Tune into enough self-improvement experts, and it’s tempting to think that dozing is a superpower: not just a quick fix after restless night, but a path to improved recall, better spirits and perhaps improved athletic performance. Premier League athletes swear by it – along with professional piano players, fighters & business leaders. However, if you haven’t got a room for napping or employment that encourages daytime sleep, can there *honestly* worthwhile perks to a quick nap to merit the effort? Can you find a dependable method to fall asleep fast? Plus, is it possible to truly ensure you’ll wake up feeling better, rather than worse?
Identifying Your Nap Motivation
“Experts note three primary motivations for napping in the adult population,” notes an expert circadian rhythm specialist. “The first is known as compensatory napping, that is what happens after experiencing poor sleep the night before. The second is pre-emptive sleep, where you are pre-empting sleep loss ahead, for instance when working overnight shifts. The third reason is “hedonic napping”, which simply boils down to desire: you get an opportunity to sleep in the afternoon, and it's pleasant to indulge.”
The initial step to do, so, is to examine your reason for napping. “Napping can be genuinely useful when nighttime sleep gets interrupted for reasons beyond your control – for instance, for a new parent, or you’re recovering from illness or strenuous activity,” says a sleep expert. “Yet when you’re napping since your nighttime sleep seems unreliable or broken, that can be a sign your need for sleep is not at the level it should be. In those cases, daytime sleep can turn into a contributing factor, rather than the answer. Use napping as a short-term solution for temporary issues – the main goal must always be a strong and predictable overnight rest.”
The Perfect Nap Duration
Therefore that daytime sleep must not be too extended to affect your overnight rest, and best shouldn’t take place after about 3pm (depending on when you go to bed in the evening). How long is sensible? Recommendations vary. From a prominent study on the subject, space agency scientists noted that space travelers experienced improvements of over 50% in vigilance and a 34% boost in task performance following a nap of 26 minutes (to be precise, this included a six-minute falling asleep phase). “I’d suggest using an alarm for 20 to 30 minutes – many individuals doze off quickly,” notes a sleep coach. “There is plenty of recommendations concerning the optimal amount of time, but that tends to lead individuals to become more anxious than anything else – and the most counterproductive thing one can do while aiming to fall asleep is to stress over it.”
If you plan to nap for a longer period, avoid the 45-60 minute window that promotes sleep grogginess, that spaced-out feeling when you wake. “Research would say it's more effective to take a lengthier snooze of one to one and a half hours than a medium-length one,” explains the sleep scientist. “Forty-five minutes is enough time to send you into slow-wave sleep and it is more probable to feel groggy when you get up – however, if you take it slightly longer to an hour or 90 minutes, you will probably to be on the end of a sleep cycle and will probably wake up feeling more refreshed. However, if you’re sleeping for an hour and a half, it will affect your sleep in the evening.”
Finding an Ideal Snooze Setting
As for specific techniques, recommendations vary. Certain specialists suggest employing similar routines you’d use to encourage quality nighttime sleep: a silent space, a cozy bed and minimal light as possible. Some advise that you should merely snooze in a chair with ambient lighting is available – to prevent that groggy feeling and to maintain your sleeping quarters as the space your brain links with nighttime rest. “Sleep is notoriously difficult to force,” notes an expert. “Without the urge to sleep, it is tougher to lie down and basically instruct yourself to fall asleep. There’s got to be some drive available to start the process in the first place. Personally, I can often snooze in broad daylight and awaken on my own without an alarm, though, what aids most folks is to anticipate an instance that they’re naturally somewhat sleepy and then simply relax into it.”
Experimentation is key, and if your choices are limited – such as, if attempting to grab 40 winks on a train or at the office – it is perfectly fine to employ sleep aids. “When I’m working with professional sportspeople, I suggest that they not rely on napping in bed, since they’re going to have|they will
