Hear enough self-improvement gurus, making it simple to believe that a nap is a secret weapon: rather than a quick fix following poor sleep, but a shortcut towards a better memory, better spirits and possibly improved athletic performance. Premier League athletes are all at it – along with professional piano players, fighters and media moguls. But if you haven’t got a room for napping or a job that encourages daytime sleep, is it *truly* sufficient advantages to a short sleep to justify the hassle? Does there exist a reliable way to fall asleep fast? And can you honestly promise you will arise feeling improved, rather than worse?
Identifying Your Nap Motivation
“There are three key drivers for napping among most adults,” notes an expert sleep science professor. “The first is what we call make-up sleep, that is the action you take following poor sleep the previous night. Another is pre-emptive sleep, which involves pre-empting insufficient sleep in the future, for example when working graveyard shifts. The third reason is “hedonic napping”, which essentially comes down to desire: you get an opportunity to nap in the afternoon, and it's pleasant to indulge.”
The primary task to undertake, therefore, is to examine your nap motivation. “Naps can be truly beneficial when nighttime sleep gets interrupted due to causes outside your control – for instance, for a parent of a newborn, or recovering from illness or strenuous activity,” states a sleep expert. “Yet when you nap because your nighttime sleep feels fragile or poor, that can be a signal your need for sleep is not as strong as it should be. In those cases, naps can become part of the problem, not the solution. Use napping as a temporary measure for temporary issues – the main goal must always be a robust and regular night’s sleep.”
The Optimal Nap Length
This means that naps shouldn’t be too extended to disrupt your nighttime sleep, and ideally shouldn’t take place in the late afternoon (contingent on when you go to bed overnight). What's a reasonable length? Recommendations vary. Among the most referenced research on the subject, researchers at Nasa discovered that space travelers experienced improvements of over 50% in alertness and a 34% increase in cognitive performance post a 26-minute snooze (to be precise, this involved a six-minute falling asleep phase). “I recommend setting an alarm for half an hour or less – the majority doze off quickly,” explains a sleep expert. “There is plenty of advice around about the perfect length of time, yet that often lead individuals to become more anxious than anything else – and the worst thing you can possibly do when trying to nod off is worry about it.”
Should you decide to nap for a longer period, steer clear of the 45 to 60 minute range that encourages sleep inertia, that disoriented sensation when you awaken. “Research indicates it's more effective to take a lengthier snooze of 60 to 90 minutes rather than a mid-length nap,” explains the expert. “Three-quarters of an hour is sufficient to plunge you into slow-wave sleep making it more likely to feel disoriented when you get up – whereas if you take it a bit longer to 60 or 90 minutes, you will probably to finish a natural sleep cycle and should wake up feeling more alert. But if you nap for a long period, it can influence the quality of your sleep that night.”
Establishing an Ideal Nap Environment
As for exact methodologies, suggestions are diverse. Certain specialists propose using comparable habits you’d use to promote a good night’s sleep: a peaceful area, a supportive surface and minimal light as possible. Others suggest that one could simply nap in a chair in whatever light is available – to prevent post-nap grogginess and to “protect” your bedroom as the place your brain links with nighttime rest. “Sleep is quite challenging to command,” says an expert. “If you don’t have any sleepiness, it is more challenging to get comfortable and essentially command yourself to nod off. You need some drive there to start the process to begin with. I can usually snooze in full light and naturally wake up alarm-free, though, what aids a lot of people is to wait for a time where they feel naturally feeling a bit drowsy and calmly ease into sleep.”
It’s worth experimenting, and should your choices are limited – for instance, when aiming to fit in a quick nap during a commute or at the office – it's acceptable to use sleep aids. “Coaching professional sportspeople, I advise that they not rely on napping in bed, since they’re going to have|they will
