Tune into plenty of performance experts, making it easy to believe that a nap is a superpower: rather than a quick fix after restless night, but a route to a better memory, a brighter outlook and perhaps a faster 5k run time. Professional footballers do it regularly – along with concert pianists, UFC champions & high-profile executives. Yet, when you lack a dedicated nap-room or a career that allows daytime sleep, is it *truly* sufficient advantages to a quick nap to justify the hassle? Does there exist a surefire technique to fall asleep fast? Plus, is it possible to truly ensure you will arise feeling better, rather than worse?
Exploring Your Reasons for Napping
“We can identify three key drivers for daytime sleep for many people,” explains a leading circadian rhythm professor. “One is known as compensatory napping, essentially what happens following a lack of sleep the previous night. Another is prophylactic napping, where you are pre-empting a sleep deficit ahead, for example if you’re working overnight shifts. The third is called “pleasure-based sleep”, which simply comes down to wanting: you have an opportunity to nap in the afternoon, and it's pleasant to do it.”
The primary task to undertake, so, is to think about why you want to nap. “Napping can be truly beneficial when overnight rest is being disrupted due to causes you cannot change – for instance, when you are caring for an infant, or if you are healing after being ill or intense exercise,” says a sleep specialist. “However, if you’re napping as your nighttime sleep is unstable or unreliable, that is frequently an indicator your need for sleep is not at the level it needs to be. Under those circumstances, daytime sleep can turn into a contributing factor, not the solution. Employ naps as a temporary measure for short-term problems – the focus ought to remain a robust and regular sleep at night.”
The Perfect Snooze Time
This implies that napping must not be long enough to interfere with your sleep at night, and best are not recommended post-3 p.m. (based on the time you retire overnight). What duration is wise? Guidelines are mixed. In one of a prominent study on the subject, researchers at Nasa found that crew members showed improvements of over 50% in vigilance plus a 34% rise in task performance post a 26-minute snooze (in detail, this counted a six-minute nodding-off period). “My advice is using an alarm for 20-30 minutes – many individuals doze off in under ten minutes,” notes a sleep coach. “There is plenty of guidance out there about the ideal number of time, but that tends to lead individuals to become more stressed than anything – and the least helpful action one can do when attempting to get to sleep is to stress over it.”
Should you decide to nap for a longer period, avoid the 45 to 60 minute range that promotes that sluggish feeling, that disoriented sensation when you wake. “The science indicates it's more effective to take a lengthier snooze of one to one and a half hours than a medium-length one,” notes the sleep scientist. “Forty-five minutes is sufficient to plunge you into deep sleep and it is more probable to feel groggy when you get up – while if you extend it a bit longer to a full sleep cycle, you’re likely to be on the end of a sleep cycle and will probably get up feeling more rejuvenated. However, if you're dozing for an hour and a half, it will affect the quality of your sleep in the evening.”
Finding the Perfect Snooze Setting
As for specific techniques, suggestions are diverse. Certain specialists propose using the same protocol you’d use to promote restful sleep: a silent space, a supportive surface and maximum darkness as you can manage. Alternatively, experts propose that it's fine to simply nap in a chair in whatever light is available – both to discourage sleep inertia and to preserve your sleeping quarters as the place you associate with nighttime rest. “Falling asleep is notoriously difficult to command,” says an expert. “Lacking any drowsiness, it becomes harder to get comfortable and basically command yourself to fall asleep. There’s got to be some sleep pressure there to start the process initially. For me, it's possible to nap during the day and awaken on my own without a timer, though, what aids most folks is to look for a moment where they feel naturally somewhat sleepy and just gently allow sleep to come.”
It’s worth experimenting, and should your choices are limited – such as, if attempting to fit in 40 winks on a train or in a soundproof office pod – it is perfectly fine to use sleep aids. “When I’m working with professional sportspeople, I advise that they avoid becoming accustomed to napping in bed, since they’re going to have|they will
