Hear a few productivity gurus, making it simple to think that napping is a powerful tool: rather than a band-aid following a bad night’s sleep, but a path towards enhanced cognition, improved mood and possibly a faster 5k run time. Professional athletes swear by it – as do professional piano players, UFC champions and media moguls. Yet, when you lack a special sleep space or a job that encourages frequent naps, can there *honestly* worthwhile perks to a burst of shut-eye for it to be worth the effort? Can you find a surefire technique to nod off promptly? Furthermore, can you honestly promise you will arise feeling better, instead of groggy?
Identifying Your Nap Motivation
“We can identify three primary motivations for daytime sleep among most adults,” notes a professor of sleep science professor. “The first is termed make-up sleep, that is what you do after experiencing a lack of sleep the night before. Another is pre-emptive sleep, when you are preparing for a sleep deficit coming up, for example during overnight shifts. The third reason is “appetitive drive”, which simply comes down to desire: you get a moment to doze in the daytime, and it's pleasant to nap.”
The first thing to undertake, so, is consider your nap motivation. “Napping can be genuinely useful when nighttime sleep is disturbed for reasons outside your control – for instance, if you’re a new parent, or you’re recovering from sickness or heavy physical exertion,” states a sleep expert. “Yet when you take a nap as your sleep at night is unstable or poor, that can be a signal your need for sleep is not as strong as it needs to be. Under those circumstances, daytime sleep can turn into part of the problem, rather than the answer. Employ naps as a temporary measure to address immediate needs – the main goal should still be a strong and predictable overnight rest.”
The Perfect Nap Length
This means that daytime sleep shouldn’t be sufficiently lengthy to affect your sleep at night, and preferably shouldn’t take place in the late afternoon (contingent on the time you go to bed overnight). What duration is wise? Advice differs. In one of the most referenced research regarding daytime sleep, experts noted that crew members experienced up to a 54% increase in vigilance and a 34% increase in performance post a 26-minute snooze (in detail, this involved a six-minute nodding-off period). “My advice is setting an alarm for 20-30 minutes – the majority doze off in under ten minutes,” notes a sleep coach. “You'll find much guidance out there about the optimal amount for sleeping, yet that often make people feel more worried than anything – and the worst thing one can do when attempting to get to sleep is to be anxious.”
If you’re going to sleep for longer, avoid the period between 45 and 60 minutes that encourages sleep grogginess, that foggy state when you awaken. “The science would say it's more effective to have a longer nap lasting 60-90 minutes rather than a mid-length nap,” explains the expert. “45 minutes is long enough to plunge you into slow-wave sleep and it is more probable to feel sluggish when you wake up – while if you extend it a bit longer to 60 or 90 minutes, you’re likely to be completing a full cycle and are likely to get up feeling more refreshed. But if you're dozing for an hour and a half, it will affect how you sleep that night.”
Finding the Perfect Nap Environment
Regarding exact methodologies, recommendations vary. A few professionals suggest adopting the same protocol one would use to foster restful sleep: a silent space, a cozy bed and as much darkness as is feasible. Some advise that you should just doze on a couch in whatever light is available – to avoid that groggy feeling and to maintain your sleeping quarters as the environment you associate with proper sleep. “Napping is quite challenging to will,” notes a specialist. “Without the urge to sleep, it becomes harder to recline and practically instruct yourself to nod off. There’s got to be some drive available to initiate sleep in the first place. I can usually take a nap in full light and awaken on my own without an alarm, however, what assists many individuals is to look for a time where they feel naturally feeling a bit drowsy and then simply ease into sleep.”
It’s worth experimenting, and when your choices are limited – for example, if attempting to fit in a quick nap during a commute or in a soundproof office pod – there’s nothing wrong with bringing some accessories. “Coaching footballers, I suggest that they not rely on sleeping in their bed, since they’re going to have|they will
