Listen to a few productivity experts, and it’s tempting to convince yourself that napping is a secret weapon: rather than a sticking plaster following poor sleep, but a route towards a better memory, better spirits and maybe quicker running times. Premier League footballers do it regularly – and so are concert pianists, UFC champions & high-profile executives. Yet, when you don't have a dedicated nap-room or a career that allows regular snoozing, can there *honestly* sufficient advantages to a quick nap to justify the hassle? Is there a dependable method to get to sleep quickly enough? Plus, is it possible to really guarantee you’ll wake up feeling improved, not worse?
Identifying The Nap Motivation
“There are three key drivers for daytime sleep among most adults,” notes a professor of sleep science researcher. “Firstly, there's termed compensatory napping, which is what you do after experiencing poor sleep the previous night. The second is prophylactic napping, when you are preparing for sleep loss ahead, for example during graveyard shifts. Finally, there's “hedonic napping”, which simply comes down to the wish: you have a moment to nap in the afternoon, and it's enjoyable to nap.”
The first thing to consider, then, is to examine your reason for napping. “Daytime sleep can be genuinely useful when nighttime sleep is being disrupted due to causes outside your control – for example, for a new parent, or recovering from illness or heavy physical exertion,” explains a sleep physiologist. “But if you nap as your nighttime sleep feels fragile or unreliable, that is frequently a sign your need for sleep is not at the level it needs to be. Under those circumstances, daytime sleep can turn into a contributing factor, not the solution. Use napping as a temporary measure to address immediate needs – the main goal must always be a robust and regular overnight rest.”
The Optimal Snooze Time
This implies that daytime sleep must not be long enough to affect your overnight rest, and preferably should not occur after about 3pm (depending on when you go to bed at night). What's a reasonable length? Advice differs. In one of the most-cited studies on the subject, space agency scientists noted that astronauts experienced up to a 54% increase in attentiveness plus a 34% rise in cognitive performance following a nap of 26 minutes (to be precise, this counted a six-minute sleep onset time). “I’d suggest setting a timer for 20-30 minutes – the majority fall asleep in under ten minutes,” says a specialist. “There is plenty of advice around regarding the perfect length of minutes, however, that can make people feel more stressed than anything else – and the most counterproductive thing you can possibly do when trying to get to sleep is to stress over it.”
If you’re going to take an extended nap, avoid the period between 45 and 60 minutes that promotes sleep inertia, that disoriented sensation upon waking. “The science suggests it's more effective to take a longer nap lasting 60-90 minutes compared to a medium-length nap,” says the sleep scientist. “Forty-five minutes is long enough to plunge you into a deep sleep stage making it more likely to feel groggy when you get up – while if you extend it slightly longer to an hour or 90 minutes, it's likely you'll to be on the end a natural sleep cycle and will probably get up feeling more rejuvenated. But if you nap for a long period, it may impact how you sleep that night.”
Creating the Perfect Snooze Setting
As for precise methods, suggestions are diverse. Some experts propose employing the same protocol one would use to encourage restful sleep: a quiet room, a cozy bed and maximum darkness as possible. Alternatively, experts propose that it's fine to simply nap on a couch in the existing light is present – both to discourage sleep inertia and to maintain your bed as the environment your mind associates with proper sleep. “Falling asleep is notoriously difficult to force,” notes an expert. “Lacking any sleepiness, it becomes harder to get comfortable and essentially command yourself to nod off. There’s got to be some sleep pressure there to initiate sleep initially. For me, it's possible to take a nap during the day and awaken on my own alarm-free, however, what assists a lot of people is to anticipate a time when they are naturally somewhat sleepy and calmly allow sleep to come.”
Experimentation is key, and if you have few options – for example, when aiming to grab 40 winks on a train or in a work pod – it is perfectly fine to employ a few tools. “When I’m working with professional sportspeople, I advise that they not rely on napping in bed, because they’re going to have|they will
