Hear a few performance experts, and it’s tempting to convince yourself that a nap is a secret weapon: more than a quick fix following poor sleep, but a path to a better memory, a brighter outlook and possibly improved athletic performance. Professional footballers do it regularly – as do professional piano players, fighters and high-profile executives. Yet, when you don't have a special sleep space or employment that allows frequent naps, is it *truly* sufficient advantages to a burst of shut-eye for it to be worth the kerfuffle? Does there exist a reliable way to fall asleep fast? And can you truly ensure you’ll wake up feeling improved, not worse?
Understanding Your Drive to Snooze
“Experts note three main reasons for napping for many people,” notes a leading sleep science specialist. “Firstly, there's what we call recovery napping, which is the action you take following poor sleep the previous night. Another is prophylactic napping, where you are anticipating sleep loss coming up, for instance during overnight shifts. The third is called “appetitive drive”, which essentially comes down to the wish: you get a moment to sleep in the afternoon, and it feels nice to nap.”
The first thing to undertake, therefore, is consider your nap motivation. “Daytime sleep can be genuinely useful when overnight rest gets interrupted for reasons you cannot change – for example, when you are a parent of a newborn, or you’re recovering from sickness or intense exercise,” says a sleep physiologist. “However, if you’re napping because your night sleep is unstable or broken, that can be an indicator your body's sleep pressure is not at the level it needs to be. In such situations, naps can become part of the issue, instead of the fix. Employ naps as a short-term solution to address immediate needs – the main goal should still be a solid and consistent sleep at night.”
The Ideal Nap Duration
This implies that naps ought not to be sufficiently lengthy to affect your nighttime sleep, and best shouldn’t take place post-3 p.m. (contingent on the time you retire overnight). What's a reasonable length? Advice differs. In one of the most-cited studies on the subject, space agency scientists noted that astronauts had improvements of over 50% in vigilance and a 34% boost in performance after a 26-minute nap (technically, this involved a six-minute sleep onset time). “My advice is setting a timer for 20 to 30 minutes – most people fall asleep quickly,” says a sleep expert. “You'll find much recommendations concerning the perfect length of time, however, that can cause people to feel more stressed than anything else – and the least helpful action one can do when trying to nod off is worry about it.”
If you’re going to sleep for longer, steer clear of the 45-60 minute window that promotes sleep inertia, that disoriented sensation when you awaken. “Research suggests it is preferable to take a lengthier snooze of 60 to 90 minutes rather than a mid-length nap,” says the sleep scientist. “45 minutes is long enough to plunge you into deep sleep making it more likely to feel sluggish when you get up – however, if you take it a bit longer to a full sleep cycle, you will probably to be on the end of a sleep cycle and are likely to get up feeling more alert. But if you nap for an hour and a half, it may impact how you sleep later that night.”
Establishing the Right Nap Environment
Regarding specific techniques, advice differs. Certain specialists suggest employing comparable habits one would use to foster quality nighttime sleep: a peaceful area, a comfortable bed and maximum darkness as you can manage. Others suggest that you should simply nap on the sofa in the existing light happens to be around – to avoid that groggy feeling and to maintain your sleeping quarters as the space you associate with *real* sleep. “Falling asleep is something really tricky to command,” says an expert. “Lacking any sleepiness, it is more challenging to recline and basically command yourself to go to sleep. There’s got to be some drive available to start the process in the first place. Personally, I can often snooze during the day and awaken on my own alarm-free, however, what assists a lot of people is to look for a moment that they’re naturally somewhat sleepy and calmly relax into it.”
Experimentation is key, and if your choices are limited – such as, when aiming to squeeze in 40 winks on a train or at the office – it is perfectly fine to employ some accessories. “In my work with professional sportspeople, I advise that they not rely on sleeping in their bed, because they’re going to have|they will
