Tune into a few performance experts, and it’s simple to think that a nap is a powerful tool: more than a band-aid after poor sleep, but a shortcut towards a better memory, better spirits and perhaps quicker running times. Elite athletes swear by it – along with concert pianists, UFC champions and media moguls. But if you don't have a room for napping or a career that permits daytime sleep, is it *truly* worthwhile perks to a quick nap for it to be worth the hassle? Can you find a surefire technique to get to sleep quickly enough? And can you honestly promise you will arise feeling better, not worse?
Exploring The Nap Motivation
“There are three main reasons for taking a nap for many people,” says a professor of circadian rhythm professor. “One is what we call recovery napping, essentially what you do after experiencing insufficient sleep the previous night. Another is prophylactic napping, which involves preparing for a sleep deficit coming up, for instance if you’re working graveyard shifts. Finally, there's “pleasure-based sleep”, which simply comes down to the wish: you get a moment to sleep during the day, and it feels nice to nap.”
The primary task to consider, then, is to examine why you want to nap. “Napping can be genuinely useful when night sleeping is being disrupted for reasons outside your control – for instance, if you’re caring for an infant, or you’re recovering from sickness or strenuous activity,” states a sleep physiologist. “Yet when you nap because your nighttime sleep feels fragile or poor, that’s often a signal your body's sleep pressure is not as strong as required. Under those circumstances, daytime sleep can turn into part of the issue, rather than the answer. Use napping as a short-term solution for temporary issues – the main goal ought to remain a robust and regular overnight rest.”
The Optimal Nap Duration
Therefore that naps ought not to be too extended 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). What's a reasonable length? Guidelines are mixed. Among the most-cited studies regarding daytime sleep, researchers at Nasa noted that crew members had a boost of up to 54% in attentiveness and a 34% increase in task performance following a nap of 26 minutes (in detail, this counted a six-minute sleep onset time). “My advice is setting an alarm for half an hour or less – the majority fall asleep quickly,” notes a sleep expert. “There is plenty of recommendations about the ideal number of minutes, but that tends to lead individuals to become more stressed than anything else – and the most counterproductive thing one can do when attempting to nod off is to stress over it.”
If you’re going to take an extended nap, steer clear of the period between 45 and 60 minutes that encourages sleep inertia, that disoriented sensation upon waking. “The science would say it's more effective to take a longer nap lasting 60-90 minutes compared to a medium-length nap,” says the sleep scientist. “Three-quarters of an hour is enough time to plunge you into slow-wave sleep and it is more probable to feel groggy when you get up – while if you extend it slightly longer to an hour or 90 minutes, you will probably to finish of a sleep cycle and are likely to awaken feeling more rejuvenated. However, if you nap for a long period, it will affect how you sleep later that night.”
Creating the Right Sleep Space
When it comes to exact methodologies, recommendations vary. Certain specialists suggest adopting the same protocol one would use to foster a good night’s sleep: a quiet room, a supportive surface and minimal light as is feasible. Alternatively, experts propose that you should simply nap in a chair with ambient lighting happens to be around – to prevent sleep inertia and to maintain your bed as the place you associate with proper sleep. “Sleep is quite challenging to will,” says a specialist. “Without any sleepiness, it is more challenging to recline and essentially instruct yourself to nod off. You need some sleep pressure available to start the process to begin with. Personally, I can often take a nap in broad daylight and awaken on my own without an alarm, though, what aids a lot of people is to look for an instance when they are naturally feeling a bit drowsy and then simply ease into sleep.”
Trying different approaches is valuable, and should you have few options – for example, if attempting to grab some shut-eye on a train or in a soundproof office pod – there’s nothing wrong to use sleep aids. “In my work with professional sportspeople, I advise that they not rely on napping in bed, because they’re going to have|they will
