Hear enough productivity gurus, and you'll be simple to convince yourself that a nap is a powerful tool: more than a band-aid following a bad night’s sleep, but a route towards a better memory, better spirits and maybe a faster 5k run time. Elite athletes do it regularly – and so are concert pianists, fighters & business leaders. Yet, when you lack a special sleep space or a career that permits frequent naps, is it *truly* enough benefits to a short sleep to merit the hassle? Can you find a reliable way to nod off promptly? Plus, is it possible to truly ensure you’ll wake up feeling refreshed, instead of groggy?
Exploring Your Nap Motivation
“Experts note three key drivers for daytime sleep among most adults,” says a leading sleep science researcher. “The first is what we call compensatory napping, essentially what happens after experiencing insufficient sleep the night before. Secondly, there's preparatory napping, which involves anticipating insufficient sleep in the future, for example during overnight shifts. The third is called “hedonic napping”, which simply comes down to desire: you get a chance to doze in the daytime, and it feels nice to nap.”
The first thing to undertake, therefore, is to examine your reason for napping. “Daytime sleep can be truly beneficial when night sleeping gets interrupted for reasons beyond your control – such as, when you are a parent of a newborn, or recovering from illness or heavy physical exertion,” explains a sleep physiologist. “Yet when you’re napping since your sleep at night feels fragile or poor, that’s often an indicator your sleep drive is not where it needs to be. Under those circumstances, naps can become part of the problem, rather than the answer. Utilize daytime sleep as a temporary measure to address immediate needs – the main goal must always be a solid and consistent night’s sleep.”
The Ideal Snooze Time
Therefore that naps must not be long enough to disrupt your overnight rest, and best should not occur in the late afternoon (contingent on when you go to bed in the evening). What's a reasonable length? Recommendations vary. From the most referenced research regarding daytime sleep, space agency scientists found that astronauts had up to a 54% increase in attentiveness and a 34% increase in cognitive performance following a nap of 26 minutes (to be precise, this involved a six-minute long falling asleep phase). “I’d suggest using an alarm for 20-30 minutes – most people fall asleep within 10 minutes,” explains a sleep coach. “You'll find much guidance out there regarding the perfect length of time, however, that can make people feel more anxious above all – and the least helpful action one can do while aiming to fall asleep is worry about it.”
Should you decide to take an extended nap, bypass the 45 to 60 minute range that encourages that sluggish feeling, that spaced-out feeling upon waking. “Studies indicates it's more effective to take an extended nap lasting 60-90 minutes compared to a medium-length nap,” explains the expert. “45 minutes is enough time to put you into a deep sleep stage and it is more probable to feel groggy when you get up – however, if you nap for a bit longer to an hour or 90 minutes, you’re likely to be completing of a sleep cycle and are likely to wake up feeling more alert. Though if you’re sleeping for an hour and a half, it will affect your sleep that night.”
Creating the Right Sleep Space
When it comes to precise methods, advice differs. A few professionals suggest using comparable habits you use to promote a good night’s sleep: a peaceful area, a comfortable bed and as much darkness as is feasible. Alternatively, experts propose that one could merely snooze on a couch in the existing light happens to be around – to prevent post-nap grogginess and to maintain your bed as the place you associate with proper sleep. “Sleep is quite challenging to command,” says a specialist. “Lacking any sleepiness, it becomes harder to get comfortable and practically command yourself to go to sleep. You need some drive there to start the process to begin with. For me, it's possible to nap in broad daylight and awaken on my own without an alarm, but what helps many individuals is to wait for a time when they are naturally somewhat sleepy and calmly ease into sleep.”
It’s worth experimenting, and should you have few options – for example, if attempting to grab a quick nap while traveling or in a soundproof office pod – it's acceptable to use a few tools. “When I’m working with elite athletes, I suggest that they avoid becoming accustomed to their own bed for naps, because they’re going to have|they will
