Tune into a few self-improvement experts, and it’s easy to convince yourself that napping is a secret weapon: not just a sticking plaster after poor sleep, but a shortcut towards improved recall, a brighter outlook and possibly a faster 5k run time. Professional soccer players swear by it – along with concert pianists, mixed martial artists and high-profile executives. But if you lack a room for napping or a career that encourages daytime sleep, is it *truly* sufficient advantages to a burst of shut-eye to justify the kerfuffle? Is there a reliable way to get to sleep quickly enough? And can you really guarantee you will get up feeling refreshed, not worse?
Identifying The Nap Motivation
“Experts note three key drivers for daytime sleep in the adult population,” says an expert circadian rhythm professor. “One is termed make-up sleep, which is what you do following a lack of sleep the night before. The second is preparatory napping, where you are preparing for sleep loss ahead, for instance when working overnight shifts. The third is called “pleasure-based sleep”, which basically is about the wish: you have a chance to sleep during the day, and it's enjoyable to indulge.”
The first thing to consider, so, is to examine your reason for napping. “Daytime sleep can be truly beneficial when overnight rest gets interrupted due to causes outside your control – for example, if you’re a parent of a newborn, or recovering from illness or heavy physical exertion,” says a sleep expert. “But if you take a nap because your nighttime sleep feels fragile or poor, that’s often a sign your body's sleep pressure is not as strong as it needs to be. In such situations, naps can become a contributing factor, rather than the answer. Use napping as a temporary measure for temporary issues – the main goal ought to remain a solid and consistent sleep at night.”
The Ideal Nap Duration
This means that daytime sleep must not be long enough to interfere with your nighttime sleep, and ideally are not recommended after about 3pm (depending on the time you go to bed in the evening). What duration is wise? Guidelines are mixed. Among a prominent study about napping, space agency scientists noted that crew members experienced improvements of over 50% in vigilance and a 34% boost in cognitive performance after a 26-minute nap (to be precise, this involved an initial six-minute falling asleep phase). “My advice is setting a timer for 20-30 minutes – the majority doze off within 10 minutes,” notes a sleep coach. “You'll find much recommendations concerning the perfect length for sleeping, yet that often cause people to feel more worried than anything – and the most counterproductive thing you can possibly do when trying to get to sleep is to stress over it.”
If you plan to take an extended nap, bypass the 45 to 60 minute range that promotes that sluggish feeling, that spaced-out feeling when you awaken. “Research would say it's more effective to opt for an extended nap of 60 to 90 minutes than a medium-length one,” explains the professor. “Forty-five minutes is sufficient to plunge you into a deep sleep stage making it more likely to feel groggy upon awakening – while if you take it a bit longer to a full sleep cycle, it's likely you'll to finish of a sleep cycle and will probably get up feeling more refreshed. But if you nap for a long period, it will affect how you sleep in the evening.”
Creating the Perfect Sleep Space
Regarding specific techniques, advice differs. A few professionals recommend employing comparable habits you use to promote a good night’s sleep: a quiet room, a cozy bed and as much darkness as is feasible. Others suggest that you should just doze in a chair in the existing light is available – to prevent that groggy feeling and to “protect” your sleeping quarters as the place you associate with nighttime rest. “Napping is something really tricky to command,” says a specialist. “If you don’t have any sleepiness, it is tougher to lie down and essentially instruct yourself to fall asleep. There’s got to be some sleep pressure available to start the process initially. I can usually snooze in broad daylight and wake up naturally without a timer, however, what assists most folks is to look for a time where they feel naturally feeling a bit drowsy and then simply allow sleep to come.”
Trying different approaches is valuable, and should your choices are limited – for instance, if attempting to squeeze in some shut-eye while traveling or at the office – there’s nothing wrong to use some accessories. “In my work with footballers, I suggest that they not rely on napping in bed, since they’re going to have|they will
