Listen to a few self-improvement gurus, making it easy to convince yourself that a nap is a secret weapon: rather than a sticking plaster following poor sleep, but a shortcut towards enhanced cognition, improved mood and possibly quicker running times. Elite soccer players do it regularly – as do concert pianists, mixed martial artists & media moguls. Yet, when you don't have a room for napping or employment that allows daytime sleep, are there *really* sufficient advantages to a short sleep to merit the kerfuffle? Does there exist a dependable method to nod off promptly? Plus, is it possible to really guarantee you will get up feeling improved, instead of groggy?
Identifying Your Drive to Snooze
“There are three main reasons for taking a nap for many people,” explains a professor of sleep science professor. “Firstly, there's known as make-up sleep, essentially what happens following insufficient sleep overnight. Secondly, there's preparatory napping, where you are anticipating insufficient sleep coming up, such as during graveyard shifts. The third is called “appetitive drive”, which basically boils down to desire: you get a moment to nap in the afternoon, and it feels nice to indulge.”
The primary task to undertake, so, is consider your nap motivation. “Daytime sleep can be really helpful when nighttime sleep is being disrupted due to causes beyond your control – for example, for a parent of a newborn, or you’re recovering from sickness or intense exercise,” explains a sleep expert. “But if you’re napping because your nighttime sleep is unstable or broken, that’s often an indicator your body's sleep pressure is not where required. In such situations, daytime sleep can turn into a contributing factor, not the solution. Use napping for brief periods for short-term problems – the focus must always be a solid and consistent sleep at night.”
The Optimal Nap Length
This means that naps must not be sufficiently lengthy to interfere with your overnight rest, and ideally are not recommended post-3 p.m. (contingent on the time you retire at night). What duration is wise? Recommendations vary. In one of the most referenced research on the subject, researchers at Nasa found that astronauts experienced improvements of over 50% in vigilance and a 34% boost in task performance following a nap of 26 minutes (in detail, this included a six-minute long sleep onset time). “I recommend using an alarm for 20 to 30 minutes – the majority doze off within 10 minutes,” explains a sleep coach. “You'll find much recommendations about the optimal amount of minutes, but that tends to lead individuals to become more anxious than anything – and the worst thing you can do when attempting to fall asleep is worry about it.”
Should you decide to nap for a longer period, steer clear of the 45-60 minute window that encourages sleep grogginess, that foggy state when you wake. “Research would say it's more effective to have a longer nap of one to one and a half hours than a medium-length one,” notes the professor. “Three-quarters of an hour is sufficient to send you into slow-wave sleep and it is more probable to feel sluggish when you get up – while if you extend it slightly longer to 60 or 90 minutes, it's likely you'll to finish a full cycle and are likely to awaken feeling more refreshed. But if you're dozing for 90 minutes, it will affect how you sleep that night.”
Finding the Perfect Nap Environment
Regarding specific techniques, advice differs. Some experts propose using comparable habits you use to foster restful sleep: a silent space, a comfortable bed and as much darkness as possible. Some advise that one could merely snooze on a couch with ambient lighting happens to be around – to avoid sleep inertia and to maintain your bed as the environment your brain links with proper sleep. “Sleep is notoriously difficult to will,” notes an expert. “Without any sleepiness, it is tougher to get comfortable and basically tell yourself to fall asleep. There’s got to be a natural inclination available to start the process to begin with. Personally, I can often snooze in full light and wake up naturally without a timer, though, what aids a lot of people is to anticipate a time that they’re naturally slightly tired and calmly ease into sleep.”
Trying different approaches is valuable, and should your choices are limited – such as, when aiming to grab a quick nap while traveling or at the office – it is perfectly fine to use sleep aids. “When I’m working with professional sportspeople, I recommend that they avoid becoming accustomed to sleeping in their bed, since they’re going to have|they will
