Hear a few performance gurus, and it’s easy to believe that napping is a secret weapon: not just a band-aid after a bad night’s sleep, but a route towards a better memory, a brighter outlook and perhaps a faster 5k run time. Elite soccer players do it regularly – and so are concert pianists, UFC champions and media moguls. But if you don't have a room for napping or employment that permits daytime sleep, is it *truly* sufficient advantages to a burst of shut-eye to justify the hassle? Does there exist a dependable method to get to sleep quickly enough? And can you truly ensure you will arise feeling better, rather than worse?
Understanding The Reasons for Napping
“Experts note three primary motivations for napping in the adult population,” explains a professor of circadian rhythm professor. “One is termed recovery napping, essentially what you do following insufficient sleep the night before. Secondly, there's preparatory napping, when you are preparing for a sleep deficit in the future, for instance during graveyard shifts. The third reason is “hedonic napping”, which essentially boils down to the wish: you get an opportunity to nap in the afternoon, and it feels nice to nap.”
The initial step to do, then, is consider your nap motivation. “Napping can be really helpful when night sleeping is being disrupted due to causes outside your control – for example, for caring for an infant, or if you are healing after being ill or heavy physical exertion,” states a sleep expert. “But if you take a nap because your sleep at night seems unreliable or unreliable, that is frequently a signal your body's sleep pressure is not as strong as required. Under those circumstances, naps can become part of the issue, not the solution. Use napping as a short-term solution for short-term problems – the main goal should still be a robust and regular night’s sleep.”
The Perfect Nap Length
This means that naps shouldn’t be long enough to affect your overnight rest, and ideally should not occur post-3 p.m. (depending on what time you sleep at night). How long is sensible? Guidelines are mixed. In one of a prominent study about napping, space agency scientists noted that space travelers had up to a 54% increase in vigilance plus a 34% rise in performance following a nap of 26 minutes (in detail, this included a six-minute nodding-off period). “My advice is setting a timer for 20 to 30 minutes – the majority fall asleep in under ten minutes,” says a specialist. “You'll find much advice around concerning the optimal amount for sleeping, but that tends to cause people to feel more worried above all – and the most counterproductive thing you can possibly do when attempting to nod off is to be anxious.”
If you plan to take an extended nap, avoid the period between 45 and 60 minutes that induces sleep inertia, that foggy state when you awaken. “Research suggests it's more effective to have an extended nap lasting 60-90 minutes than a medium-length one,” says the sleep scientist. “Three-quarters of an hour is sufficient to put you into slow-wave sleep making it more likely to feel disoriented when you get up – however, if you take it a little longer to a full sleep cycle, you’re likely to be completing a full cycle and will probably awaken feeling more rejuvenated. But if you nap for 90 minutes, it may impact the quality of your sleep that night.”
Creating the Perfect Sleep Space
As for specific techniques, suggestions are diverse. A few professionals suggest adopting comparable habits you use to promote quality nighttime sleep: a peaceful area, a supportive surface and minimal light as you can manage. Alternatively, experts propose that you should simply nap in a chair in the existing light is available – both to discourage sleep inertia and to preserve your bedroom as the space you associate with *real* sleep. “Napping is quite challenging to will,” notes an expert. “Lacking any drowsiness, it becomes harder to lie down and basically instruct yourself to go to sleep. You need some sleep pressure available to initiate sleep initially. For me, it's possible to nap during the day and wake up naturally alarm-free, but what helps many individuals is to look for a moment that they’re naturally slightly tired and then simply allow sleep to come.”
Trying different approaches is valuable, and if options are scarce – for instance, if attempting to squeeze in a quick nap during a commute or in a work pod – there’s nothing wrong to use some accessories. “Coaching elite athletes, I advise that they not rely on sleeping in their bed, because they’re going to have|they will
