Tune into enough performance gurus, and it’s easy to believe that a nap is a powerful tool: rather than a quick fix following poor sleep, but a route towards enhanced cognition, improved mood and maybe improved athletic performance. Elite athletes do it regularly – as do professional piano players, fighters and high-profile executives. But if you lack a dedicated nap-room or a career that permits daytime sleep, can there *honestly* worthwhile perks to a quick nap for it to be worth the hassle? Does there exist a dependable method to nod off promptly? Plus, is it possible to really guarantee you will arise feeling refreshed, instead of groggy?
Exploring Your Reasons for Napping
“Experts note three primary motivations for daytime sleep among most adults,” explains an expert sleep science researcher. “The first is what we call make-up sleep, which is the action you take when you’ve had a lack of sleep the night before. Secondly, there's preparatory napping, which involves preparing for a sleep deficit in the future, for instance if you’re working overnight shifts. The third reason is “appetitive drive”, which simply boils down to wanting: you have a moment to nap in the daytime, and it's pleasant to indulge.”
The primary task to undertake, so, is to think about your reason for napping. “Daytime sleep can be really helpful when overnight rest is being disrupted for reasons outside your control – for instance, for caring for an infant, or you’re recovering from sickness or intense exercise,” states a sleep specialist. “Yet when you’re napping because your nighttime sleep feels fragile or poor, that’s often a signal your sleep drive is not where it needs to be. Under those circumstances, naps can become part of the issue, instead of the fix. Use napping for brief periods to address immediate needs – the priority must always be a strong and predictable night’s sleep.”
The Optimal Snooze Time
This implies that daytime sleep must not be sufficiently lengthy to disrupt your nighttime sleep, and best should not occur after about 3pm (based on the time you sleep at night). How long is sensible? Recommendations vary. From a prominent study regarding daytime sleep, space agency scientists found that crew members experienced up to a 54% increase in vigilance and a 34% boost in performance following a nap of 26 minutes (technically, this involved a six-minute long nodding-off period). “My advice is using an alarm for 20 to 30 minutes – most people fall asleep quickly,” explains a sleep expert. “There’s a lot of guidance out there about the optimal amount of minutes, however, that can cause people to feel more anxious than anything – and the worst thing you can possibly do when trying to fall asleep is to be anxious.”
If you’re going to sleep for longer, steer clear of the 45-60 minute window that encourages sleep grogginess, that foggy state when you awaken. “Studies would say it is preferable to take an extended nap lasting 60-90 minutes than a medium-length one,” explains the expert. “45 minutes is sufficient to send you into a deep sleep stage and you’re more likely to feel sluggish upon awakening – while if you take it a bit longer to 60 or 90 minutes, it's likely you'll to finish a full cycle and should wake up feeling more rejuvenated. Though if you’re sleeping for a long period, it can influence how you sleep in the evening.”
Creating the Perfect Sleep Space
As for specific techniques, recommendations vary. Some experts recommend employing comparable habits you use to promote quality nighttime sleep: a peaceful area, a cozy bed and minimal light as is feasible. Others suggest that one could merely snooze on the sofa with ambient lighting is available – to avoid that groggy feeling and to “protect” your sleeping quarters as the place you associate with *real* sleep. “Sleep is something really tricky to command,” notes a specialist. “Without any drowsiness, it is more challenging to get comfortable and practically command yourself to nod off. You need some drive present to bring the sleep on to begin with. I can usually snooze in broad daylight and awaken on my own without a timer, though, what aids a lot of people is to look for a moment when they are naturally slightly tired and then simply relax into it.”
Trying different approaches is valuable, and if you have few options – for instance, when aiming to squeeze in some shut-eye on a train or at the office – there’s nothing wrong to use a few tools. “In my work with professional sportspeople, I suggest that they avoid becoming accustomed to napping in bed, because they’re going to have|they will
