Hear enough performance podcasters, and it’s easy to think that napping is a powerful tool: more than a sticking plaster following restless night, but a route to improved recall, improved mood and maybe improved athletic performance. Premier League footballers swear by it – as do musicians, UFC champions and business leaders. Yet, when you haven’t got a room for napping or a career that permits regular snoozing, can there *honestly* worthwhile perks to a quick nap to justify the effort? Is there a dependable method to fall asleep fast? Plus, is it possible to truly ensure you’ll wake up feeling refreshed, instead of groggy?
Identifying The Reasons for Napping
“Experts note three primary motivations for taking a nap in the adult population,” says an expert sleep and circadian science professor. “Firstly, there's termed make-up sleep, which is the action you take following insufficient sleep overnight. Another is pre-emptive sleep, which involves anticipating sleep loss ahead, such as if you’re working on night shifts. The third is called “hedonic napping”, which simply boils down to wanting: you have a chance to nap in the afternoon, and it feels nice to nap.”
The initial step to do, therefore, is to think about your reason for napping. “Napping can be truly beneficial when overnight rest is being disrupted due to causes you cannot change – such as, if you’re a parent of a newborn, or you’re recovering after being ill or strenuous activity,” states a sleep specialist. “Yet when you nap as your nighttime sleep feels fragile or broken, that’s often an indicator your body's sleep pressure is not as strong as it needs to be. In such situations, naps can become part of the issue, instead of the fix. Utilize daytime sleep for brief periods for temporary issues – the priority should still be a strong and predictable sleep at night.”
The Ideal Snooze Time
This implies that napping shouldn’t be too extended to interfere with your nighttime sleep, and preferably are not recommended after about 3pm (contingent on when you sleep overnight). What duration is wise? Recommendations vary. From the most referenced research about napping, space agency scientists found that space travelers showed up to a 54% increase in vigilance and a 34% boost in cognitive performance post a 26-minute snooze (in detail, this counted a six-minute long sleep onset time). “I recommend setting a timer for 20 to 30 minutes – most people fall asleep quickly,” notes a sleep coach. “You'll find much guidance out there concerning the ideal number of time, yet that often make people feel more worried than anything – and the least helpful action you can do when attempting to get to sleep is to stress over it.”
Should you decide to nap for a longer period, bypass the period between 45 and 60 minutes that promotes that sluggish feeling, that spaced-out feeling when you awaken. “Research indicates it is preferable to have an extended nap of 60 to 90 minutes rather than a mid-length nap,” explains the expert. “45 minutes is sufficient to send you into slow-wave sleep making it more likely to feel groggy when you wake up – while if you take it a little longer to an hour or 90 minutes, it's likely you'll to be completing a natural sleep cycle and are likely to awaken feeling more alert. But if you nap for 90 minutes, it will affect how you sleep that night.”
Creating the Perfect Sleep Space
Regarding exact methodologies, recommendations vary. Certain specialists suggest adopting comparable habits one would use to foster a good night’s sleep: a quiet room, a cozy bed and as much darkness as you can manage. Alternatively, experts propose that one could simply nap on a couch in whatever light is present – to avoid that groggy feeling and to “protect” your bed as the space your brain links with nighttime rest. “Sleep is something really tricky to will,” explains a sleep coach. “Without the urge to sleep, it is tougher to get comfortable and essentially command yourself to nod off. There must be some drive present to initiate sleep to begin with. Personally, I can often take a nap in full light and naturally wake up alarm-free, but what helps a lot of people is to wait for a moment where they feel naturally feeling a bit drowsy and then simply ease into sleep.”
Experimentation is key, and if you have few options – for instance, when aiming to squeeze in some shut-eye during a commute or in a soundproof office pod – there’s nothing wrong with bringing sleep aids. “Coaching footballers, I advise that they avoid becoming accustomed to napping in bed, because they’re going to have|they will
