Listen to enough performance podcasters, making it tempting to think that napping is a superpower: rather than a band-aid following restless night, but a shortcut towards enhanced cognition, a brighter outlook and perhaps quicker running times. Elite soccer players swear by it – and so are professional piano players, fighters & media moguls. Yet, when you don't have a dedicated nap-room or a career that allows daytime sleep, is it *truly* enough benefits to a burst of shut-eye to justify the effort? Does there exist a dependable method to get to sleep quickly enough? And can you really guarantee you will arise feeling better, instead of groggy?
Identifying The Drive to Snooze
“Experts note three main reasons for taking a nap for many people,” says a professor of sleep science specialist. “Firstly, there's what we call recovery napping, which is what you do when you’ve had insufficient sleep overnight. The second is preparatory napping, where you are preparing for a sleep deficit ahead, for instance when working on night shifts. Finally, there's “hedonic napping”, which essentially boils down to wanting: you have an opportunity to sleep in the afternoon, and it's pleasant to do it.”
The primary task to undertake, then, is to examine your reason for napping. “Naps can be truly beneficial when night sleeping is disturbed because of factors beyond your control – for example, when you are a new parent, or recovering from sickness or intense exercise,” states a sleep expert. “But if you’re napping as your sleep at night seems unreliable or unreliable, that’s often a sign your sleep drive is not as strong as required. In such situations, daytime sleep can turn into part of the issue, not the solution. Use napping as a short-term solution for temporary issues – the main goal must always be a robust and regular overnight rest.”
The Optimal Nap Duration
This implies that daytime sleep shouldn’t be too extended to interfere with your overnight rest, and ideally shouldn’t take place after about 3pm (based on when you retire at night). What duration is wise? Guidelines are mixed. In one of a prominent study regarding daytime sleep, space agency scientists discovered that crew members showed a boost of up to 54% in attentiveness and a 34% increase in cognitive performance after a 26-minute nap (to be precise, this included an initial six-minute nodding-off period). “My advice is setting a timer for 20-30 minutes – the majority doze off within 10 minutes,” explains a specialist. “You'll find much guidance out there regarding the ideal number of minutes, but that tends to cause people to feel more stressed than anything else – and the worst thing you can do while aiming to get to sleep is worry about it.”
If you’re going to nap for a longer period, avoid the 45 to 60 minute range that encourages sleep grogginess, that spaced-out feeling when you awaken. “The science indicates it’s better to have a lengthier snooze 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 a deep sleep stage and you’re more likely to feel disoriented when you wake up – whereas if you extend it a bit longer to an hour or 90 minutes, you’re likely to be completing a natural sleep cycle and are likely to wake up feeling more alert. But if you’re sleeping for an hour and a half, it can influence the quality of your sleep later that night.”
Establishing the Right Sleep Space
Regarding precise methods, suggestions are diverse. A few professionals propose using similar routines you’d use to encourage restful sleep: a silent space, a supportive surface and minimal light as you can manage. Others suggest that you should just doze on a couch with ambient lighting is available – to avoid that groggy feeling and to preserve your bedroom as the environment your mind associates with *real* sleep. “Falling asleep is something really tricky to will,” says a specialist. “If you don’t have any drowsiness, it is more challenging to recline and practically command yourself to go to sleep. There’s got to be some sleep pressure there to initiate sleep in the first place. For me, it's possible to nap during the day and awaken on my own alarm-free, though, what aids many individuals is to wait for an instance that they’re naturally somewhat sleepy and just gently relax into it.”
Experimentation is key, and when you have few options – such as, if attempting to fit in 40 winks during a commute or in a soundproof office pod – it's acceptable to employ some accessories. “Coaching professional sportspeople, I suggest that they avoid becoming accustomed to sleeping in their bed, since they’re going to have|they will
