Hear enough performance podcasters, and it’s easy to convince yourself that dozing is a secret weapon: not just a sticking plaster after poor sleep, but a route towards enhanced cognition, better spirits and possibly quicker running times. Professional athletes are all at it – along with concert pianists, UFC champions and business leaders. Yet, when you lack a dedicated nap-room or a job that allows regular snoozing, are there *really* sufficient advantages to a quick nap for it to be worth the hassle? Is there a surefire technique to get to sleep quickly enough? And can you really guarantee you’ll wake up feeling refreshed, not worse?
Understanding The Nap Motivation
“There are three primary motivations for taking a nap among most adults,” explains an expert sleep science researcher. “One is termed recovery napping, essentially what happens following a lack of sleep the previous night. The second is prophylactic napping, where you are anticipating insufficient sleep coming up, for example during on night shifts. The third reason is “pleasure-based sleep”, which basically boils down to desire: there is a chance to nap during the day, and it feels nice to nap.”
The initial step to consider, therefore, is consider why you want to nap. “Naps can be genuinely useful when overnight rest is disturbed because of factors beyond your control – for example, for a parent of a newborn, or if you are healing from sickness or heavy physical exertion,” explains a sleep specialist. “Yet when you’re napping as your night sleep feels fragile or broken, that’s often a signal your need for sleep is not where it should be. In those cases, napping can become a contributing factor, rather than the answer. Utilize daytime sleep as a short-term solution for temporary issues – the priority ought to remain a strong and predictable overnight rest.”
The Ideal Nap Duration
This implies that naps ought not to be long enough to interfere with your nighttime sleep, and best should not occur post-3 p.m. (depending on what time you go to bed at night). What's a reasonable length? Advice differs. In one of a prominent study regarding daytime sleep, experts discovered that space travelers had improvements of over 50% in alertness and a 34% increase in performance following a nap of 26 minutes (in detail, this included an initial six-minute nodding-off period). “I’d suggest setting an alarm for 20-30 minutes – the majority are asleep in under ten minutes,” explains a sleep coach. “There is plenty of guidance out there about the perfect length for sleeping, but that tends to lead individuals to become more stressed than anything else – and the most counterproductive thing you can possibly do while aiming to nod off is worry about it.”
If you plan to sleep for longer, steer clear of the 45-60 minute window that encourages sleep inertia, that spaced-out feeling upon waking. “Research suggests it’s better to opt for a longer nap lasting 60-90 minutes rather than a mid-length nap,” explains the professor. “45 minutes is enough time to send you into deep sleep making it more likely to feel sluggish when you wake up – while if you take it slightly longer to 60 or 90 minutes, it's likely you'll to be on the end of a sleep cycle and should awaken feeling more alert. However, if you’re sleeping for 90 minutes, it may impact your sleep in the evening.”
Finding the Right Nap Environment
As for exact methodologies, recommendations vary. Some experts suggest employing comparable habits you’d use to foster a good night’s sleep: a quiet room, a supportive surface and maximum darkness as you can manage. Alternatively, experts propose that it's fine to just doze in a chair with ambient lighting is present – to prevent post-nap grogginess and to maintain your sleeping quarters as the space you associate with nighttime rest. “Napping is quite challenging to command,” explains a specialist. “Lacking any drowsiness, it becomes harder to get comfortable and practically instruct yourself to go to sleep. There’s got to be some drive there to bring the sleep on initially. I can usually take a nap in broad daylight and wake up naturally alarm-free, however, what assists most folks is to wait for a moment where they feel naturally slightly tired and then simply ease into sleep.”
Experimentation is key, and when you have few options – for example, if attempting to grab 40 winks on a train or in a work pod – it is perfectly fine with bringing some accessories. “When I’m working with professional sportspeople, I advise that they not rely on their own bed for naps, since they’re going to have|they will
