Hear enough performance podcasters, and you'll be easy to believe that a nap is a superpower: more than a sticking plaster after poor sleep, but a path to a better memory, improved mood and possibly quicker running times. Professional footballers swear by it – and so are musicians, mixed martial artists & media moguls. Yet, when you haven’t got a room for napping or a career that encourages daytime sleep, is it *truly* sufficient advantages to a short sleep for it to be worth the hassle? Can you find a reliable way to nod off promptly? Plus, is it possible to truly ensure you’ll wake up feeling improved, instead of groggy?
Exploring The Nap Motivation
“There are three main reasons for daytime sleep for many people,” says a leading sleep and circadian science researcher. “Firstly, there's what we call compensatory napping, essentially what you do after experiencing insufficient sleep the previous night. Another is pre-emptive sleep, where you are preparing for sleep loss coming up, such as during on night shifts. The third is called “appetitive drive”, which simply is about desire: there is a chance to sleep during the day, and it feels nice to indulge.”
The initial step to undertake, so, is to examine your nap motivation. “Daytime sleep can be truly beneficial when nighttime sleep gets interrupted for reasons outside your control – for example, when you are a new parent, or recovering from illness or heavy physical exertion,” states a sleep specialist. “However, if you’re napping because your nighttime sleep feels fragile or poor, that is frequently an indicator your body's sleep pressure is not at the level it should be. Under those circumstances, napping can become part of the problem, instead of the fix. Utilize daytime sleep as a short-term solution to address immediate needs – the priority should still be a robust and regular night’s sleep.”
The Ideal Nap Length
This means that daytime sleep must not be too extended to interfere with your sleep at night, and ideally are not recommended in the late afternoon (depending on when you go to bed in the evening). What duration is wise? Guidelines are mixed. In one of the most-cited studies regarding daytime sleep, space agency scientists found that space travelers had improvements of over 50% in vigilance and a 34% increase in task performance following a nap of 26 minutes (in detail, this included a six-minute sleep onset time). “I’d suggest setting a timer for 20 to 30 minutes – most people doze off within 10 minutes,” explains a specialist. “There’s a lot of advice around regarding the optimal amount of time, however, that can cause people to feel more stressed than anything – and the least helpful action you can do while aiming to nod off is to be anxious.”
Should you decide to take an extended nap, bypass the 45-60 minute window that encourages sleep inertia, that spaced-out feeling upon waking. “The science suggests it is preferable to opt for a longer nap of one to one and a half hours rather than a mid-length nap,” says the sleep scientist. “45 minutes is long enough to send you into deep sleep making it more likely to feel disoriented upon awakening – while if you take it slightly longer to 60 or 90 minutes, it's likely you'll to be completing of a sleep cycle and are likely to awaken feeling more alert. Though if you’re sleeping for an hour and a half, it can influence how you sleep in the evening.”
Finding the Perfect Nap Environment
When it comes to exact methodologies, advice differs. Certain specialists recommend using the same protocol one would use to promote a good night’s sleep: a peaceful area, a comfortable bed and minimal light as possible. Some advise that one could simply nap on a couch in whatever light happens to be around – to avoid sleep inertia and to maintain your bedroom as the place you associate with proper sleep. “Sleep is quite challenging to command,” explains an expert. “Without any drowsiness, it is tougher to recline and basically tell yourself to fall asleep. There must be some drive present to initiate sleep in the first place. I can usually nap in broad daylight and naturally wake up without a timer, however, what assists many individuals is to wait for a time where they feel naturally slightly tired and calmly ease into sleep.”
Trying different approaches is valuable, and should you have few options – such as, when aiming to fit in 40 winks while traveling or at the office – it's acceptable to use a few tools. “In my work with professional sportspeople, I advise that they not rely on sleeping in their bed, since they’re going to have|they will
