Listen to enough productivity podcasters, making it easy to think that dozing is a powerful tool: rather than a quick fix after a bad night’s sleep, but a route towards enhanced cognition, a brighter outlook and possibly a faster 5k run time. Professional athletes do it regularly – and so are musicians, UFC champions & media moguls. Yet, when you don't have a room for napping or a job that encourages daytime sleep, is it *truly* worthwhile perks to a quick nap to justify the kerfuffle? Is there a dependable method to fall asleep fast? And can you honestly promise you will get up feeling better, rather than worse?
Exploring The Nap Motivation
“There are three primary motivations for daytime sleep among most adults,” explains a professor of sleep science specialist. “The first is termed compensatory napping, that is what you do after experiencing insufficient sleep overnight. Secondly, there's preparatory napping, where you are preparing for a sleep deficit coming up, for example during graveyard shifts. The third is called “hedonic napping”, which simply comes down to desire: there is a chance to nap in the daytime, and it's enjoyable to nap.”
The initial step to do, therefore, is consider your reason for napping. “Daytime sleep can be genuinely useful when night sleeping gets interrupted for reasons beyond your control – for instance, when you are caring for an infant, or if you are healing after being ill or intense exercise,” states a sleep specialist. “However, if you nap since your nighttime sleep seems unreliable or broken, that’s often an indicator your need for sleep is not as strong as it should be. In those cases, daytime sleep can turn into part of the issue, not the solution. Employ naps as a short-term solution for short-term problems – the main goal should still be a solid and consistent sleep at night.”
The Ideal Nap Duration
This means that daytime sleep ought not to be sufficiently lengthy to affect your overnight rest, and preferably are not recommended after about 3pm (based on when you retire in the evening). How long is sensible? Advice differs. In one of a prominent study on the subject, experts noted that space travelers experienced improvements of over 50% in vigilance plus a 34% rise in task performance following a nap of 26 minutes (to be precise, this counted a six-minute nodding-off period). “I’d suggest setting a timer for 20 to 30 minutes – many individuals doze off quickly,” says a specialist. “There’s a lot of recommendations about the perfect length of time, however, that can cause people to feel more stressed than anything – and the worst thing you can do when attempting to nod off is worry about it.”
If you plan to take an extended nap, avoid the 45-60 minute window that encourages sleep inertia, that spaced-out feeling when you awaken. “Studies indicates it’s better to have a lengthier snooze of 60 to 90 minutes than a medium-length one,” notes the sleep scientist. “45 minutes is sufficient to put you into slow-wave sleep and it is more probable to feel sluggish upon awakening – whereas if you extend it slightly longer to an hour or 90 minutes, you’re likely to be on the end a full cycle and should wake up feeling more alert. Though if you nap for an hour and a half, it may impact how you sleep later that night.”
Creating the Perfect Snooze Setting
As for precise methods, advice differs. A few professionals recommend adopting the same protocol one would use to promote a good night’s sleep: a peaceful area, a comfortable bed and as much darkness as is feasible. Some advise that you should simply nap in a chair with ambient lighting is present – to avoid post-nap grogginess and to preserve your sleeping quarters as the place you associate with proper sleep. “Napping is something really tricky to command,” explains an expert. “Without any drowsiness, it is tougher to recline and essentially tell yourself to go to sleep. You need some drive present to initiate sleep to begin with. I can usually take a nap during the day and wake up naturally without a timer, however, what assists many individuals is to anticipate a time where they feel naturally somewhat sleepy and then simply allow sleep to come.”
Trying different approaches is valuable, and when options are scarce – for instance, if you’re trying to squeeze in 40 winks on a train or in a soundproof office pod – it's acceptable to use a few tools. “In my work with elite athletes, I recommend that they avoid becoming accustomed to their own bed for naps, as they’re going to have|they will
