Listen to enough self-improvement experts, and it’s tempting to think that napping is a secret weapon: rather than a sticking plaster following a bad night’s sleep, but a shortcut towards enhanced cognition, better spirits and perhaps improved athletic performance. Professional athletes are all at it – and so are concert pianists, mixed martial artists & business leaders. But if you don't have a dedicated nap-room or a job that encourages regular snoozing, is it *truly* worthwhile perks to a short sleep to merit the effort? Is there a surefire technique to nod off promptly? Furthermore, can you truly ensure you will get up feeling refreshed, rather than worse?
Identifying The Reasons for Napping
“Experts note three primary motivations for taking a nap in the adult population,” notes a leading sleep science specialist. “The first is known as compensatory napping, essentially the action you take following poor sleep overnight. Secondly, there's preparatory napping, where you are pre-empting a sleep deficit coming up, for instance during on night shifts. The third is called “appetitive drive”, which basically comes down to the wish: you have an opportunity to nap during the day, and it's pleasant to nap.”
The first thing to do, so, is to think about why you want to nap. “Napping can be genuinely useful when overnight rest gets interrupted for reasons you cannot change – for example, for caring for an infant, or you’re recovering from sickness or heavy physical exertion,” states a sleep physiologist. “But if you’re napping as your night sleep seems unreliable or unreliable, that’s often a sign your body's sleep pressure is not where it needs to be. Under those circumstances, naps can become a contributing factor, not the solution. Utilize daytime sleep as a short-term solution to address immediate needs – the focus should still be a solid and consistent night’s sleep.”
The Optimal Snooze Time
This implies that naps shouldn’t be too extended to affect your sleep at night, and ideally shouldn’t take place in the late afternoon (contingent on when you go to bed in the evening). How long is sensible? Advice differs. From a prominent study on the subject, space agency scientists noted that astronauts had a boost of up to 54% in alertness and a 34% increase in performance after a 26-minute nap (to be precise, this counted an initial six-minute nodding-off period). “I’d suggest setting a timer for 20-30 minutes – many individuals fall asleep within 10 minutes,” notes a specialist. “There’s a lot of recommendations regarding the perfect length of time, yet that often make people feel more stressed than anything else – and the most counterproductive thing one can do when attempting to get to sleep is to be anxious.”
Should you decide to sleep for longer, steer clear of the 45 to 60 minute range that promotes that sluggish feeling, that spaced-out feeling when you wake. “Studies would say it's more effective to opt for a lengthier snooze of one to one and a half hours than a medium-length one,” notes the professor. “Forty-five minutes is sufficient to send you into deep sleep making it more likely to feel disoriented when you get up – while if you extend it a bit longer to 60 or 90 minutes, you will probably to be completing a full cycle and are likely to awaken feeling more refreshed. However, if you’re sleeping for 90 minutes, it can influence the quality of your sleep later that night.”
Establishing an Ideal Snooze Setting
Regarding exact methodologies, advice differs. A few professionals propose using the same protocol one would use to promote a good night’s sleep: a peaceful area, a cozy bed and minimal light as you can manage. Some advise that you should simply nap on the sofa in whatever light is available – both to discourage that groggy feeling and to “protect” your bed as the space you associate with proper sleep. “Napping is something really tricky to command,” explains a specialist. “If you don’t have any sleepiness, it becomes harder to get comfortable and practically tell yourself to nod off. There’s got to be some drive present to initiate sleep initially. For me, it's possible to nap in full light and awaken on my own without a timer, however, what assists most folks is to look for a time that they’re naturally slightly tired and then simply relax into it.”
Experimentation is key, and should options are scarce – for instance, if you’re trying to grab some shut-eye while traveling or in a soundproof office pod – it's acceptable with bringing a few tools. “When I’m working with professional sportspeople, I suggest that they don’t get used to napping in bed, as they’re going to have|they will
