Listen to a few productivity experts, making it simple to think that napping is a superpower: rather than a band-aid following poor sleep, but a path to enhanced cognition, a brighter outlook and possibly quicker running times. Professional athletes do it regularly – along with professional piano players, fighters & high-profile executives. Yet, when you don't have a dedicated nap-room or a career that permits frequent naps, can there *honestly* sufficient advantages to a short sleep to justify the effort? Does there exist a dependable method to fall asleep fast? And can you really guarantee you will get up feeling better, rather than worse?
Identifying Your Reasons for Napping
“We can identify three key drivers for daytime sleep for many people,” notes a leading sleep science specialist. “One is what we call recovery napping, that is what you do following a lack of sleep the night before. Secondly, there's pre-emptive sleep, where you are preparing for insufficient sleep in the future, for example when working overnight shifts. Finally, there's “pleasure-based sleep”, which essentially is about wanting: you have a moment to doze in the afternoon, and it's enjoyable to indulge.”
The primary task to consider, then, is to examine why you want to nap. “Napping can be genuinely useful when overnight rest is disturbed due to causes beyond your control – for instance, if you’re a new parent, or recovering from sickness or intense exercise,” says a sleep expert. “Yet when you nap because your night sleep feels fragile or broken, that is frequently a signal your sleep drive is not where it needs to be. In such situations, napping can become part of the issue, rather than the answer. Use napping as a temporary measure to address immediate needs – the priority ought to remain a strong and predictable sleep at night.”
The Perfect Nap Duration
This implies that naps ought not to be too extended to disrupt your sleep at night, and ideally should not occur after about 3pm (based on what time you retire at night). How long is sensible? Guidelines are mixed. In one of a prominent study about napping, space agency scientists discovered that crew members showed up to a 54% increase in attentiveness and a 34% increase in cognitive performance following a nap of 26 minutes (in detail, this included a six-minute long falling asleep phase). “My advice is using an alarm for half an hour or less – most people are asleep quickly,” says a sleep coach. “There is plenty of guidance out there concerning the optimal amount for sleeping, yet that often lead individuals to become more anxious above all – and the most counterproductive thing you can do when attempting to fall asleep is to stress over it.”
Should you decide to take an extended nap, steer clear of the 45-60 minute window that promotes that sluggish feeling, that foggy state upon waking. “Research suggests it's more effective to have an extended nap of one to one and a half hours rather than a mid-length nap,” notes the sleep scientist. “45 minutes is sufficient to plunge you into a deep sleep stage making it more likely to feel groggy upon awakening – whereas if you nap for slightly longer to a full sleep cycle, you’re likely to be on the end a natural sleep cycle and should get up feeling more refreshed. But if you nap for 90 minutes, it may impact how you sleep that night.”
Creating an Ideal Sleep Space
When it comes to specific techniques, recommendations vary. Certain specialists recommend using the same protocol one would use to encourage quality nighttime sleep: a silent space, a supportive surface and maximum darkness as you can manage. Others suggest that it's fine to simply nap in a chair in whatever light is present – both to discourage that groggy feeling and to maintain your bed as the place your mind associates with nighttime rest. “Napping is something really tricky to command,” explains a sleep coach. “If you don’t have any sleepiness, it is tougher to get comfortable and essentially instruct yourself to go to sleep. There must be a natural inclination present to initiate sleep initially. I can usually nap in broad daylight and naturally wake up without an alarm, but what helps many individuals is to anticipate a moment that they’re naturally feeling a bit drowsy and calmly ease into sleep.”
It’s worth experimenting, and should your choices are limited – for instance, when aiming to grab some shut-eye during a commute or at the office – it's acceptable to use a few tools. “Coaching footballers, I advise that they not rely on napping in bed, as they’re going to have|they will
