping
“We can identify three key drivers for napping in the adult population,” says a professor of sleep and circadian science researcher. “Firstly, there's known as make-up sleep, that is what happens following insufficient sleep the previous night. Secondly, there's pre-emptive sleep, which involves pre-empting insufficient sleep ahead, such as when working overnight shifts. The third is called “hedonic napping”, which simply comes down to the wish: you get a moment to doze in the afternoon, and it feels nice to do it.”
The primary task to consider, so, is to examine your reason for napping. “Naps can be genuinely useful when overnight rest is being disrupted for reasons beyond your control – for instance, when you are a parent of a newborn, or if you are healing after being ill or intense exercise,” states a sleep physiologist. “But if you nap since your night sleep feels fragile or broken, that is frequently a sign your need for sleep is not where it should be. Under those circumstances, napping can become part of the problem, rather than the answer. Utilize daytime sleep as a temporary measure for short-term problems – the focus ought to remain a strong and predictable night’s sleep.”
The Perfect Snooze Time
This means that daytime sleep shouldn’t be too extended to affect your overnight rest, and ideally should not occur after about 3pm (depending on the time you go to bed at night). What duration is wise? Advice differs. Among a prominent study on the subject, space agency scientists discovered that astronauts had up to a 54% increase in attentiveness and a 34% increase in cognitive performance after a 26-minute nap (in detail, this counted an initial six-minute nodding-off period). “I recommend setting an alarm for 20-30 minutes – many individuals doze off in under ten minutes,” explains a sleep expert. “There is plenty of advice around about the ideal number of time, but that tends to lead individuals to become more anxious than anything – and the most counterproductive thing you can do when trying to get to sleep is to stress over it.”
Should you decide to sleep for longer, steer clear of the 45-60 minute window that promotes sleep grogginess, that foggy state upon waking. “The science suggests it’s better to take a lengthier snooze of one to one and a half hours than a medium-length one,” says the professor. “45 minutes is sufficient to put you into deep sleep making it more likely to feel disoriented upon awakening – while if you take it slightly longer to an hour or 90 minutes, you will probably to be on the end a natural sleep cycle and will probably wake up feeling more refreshed. But if you nap for 90 minutes, it may impact how you sleep in the evening.”
Establishing the Perfect Sleep Space
Regarding specific techniques, advice differs. Some experts propose employing the same protocol you’d use to foster a good night’s sleep: a peaceful area, a supportive surface and maximum darkness as you can manage. Others suggest that it's fine to merely snooze on a couch in the existing light is available – to prevent that groggy feeling and to preserve your sleeping quarters as the place your mind associates with proper sleep. “Falling asleep is notoriously difficult to will,” explains a sleep coach. “Without any sleepiness, it becomes harder to get comfortable and practically instruct yourself to go to sleep. There must be some drive there to start the process initially. Personally, I can often snooze in broad daylight and naturally wake up without an alarm, however, what assists most folks is to look for a time that they’re naturally somewhat sleepy and then simply allow sleep to come.”
Trying different approaches is valuable, and if you have few options – for instance, if you’re trying to fit in some shut-eye while traveling or at the office – it is perfectly fine to use some accessories. “In my work with footballers, I advise that they avoid becoming accustomed to sleeping in their bed, because they’re going to have|they will
