Hear a few productivity experts, and it’s tempting to think that napping is a superpower: rather than a quick fix after poor sleep, but a shortcut to a better memory, better spirits and perhaps quicker running times. Elite footballers swear by it – along with professional piano players, fighters & media moguls. However, if you haven’t got a special sleep space or a job that encourages frequent naps, can there *honestly* enough benefits to a burst of shut-eye to justify the kerfuffle? Does there exist a dependable method to get to sleep quickly enough? Plus, is it possible to truly ensure you’ll wake up feeling improved, rather than worse?
Exploring The Drive to Snooze
“Experts note three key drivers for napping in the adult population,” says an expert circadian rhythm specialist. “One is termed compensatory napping, which is what happens following poor sleep the night before. Secondly, there's preparatory napping, where you are pre-empting sleep loss in the future, for instance if you’re working on night shifts. The third is called “appetitive drive”, which simply is about desire: you have an opportunity to doze in the daytime, and it's enjoyable to nap.”
The primary task to undertake, so, is consider your nap motivation. “Napping can be really helpful when overnight rest is disturbed due to causes you cannot change – for example, if you’re a parent of a newborn, or you’re recovering after being ill or strenuous activity,” explains a sleep specialist. “But if you nap because your nighttime sleep is unstable or broken, that’s often an indicator your need for sleep is not where it needs to be. In those cases, napping can become part of the issue, rather than the answer. Employ naps for brief periods for temporary issues – the main goal ought to remain a solid and consistent overnight rest.”
The Optimal Snooze Time
Therefore that napping must not be too extended to interfere with your nighttime sleep, and preferably shouldn’t take place after about 3pm (based on when you go to bed at night). How long is sensible? Recommendations vary. From the most referenced research on the subject, space agency scientists found that crew members showed a boost of up to 54% in attentiveness and a 34% increase in task performance following a nap of 26 minutes (to be precise, this involved an initial six-minute nodding-off period). “My advice is setting an alarm for 20-30 minutes – most people are asleep within 10 minutes,” explains a specialist. “You'll find much guidance out there concerning the perfect length for sleeping, yet that often make people feel more anxious than anything else – and the most counterproductive thing one can do when trying to get to sleep is to stress over it.”
If you’re going to take an extended nap, bypass the 45-60 minute window that induces that sluggish feeling, that foggy state upon waking. “Research indicates it’s better to opt for a lengthier snooze lasting 60-90 minutes rather than a mid-length nap,” notes the professor. “45 minutes is long enough to plunge you into slow-wave sleep and it is more probable to feel sluggish when you wake up – whereas if you nap for a bit longer to a full sleep cycle, you’re likely to be completing a full cycle and are likely to wake up feeling more rejuvenated. However, if you're dozing for 90 minutes, it can influence the quality of your sleep that night.”
Establishing the Perfect Sleep Space
As for precise methods, suggestions are diverse. Certain specialists suggest using the same protocol one would use to encourage restful sleep: a peaceful area, a cozy bed and as much darkness as you can manage. Alternatively, experts propose that one could just doze on the sofa in the existing light is present – both to discourage sleep inertia and to maintain your bedroom as the place you associate with *real* sleep. “Napping is something really tricky to force,” explains an expert. “Without any sleepiness, it becomes harder to get comfortable and basically command yourself to go to sleep. You need some drive available to start the process to begin with. For me, it's possible to nap during the day and awaken on my own alarm-free, however, what assists a lot of people is to wait for a moment that they’re naturally somewhat sleepy and calmly ease into sleep.”
It’s worth experimenting, and when options are scarce – such as, if you’re trying to grab 40 winks on a train or in a soundproof office pod – there’s nothing wrong to use sleep aids. “Coaching professional sportspeople, I advise that they avoid becoming accustomed to sleeping in their bed, since they’re going to have|they will
