Listen to a few productivity podcasters, and it’s tempting to convince yourself that napping is a powerful tool: more than a quick fix following restless night, but a shortcut to enhanced cognition, better spirits and perhaps a faster 5k run time. Professional soccer players do it regularly – and so are musicians, mixed martial artists and media moguls. Yet, when you lack a room for napping or a career that permits frequent naps, can there *honestly* worthwhile perks to a burst of shut-eye for it to be worth the effort? Is there a dependable method to nod off promptly? Furthermore, can you truly ensure you will arise feeling improved, rather than worse?
Exploring The Reasons for Napping
“Experts note three main reasons for napping among most adults,” explains an expert sleep science professor. “Firstly, there's termed compensatory napping, essentially what happens when you’ve had a lack of sleep the previous night. The second is preparatory napping, which involves anticipating sleep loss in the future, such as if you’re working on night shifts. The third is called “pleasure-based sleep”, which basically comes down to the wish: you get a moment to nap in the daytime, and it feels nice to nap.”
The initial step to undertake, so, is to examine your nap motivation. “Daytime sleep can be truly beneficial when night sleeping is disturbed for reasons you cannot change – for example, for caring for an infant, or if you are healing from illness or heavy physical exertion,” says a sleep physiologist. “However, if you’re napping as your nighttime sleep feels fragile or poor, that can be an indicator your need for sleep is not where required. Under those circumstances, napping can become a contributing factor, instead of the fix. Employ naps for brief periods to address immediate needs – the focus should still be a robust and regular sleep at night.”
The Optimal Snooze Time
Therefore that naps shouldn’t be too extended to interfere with your overnight rest, and ideally are not recommended after about 3pm (based on the time you sleep overnight). What duration is wise? Advice differs. Among the most referenced research regarding daytime sleep, experts found that crew members showed a boost of up to 54% in alertness plus a 34% rise in cognitive performance post a 26-minute snooze (to be precise, this involved a six-minute falling asleep phase). “My advice is setting a timer for 20 to 30 minutes – many individuals fall asleep quickly,” says a sleep coach. “There is plenty of recommendations about the optimal amount for sleeping, however, that can cause people to feel more worried than anything – and the least helpful action you can do while aiming to nod off is to be anxious.”
If you’re going to nap for a longer period, avoid the 45-60 minute window that encourages sleep inertia, that spaced-out feeling upon waking. “Research indicates it is preferable to opt for an extended nap lasting 60-90 minutes compared to a medium-length nap,” notes the professor. “45 minutes is long enough to plunge you into deep sleep and you’re more likely to feel sluggish when you get up – however, if you extend it slightly longer to 60 or 90 minutes, you will probably to finish a natural sleep cycle and are likely to awaken feeling more rejuvenated. However, if you’re sleeping for 90 minutes, it can influence how you sleep later that night.”
Finding the Right Snooze Setting
When it comes to precise methods, advice differs. A few professionals propose adopting comparable habits you’d use to encourage restful sleep: a silent space, a supportive surface and minimal light as you can manage. Others suggest that one could just doze on the sofa with ambient lighting is present – to avoid that groggy feeling and to “protect” your bedroom as the environment you associate with *real* sleep. “Falling asleep is something really tricky to force,” says a sleep coach. “If you don’t have any drowsiness, it is tougher to lie down and essentially instruct yourself to fall asleep. You need some sleep pressure there to bring the sleep on initially. I can usually snooze in full light and wake up naturally alarm-free, however, what assists a lot of people is to look for a moment when they are naturally slightly tired and then simply relax into it.”
Experimentation is key, and should your choices are limited – for example, if you’re trying to squeeze in some shut-eye while traveling or in a soundproof office pod – it's acceptable to employ some accessories. “Coaching footballers, I advise that they avoid becoming accustomed to napping in bed, as they’re going to have|they will
