Tune into enough performance experts, and you'll be simple to think that napping is a powerful tool: rather than a quick fix following restless night, but a path towards improved recall, improved mood and possibly improved athletic performance. Elite soccer players do it regularly – along with professional piano players, mixed martial artists and media moguls. Yet, when you haven’t got a special sleep space or employment that permits regular snoozing, is it *truly* sufficient advantages to a short sleep for it to be worth the kerfuffle? Can you find a surefire technique to get to sleep quickly enough? Furthermore, can you truly ensure you will get up feeling better, instead of groggy?
Understanding Your Drive to Snooze
“We can identify three key drivers for daytime sleep among most adults,” says a leading sleep and circadian science specialist. “One is known as make-up sleep, that is what you do when you’ve had poor sleep the night before. Secondly, there's preparatory napping, which involves preparing for a sleep deficit in the future, for instance if you’re working graveyard shifts. The third is called “pleasure-based sleep”, which simply boils down to the wish: you have a chance to doze in the daytime, and it's enjoyable to do it.”
The primary task to do, so, is to think about why you want to nap. “Naps can be truly beneficial when night sleeping is being disrupted due to causes outside your control – for example, for a parent of a newborn, or you’re recovering from sickness or strenuous activity,” explains a sleep specialist. “However, if you nap because your sleep at night feels fragile or unreliable, that can be a signal your sleep drive is not as strong as it should be. Under those circumstances, napping can become part of the problem, not the solution. Employ naps as a temporary measure to address immediate needs – the main goal should still be a solid and consistent night’s sleep.”
The Ideal Nap Duration
This implies that napping must not be too extended to interfere with your nighttime sleep, and ideally shouldn’t take place in the late afternoon (depending on what time you retire at night). What's a reasonable length? Guidelines are mixed. From the most-cited studies about napping, space agency scientists found that astronauts showed up to a 54% increase in vigilance and a 34% boost in cognitive performance following a nap of 26 minutes (to be precise, this involved an initial six-minute sleep onset time). “I recommend using an alarm for 20-30 minutes – many individuals doze off in under ten minutes,” notes a sleep expert. “You'll find much recommendations concerning the optimal amount of time, however, that can lead individuals to become more worried than anything – and the most counterproductive thing you can possibly do when trying to nod off is worry about it.”
Should you decide to take an extended nap, bypass the 45 to 60 minute range that promotes sleep grogginess, that spaced-out feeling when you awaken. “The science indicates it is preferable to take a lengthier snooze lasting 60-90 minutes rather than a mid-length nap,” notes the sleep scientist. “Forty-five minutes is enough time to put you into slow-wave sleep making it more likely to feel groggy upon awakening – whereas if you nap for a little longer to 60 or 90 minutes, it's likely you'll to finish of a sleep cycle and will probably awaken feeling more alert. However, if you're dozing for a long period, it can influence the quality of your sleep in the evening.”
Establishing an Ideal Sleep Space
Regarding specific techniques, recommendations vary. Certain specialists recommend using comparable habits you use to encourage restful sleep: a peaceful area, a cozy bed and as much darkness as possible. Others suggest that it's fine to just doze in a chair in the existing light happens to be around – to prevent post-nap grogginess and to “protect” your sleeping quarters as the environment your mind associates with nighttime rest. “Falling asleep is notoriously difficult to will,” notes a sleep coach. “Without the urge to sleep, it is tougher to get comfortable and basically instruct yourself to go to sleep. There must be a natural inclination available to bring the sleep on initially. For me, it's possible to nap in full light and awaken on my own without a timer, however, what assists most folks is to wait for a moment when they are naturally slightly tired and calmly relax into it.”
It’s worth experimenting, and should options are scarce – for example, if you’re trying to grab 40 winks during a commute or in a work pod – it is perfectly fine to use a few tools. “Coaching elite athletes, I suggest that they avoid becoming accustomed to napping in bed, because they’re going to have|they will
