Tune into a few productivity podcasters, and it’s simple to believe that dozing is a powerful tool: not just a sticking plaster following a bad night’s sleep, but a shortcut towards a better memory, a brighter outlook and possibly quicker running times. Premier League soccer players do it regularly – as do musicians, UFC champions and business leaders. However, if you lack a room for napping or a career that allows daytime sleep, can there *honestly* sufficient advantages to a quick nap for it to be worth the effort? Is there a reliable way to fall asleep fast? Plus, is it possible to honestly promise you will arise feeling improved, rather than worse?
Identifying Your Nap Motivation
“There are three main reasons for daytime sleep among most adults,” notes a leading sleep science specialist. “One is termed compensatory napping, which is what you do after experiencing a lack of sleep the previous night. Another is preparatory napping, when you are pre-empting sleep loss in the future, such as during graveyard shifts. The third reason is “pleasure-based sleep”, which simply is about desire: you have an opportunity to doze during the day, and it feels nice to do it.”
The primary task to consider, then, is to examine your nap motivation. “Naps can be truly beneficial when night sleeping is disturbed due to causes outside your control – for example, when you are caring for an infant, or if you are healing from illness or strenuous activity,” explains a sleep specialist. “Yet when you’re napping because your night sleep seems unreliable or broken, that is frequently an indicator your need for sleep is not as strong as required. In those cases, naps can become part of the issue, rather than the answer. Utilize daytime sleep as a temporary measure for temporary issues – the main goal ought to remain a strong and predictable overnight rest.”
The Perfect Snooze Time
Therefore that daytime sleep ought not to be too extended to interfere with your sleep at night, and best are not recommended in the late afternoon (based on the time you retire overnight). How long is sensible? Guidelines are mixed. From the most-cited studies about napping, researchers at Nasa noted that space travelers had up to a 54% increase in vigilance and a 34% boost in cognitive performance after a 26-minute nap (to be precise, this counted a six-minute long sleep onset time). “My advice is setting a timer for 20 to 30 minutes – most people are asleep quickly,” notes a specialist. “You'll find much recommendations about the optimal amount for sleeping, but that tends to lead individuals to become more stressed above all – and the least helpful action you can do when attempting to get to sleep is to stress over it.”
If you plan to take an extended nap, bypass the 45 to 60 minute range that promotes sleep inertia, that disoriented sensation upon waking. “Research indicates it's more effective to take an extended nap of one to one and a half hours rather than a mid-length nap,” notes the sleep scientist. “Three-quarters of an hour is long enough to plunge you into slow-wave sleep and it is more probable to feel groggy upon awakening – however, if you extend it a bit longer to a full sleep cycle, it's likely you'll to be on the end a full cycle and should awaken feeling more refreshed. Though if you're dozing for a long period, it can influence how you sleep in the evening.”
Finding the Perfect Snooze Setting
Regarding specific techniques, advice differs. A few professionals suggest using similar routines you’d use to foster restful sleep: a silent space, a cozy bed and as much darkness as possible. Alternatively, experts propose that it's fine to just doze on the sofa in the existing light is present – to prevent that groggy feeling and to maintain your sleeping quarters as the environment you associate with nighttime rest. “Sleep is something really tricky to command,” explains a sleep coach. “If you don’t have the urge to sleep, it becomes harder to recline and practically instruct yourself to fall asleep. There’s got to be some sleep pressure present to initiate sleep in the first place. I can usually nap in full light and wake up naturally alarm-free, though, what aids a lot of people is to look for a moment that they’re naturally slightly tired and calmly allow sleep to come.”
Trying different approaches is valuable, and if options are scarce – for instance, when aiming to fit in some shut-eye on a train or at the office – it's acceptable to use sleep aids. “Coaching elite athletes, I suggest that they not rely on sleeping in their bed, since they’re going to have|they will
