Listen to a few productivity gurus, and you'll be easy to believe that a nap is a superpower: more than a quick fix following a bad night’s sleep, but a route to a better memory, improved mood and possibly quicker running times. Elite athletes swear by it – as do concert pianists, fighters and high-profile executives. But if you don't have a room for napping or employment that encourages frequent naps, are there *really* enough benefits to a burst of shut-eye to justify the effort? Is there a dependable method to nod off promptly? And can you really guarantee you will get up feeling refreshed, not worse?
Understanding Your Reasons for Napping
“We can identify three primary motivations for daytime sleep among most adults,” notes an expert sleep science researcher. “One is what we call make-up sleep, that is what happens after experiencing a lack of sleep the previous night. Secondly, there's prophylactic napping, where you are anticipating sleep loss coming up, for example during on night shifts. The third reason is “pleasure-based sleep”, which simply boils down to wanting: there is a chance to sleep in the daytime, and it's pleasant to do it.”
The primary task to do, so, is to think about your reason for napping. “Napping can be genuinely useful when overnight rest is disturbed for reasons you cannot change – for instance, for caring for an infant, or if you are healing from illness or heavy physical exertion,” states a sleep specialist. “But if you’re napping because your night sleep seems unreliable or unreliable, that’s often a sign your need for sleep is not where required. In such situations, napping can become part of the problem, not the solution. Use napping as a temporary measure to address immediate needs – the focus should still be a robust and regular sleep at night.”
The Ideal Nap Length
Therefore that naps shouldn’t be long enough to interfere with your overnight rest, and preferably should not occur after about 3pm (depending on when you sleep overnight). How long is sensible? Recommendations vary. From the most-cited studies regarding daytime sleep, space agency scientists noted that space travelers experienced up to a 54% increase in alertness and a 34% boost in task performance after a 26-minute nap (technically, this counted an initial six-minute falling asleep phase). “I recommend using an alarm for 20 to 30 minutes – the majority are asleep quickly,” notes a specialist. “There is plenty of guidance out there concerning the perfect length of time, yet that often make people feel more stressed above all – and the most counterproductive thing you can possibly do while aiming to get to sleep is to stress over it.”
If you plan to take an extended nap, steer clear of the period between 45 and 60 minutes that promotes sleep inertia, that foggy state upon waking. “Research would say it is preferable to opt for an extended nap lasting 60-90 minutes than a medium-length one,” explains the expert. “Forty-five minutes is long enough to send you into a deep sleep stage and it is more probable to feel sluggish when you wake up – while if you nap for slightly longer to an hour or 90 minutes, it's likely you'll to finish a full cycle and are likely to get up feeling more rejuvenated. Though if you're dozing for an hour and a half, it may impact your sleep that night.”
Finding an Ideal Sleep Space
Regarding precise methods, advice differs. A few professionals recommend adopting the same protocol you’d use to promote quality nighttime sleep: a silent space, a comfortable bed and minimal light as is feasible. Others suggest that it's fine to merely snooze on a couch with ambient lighting is available – to prevent sleep inertia and to “protect” your bed as the environment your mind associates with nighttime rest. “Napping is quite challenging to will,” notes a specialist. “Lacking any drowsiness, it becomes harder to lie down and practically command yourself to nod off. You need some sleep pressure there to bring the sleep on to begin with. I can usually take a nap in broad daylight and awaken on my own alarm-free, though, what aids most folks is to look for an instance when they are naturally somewhat sleepy and then simply relax into it.”
Experimentation is key, and when you have few options – for example, when aiming to grab a quick nap on a train or in a work pod – there’s nothing wrong with bringing some accessories. “In my work with footballers, I recommend that they not rely on sleeping in their bed, since they’re going to have|they will
