Hear plenty of self-improvement experts, making it simple to believe that a nap is a powerful tool: rather than a band-aid after restless night, but a route towards enhanced cognition, improved mood and possibly improved athletic performance. Professional footballers swear by it – along with concert pianists, fighters & media moguls. Yet, when you haven’t got a room for napping or a career that encourages regular snoozing, can there *honestly* enough benefits to a burst of shut-eye to justify the kerfuffle? Can you find a reliable way to nod off promptly? Plus, is it possible to really guarantee you’ll wake up feeling better, instead of groggy?
Understanding The Reasons for Napping
“We can identify three main reasons for napping among most adults,” notes an expert circadian rhythm professor. “One is what we call recovery napping, that is the action you take following a lack of sleep the night before. Secondly, there's preparatory napping, where you are pre-empting sleep loss ahead, for example if you’re working overnight shifts. Finally, there's “pleasure-based sleep”, which basically is about wanting: there is a moment to nap in the daytime, and it's pleasant to nap.”
The initial step to consider, then, is to think about your reason for napping. “Napping can be genuinely useful when overnight rest is disturbed due to causes beyond your control – such as, if you’re caring for an infant, or recovering from sickness or strenuous activity,” explains a sleep expert. “Yet when you take a nap because your nighttime sleep seems unreliable or unreliable, that is frequently a signal your sleep drive is not at the level it needs to be. In those cases, naps can become a contributing factor, instead of the fix. Utilize daytime sleep for brief periods for short-term problems – the main goal should still be a strong and predictable night’s sleep.”
The Ideal Snooze Time
This implies that daytime sleep must not be long enough to interfere with your nighttime sleep, and best should not occur after about 3pm (contingent on when you retire overnight). What duration is wise? Advice differs. From the most-cited studies about napping, researchers at Nasa discovered that astronauts experienced up to a 54% increase in vigilance and a 34% increase in task performance following a nap of 26 minutes (technically, this counted a six-minute falling asleep phase). “I recommend setting an alarm for 20 to 30 minutes – many individuals fall asleep in under ten minutes,” says a sleep coach. “You'll find much advice around about the optimal amount for sleeping, but that tends to make people feel more stressed above all – and the most counterproductive thing one can do while aiming to get to sleep is to be anxious.”
Should you decide to sleep for longer, bypass the period between 45 and 60 minutes that encourages that sluggish feeling, that foggy state when you wake. “The science indicates it is preferable to take a lengthier snooze lasting 60-90 minutes than a medium-length one,” notes the sleep scientist. “45 minutes is enough time to plunge you into deep sleep and it is more probable to feel sluggish when you get up – while if you take it a bit longer to 60 or 90 minutes, you will probably to finish a natural sleep cycle and will probably awaken feeling more refreshed. But if you nap for a long period, it can influence how you sleep later that night.”
Finding the Right Sleep Space
When it comes to exact methodologies, advice differs. Certain specialists recommend using similar routines you’d use to promote a good night’s sleep: a silent space, a supportive surface and maximum darkness as is feasible. Some advise that one could merely snooze in a chair in whatever light is present – both to discourage that groggy feeling and to preserve your bedroom as the place your mind associates with nighttime rest. “Falling asleep is notoriously difficult to force,” notes a specialist. “Lacking the urge to sleep, it is more challenging to get comfortable and essentially command yourself to go to sleep. There must be a natural inclination available to start the process to begin with. Personally, I can often take a nap in full light and awaken on my own without an alarm, though, what aids many individuals is to look for a moment when they are naturally slightly tired and calmly ease into sleep.”
Trying different approaches is valuable, and when you have few options – for example, if attempting to fit in 40 winks on a train or in a work pod – it is perfectly fine with bringing sleep aids. “When I’m working with footballers, I recommend that they don’t get used to sleeping in their bed, as they’re going to have|they will
