Hear enough productivity experts, and you'll be tempting to believe that dozing is a secret weapon: not just a band-aid after poor sleep, but a path to enhanced cognition, a brighter outlook and maybe a faster 5k run time. Premier League soccer players are all at it – and so are musicians, fighters and media moguls. However, if you haven’t got a dedicated nap-room or a career that encourages regular snoozing, can there *honestly* worthwhile perks to a burst of shut-eye to justify the kerfuffle? Can you find a surefire technique to fall asleep fast? Furthermore, can you really guarantee you will arise feeling refreshed, rather than worse?
Understanding Your Nap Motivation
“There are three primary motivations for taking a nap in the adult population,” explains an expert sleep and circadian science specialist. “Firstly, there's known as make-up sleep, that is the action you take after experiencing a lack of sleep overnight. Another is prophylactic napping, which involves anticipating insufficient sleep coming up, for example if you’re working graveyard shifts. The third reason is “hedonic napping”, which essentially boils down to desire: you get a moment to nap in the afternoon, and it feels nice to indulge.”
The initial step to do, so, is consider your nap motivation. “Daytime sleep can be truly beneficial when night sleeping is disturbed because of factors you cannot change – for example, if you’re a new parent, or recovering from sickness or heavy physical exertion,” states a sleep specialist. “But if you nap because your night sleep seems unreliable or poor, that can be an indicator your body's sleep pressure is not at the level it should be. In those cases, daytime sleep can turn into part of the issue, instead of the fix. Use napping as a temporary measure to address immediate needs – the main goal ought to remain a robust and regular sleep at night.”
The Perfect Snooze Time
This means that daytime sleep shouldn’t be long enough to disrupt your nighttime sleep, and preferably are not recommended post-3 p.m. (based on the time you go to bed in the evening). How long is sensible? Guidelines are mixed. Among a prominent study on the subject, experts noted that astronauts showed up to a 54% increase in alertness plus a 34% rise in performance following a nap of 26 minutes (to be precise, this counted a six-minute nodding-off period). “I’d suggest setting a timer for 20-30 minutes – most people fall asleep quickly,” notes a specialist. “There is plenty of guidance out there about the optimal amount for sleeping, but that tends to cause people to feel more stressed than anything – and the worst thing you can possibly do while aiming to nod off is worry about it.”
If you plan to sleep for longer, steer clear of the period between 45 and 60 minutes that encourages sleep inertia, that foggy state when you awaken. “The science suggests it's more effective to take a longer nap of one to one and a half hours compared to a medium-length nap,” explains the professor. “Forty-five minutes is sufficient to plunge you into deep sleep and it is more probable to feel sluggish upon awakening – while if you take it a bit longer to 60 or 90 minutes, you’re likely to be completing of a sleep cycle and are likely to awaken feeling more alert. Though if you're dozing for a long period, it can influence your sleep later that night.”
Creating an Ideal Nap Environment
When it comes to precise methods, recommendations vary. Certain specialists recommend using comparable habits you’d use to promote restful sleep: a peaceful area, a cozy bed and as much darkness as is feasible. Alternatively, experts propose that you should merely snooze on a couch with ambient lighting is available – to avoid sleep inertia and to maintain your bedroom as the environment you associate with *real* sleep. “Sleep is notoriously difficult to will,” explains a specialist. “Without any sleepiness, it is tougher to recline and practically command yourself to fall asleep. There’s got to be some drive there to bring the sleep on initially. For me, it's possible to nap in broad daylight and wake up naturally alarm-free, however, what assists a lot of people is to look for an instance that they’re naturally slightly tired and then simply allow sleep to come.”
It’s worth experimenting, and should your choices are limited – for example, if attempting to grab a quick nap while traveling or at the office – it is perfectly fine with bringing a few tools. “When I’m working with elite athletes, I advise that they don’t get used to napping in bed, as they’re going to have|they will
