Hear enough productivity podcasters, and you'll be easy to convince yourself that napping is a powerful tool: more than a band-aid after poor sleep, but a route to a better memory, better spirits and maybe a faster 5k run time. Elite soccer players are all at it – along with musicians, UFC champions & media moguls. But if you don't have a room for napping or a job that encourages frequent naps, are there *really* worthwhile perks to a short sleep for it to be worth the hassle? Is there a surefire technique to nod off promptly? Furthermore, can you honestly promise you will arise feeling better, rather than worse?
Exploring Your Reasons for Napping
“Experts note three main reasons for taking a nap for many people,” notes a leading sleep science professor. “One is known as make-up sleep, essentially what happens when you’ve had poor sleep the night before. Secondly, there's pre-emptive sleep, where you are preparing for a sleep deficit ahead, such as if you’re working overnight shifts. The third is called “appetitive drive”, which simply boils down to the wish: you get a moment to doze during the day, and it feels nice to nap.”
The primary task to consider, so, is to think about your nap motivation. “Napping can be truly beneficial when nighttime sleep is disturbed for reasons you cannot change – for example, if you’re a new parent, or recovering from illness or heavy physical exertion,” explains a sleep expert. “Yet when you’re napping because your night sleep is unstable or broken, that is frequently an indicator your need for sleep is not at the level it needs to be. In those cases, naps can become part of the problem, instead of the fix. Employ naps for brief periods for temporary issues – the priority ought to remain a robust and regular sleep at night.”
The Optimal Nap Length
Therefore that naps shouldn’t be long enough to interfere with your overnight rest, and ideally should not occur post-3 p.m. (contingent on the time you sleep overnight). How long is sensible? Recommendations vary. Among the most-cited studies on the subject, researchers at Nasa discovered that astronauts showed a boost of up to 54% in alertness plus a 34% rise in performance after a 26-minute nap (to be precise, this included an initial six-minute nodding-off period). “I’d suggest setting an alarm for half an hour or less – most people doze off in under ten minutes,” notes a sleep coach. “There’s a lot of recommendations concerning the ideal number of minutes, however, that can cause people to feel more stressed than anything else – and the worst thing one can do when trying to nod off is to stress over it.”
If you’re going to sleep for longer, avoid the period between 45 and 60 minutes that encourages sleep inertia, that foggy state when you awaken. “The science indicates it's more effective to opt for a lengthier snooze lasting 60-90 minutes than a medium-length one,” explains the expert. “Forty-five minutes is enough time to put you into a deep sleep stage and you’re more likely to feel groggy when you wake up – however, if you nap for a little longer to 60 or 90 minutes, you’re likely to be completing a full cycle and should get up feeling more rejuvenated. But if you’re sleeping for a long period, it may impact how you sleep later that night.”
Finding the Right Sleep Space
As for exact methodologies, advice differs. Some experts propose using the same protocol one would use to foster restful sleep: a silent space, a cozy bed and as much darkness as possible. Others suggest that it's fine to simply nap in a chair in whatever light happens to be around – both to discourage post-nap grogginess and to “protect” your sleeping quarters as the environment your brain links with proper sleep. “Sleep is something really tricky to will,” says a specialist. “If you don’t have any sleepiness, it is tougher to lie down and practically instruct yourself to go to sleep. There must be some sleep pressure available to initiate sleep initially. Personally, I can often snooze in full light and wake up naturally without an alarm, but what helps many individuals is to anticipate a time where they feel naturally slightly tired and then simply relax into it.”
Trying different approaches is valuable, and if options are scarce – such as, if you’re trying to grab a quick nap while traveling or at the office – there’s nothing wrong to use a few tools. “In my work with footballers, I suggest that they don’t get used to sleeping in their bed, since they’re going to have|they will
