Listen to enough productivity gurus, making it simple to believe that napping is a secret weapon: not just a band-aid after poor sleep, but a shortcut to a better memory, a brighter outlook and perhaps quicker running times. Premier League soccer players are all at it – and so are musicians, mixed martial artists and business leaders. Yet, when you lack a dedicated nap-room or a career that encourages daytime sleep, can there *honestly* enough benefits to a short sleep to merit the hassle? Is there a surefire technique to get to sleep quickly enough? Furthermore, can you truly ensure you will get up feeling improved, rather than worse?
Understanding The Nap Motivation
“We can identify three key drivers for taking a nap for many people,” notes a leading sleep science specialist. “One is known as make-up sleep, which is what you do following a lack of sleep overnight. The second is preparatory napping, when you are pre-empting insufficient sleep ahead, for instance when working graveyard shifts. The third reason is “hedonic napping”, which essentially comes down to wanting: you have a moment to nap in the daytime, and it's enjoyable to nap.”
The first thing to do, then, is consider your nap motivation. “Naps can be genuinely useful when night sleeping is being disrupted due to causes you cannot change – for instance, when you are a new parent, or recovering from sickness or heavy physical exertion,” states a sleep specialist. “But if you take a nap because your nighttime sleep seems unreliable or unreliable, that’s often a signal your sleep drive is not at the level required. In those cases, napping can become part of the problem, not the solution. Employ naps for brief periods to address immediate needs – the main goal should still be a strong and predictable night’s sleep.”
The Perfect Nap Length
This means that naps shouldn’t be long enough to affect your nighttime sleep, and ideally shouldn’t take place post-3 p.m. (contingent on what time you retire at night). What duration is wise? Advice differs. Among the most-cited studies regarding daytime sleep, space agency scientists discovered that space travelers showed up to a 54% increase in attentiveness and a 34% boost in performance post a 26-minute snooze (in detail, this counted a 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,” explains a sleep coach. “There is plenty of guidance out there concerning the optimal amount for sleeping, however, that can lead individuals to become more worried than anything else – and the least helpful action you can do while aiming to fall asleep is to stress over it.”
Should you decide to take an extended nap, avoid the 45-60 minute window that induces that sluggish feeling, that disoriented sensation upon waking. “Research indicates it’s better to opt for an extended nap of one to one and a half hours compared to a medium-length nap,” says the expert. “Three-quarters of an hour is sufficient to plunge you into deep sleep making it more likely to feel sluggish upon awakening – however, if you nap for a bit longer to a full sleep cycle, it's likely you'll to finish a full cycle and should wake up feeling more alert. But if you nap for a long period, it may impact how you sleep later that night.”
Establishing an Ideal Nap Environment
When it comes to specific techniques, recommendations vary. Some experts suggest using comparable habits you’d use to foster a good night’s sleep: a silent space, a comfortable bed and maximum darkness as you can manage. Others suggest that it's fine to simply nap on a couch with ambient lighting is available – both to discourage that groggy feeling and to preserve your bed as the environment your mind associates with proper sleep. “Sleep is notoriously difficult to command,” says a specialist. “If you don’t have any sleepiness, it becomes harder to recline and essentially tell yourself to nod off. There’s got to be some sleep pressure there to initiate sleep initially. I can usually nap during the day and awaken on my own without a timer, but what helps a lot of people is to anticipate a moment where they feel naturally feeling a bit drowsy and calmly ease into sleep.”
Trying different approaches is valuable, and if your choices are limited – for example, when aiming to squeeze in a quick nap during a commute or in a soundproof office pod – there’s nothing wrong to use sleep aids. “When I’m working with footballers, I recommend that they not rely on their own bed for naps, since they’re going to have|they will
