The Formula for a Perfect Nap: When, Where & for How Long?
Listen to enough performance podcasters, making it tempting to convince yourself that dozing is a secret weapon: rather than a sticking plaster following restless night, but a path to enhanced cognition, improved mood and possibly a faster 5k run time. Elite footballers are all at it – as do musicians, fighters & media moguls. However, if you don't have a special sleep space or a career that permits daytime sleep, is it *truly* worthwhile perks to a burst of shut-eye to justify the kerfuffle? Is there a surefire technique to get to sleep quickly enough? Plus, is it possible to really guarantee you will arise feeling better, instead of groggy?
Exploring Your Reasons for Napping
“There are three main reasons for napping in the adult population,” notes a professor of sleep and circadian science specialist. “The first is termed make-up sleep, essentially what you do following insufficient sleep overnight. Secondly, there's prophylactic napping, where you are anticipating insufficient sleep ahead, such as during graveyard shifts. Finally, there's “hedonic napping”, which simply is about wanting: you have a moment to sleep during the day, and it feels nice to do it.”
The first thing to do, therefore, is to think about your nap motivation. “Daytime sleep can be genuinely useful when overnight rest is disturbed due to causes you cannot change – for instance, when you are a new parent, or you’re recovering from illness or heavy physical exertion,” says a sleep physiologist. “However, if you’re napping since your night sleep is unstable or broken, that is frequently an indicator your sleep drive is not as strong as it should be. In those cases, daytime sleep can turn into part of the problem, not the solution. Use napping as a short-term solution for short-term problems – the focus should still be a solid and consistent overnight rest.”
The Ideal Nap Duration
This implies that naps ought not to be sufficiently lengthy to disrupt your nighttime sleep, and ideally shouldn’t take place after about 3pm (based on the time you retire overnight). What's a reasonable length? Advice differs. Among the most-cited studies on the subject, experts noted that crew members showed a boost of up to 54% in vigilance plus a 34% rise in task performance following a nap of 26 minutes (to be precise, this counted a six-minute long nodding-off period). “My advice is using an alarm for 20-30 minutes – the majority are asleep in under ten minutes,” says a sleep expert. “There is plenty of advice around regarding the optimal amount of time, however, that can make people feel more anxious than anything else – and the most counterproductive thing one can do when attempting to fall asleep is to stress over it.”
If you’re going to take an extended nap, steer clear of the period between 45 and 60 minutes that induces sleep inertia, that disoriented sensation when you awaken. “Studies would say it is preferable to opt for an extended nap of 60 to 90 minutes rather than a mid-length nap,” notes the professor. “45 minutes is enough time to send you into deep sleep making it more likely to feel disoriented when you wake up – whereas if you take it slightly longer to an hour or 90 minutes, you’re likely to be on the end of a sleep cycle and will probably awaken feeling more refreshed. Though if you're dozing for an hour and a half, it will affect your sleep later that night.”
Establishing the Right Nap Environment
As for precise methods, advice differs. Certain specialists suggest adopting similar routines one would use to encourage quality nighttime sleep: a quiet room, a cozy bed and as much darkness as possible. Others suggest that it's fine to just doze on a couch in the existing light is present – both to discourage post-nap grogginess and to preserve your sleeping quarters as the place your mind associates with *real* sleep. “Napping is something really tricky to will,” says a sleep coach. “If you don’t have any sleepiness, it is more challenging to recline and practically instruct yourself to go to sleep. There must be some drive there to bring the sleep on to begin with. For me, it's possible to 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 somewhat sleepy and just gently relax into it.”
Trying different approaches is valuable, and should your choices are limited – for example, if you’re trying to squeeze in a quick nap during a commute or at the office – there’s nothing wrong to employ some accessories. “In my work with professional sportspeople, I recommend that they avoid becoming accustomed to napping in bed, because they’re going to have|they will
