Hear enough self-improvement gurus, and it’s simple to think that a nap is a superpower: rather than a quick fix following restless night, but a path to improved recall, better spirits and perhaps a faster 5k run time. Elite soccer players swear by it – along with professional piano players, UFC champions and high-profile executives. But if you don't have a room for napping or a job that permits frequent naps, is it *truly* sufficient advantages to a burst of shut-eye for it to be worth the kerfuffle? Can you find a reliable way to fall asleep fast? Furthermore, can you honestly promise you will arise feeling refreshed, rather than worse?
Understanding The Drive to Snooze
“There are three main reasons for napping for many people,” explains a professor of sleep and circadian science researcher. “One is termed recovery napping, essentially the action you take following insufficient sleep the previous night. Another is prophylactic napping, when you are pre-empting sleep loss in the future, such as when working overnight shifts. The third reason is “hedonic napping”, which simply comes down to desire: you get a moment to sleep in the daytime, and it feels nice to nap.”
The primary task to do, so, is to think about your reason for napping. “Naps can be genuinely useful when night sleeping gets interrupted for reasons you cannot change – such as, when you are a parent of a newborn, or if you are healing from illness or heavy physical exertion,” states a sleep physiologist. “But if you’re napping because your nighttime sleep feels fragile or poor, that’s often a signal your body's sleep pressure is not where required. Under those circumstances, daytime sleep can turn into a contributing factor, not the solution. Use napping as a short-term solution for short-term problems – the priority should still be a strong and predictable overnight rest.”
The Perfect Nap Length
Therefore that naps ought not to be too extended to affect your sleep at night, and preferably are not recommended in the late afternoon (depending on when you go to bed overnight). How long is sensible? Recommendations vary. In one of a prominent study on the subject, researchers at Nasa discovered that astronauts had a boost of up to 54% in alertness plus a 34% rise in task performance after a 26-minute nap (in detail, this counted an initial six-minute sleep onset time). “My advice is using an alarm for half an hour or less – most people doze off in under ten minutes,” explains a sleep expert. “There is plenty of advice around regarding the optimal amount of minutes, yet that often cause people to feel more worried than anything else – and the worst thing one can do when trying to fall asleep is to be anxious.”
If you’re going to take an extended nap, steer clear of the 45 to 60 minute range that promotes sleep inertia, that spaced-out feeling upon waking. “The science suggests it’s better to have a longer nap of one to one and a half hours rather than a mid-length nap,” says the sleep scientist. “Forty-five minutes is long enough to put you into deep sleep and you’re more likely to feel groggy when you wake up – however, if you nap for a bit longer to a full sleep cycle, you’re likely to be completing a full cycle and are likely to awaken feeling more rejuvenated. However, if you're dozing for 90 minutes, it can influence the quality of your sleep that night.”
Creating the Perfect Sleep Space
As for precise methods, recommendations vary. Certain specialists suggest employing comparable habits you use to foster a good night’s sleep: a peaceful area, a comfortable bed and as much darkness as is feasible. Some advise that one could simply nap on a couch with ambient lighting is present – both to discourage sleep inertia and to maintain your sleeping quarters as the place your mind associates with proper sleep. “Falling asleep is quite challenging to command,” notes a specialist. “If you don’t have any sleepiness, it is more challenging to recline and basically instruct yourself to go to sleep. There’s got to be a natural inclination present to bring the sleep on initially. For me, it's possible to snooze in full light and awaken on my own alarm-free, though, what aids a lot of people is to look for a time that they’re naturally feeling a bit drowsy and calmly allow sleep to come.”
It’s worth experimenting, and when you have few options – for example, if you’re trying to fit in 40 winks on a train or at the office – there’s nothing wrong with bringing a few tools. “Coaching footballers, I recommend that they don’t get used to their own bed for naps, because they’re going to have|they will
