Hear a few performance experts, and it’s easy to believe that napping is a superpower: rather than a sticking plaster after poor sleep, but a shortcut towards enhanced cognition, better spirits and maybe quicker running times. Elite athletes are all at it – as do professional piano players, mixed martial artists & business leaders. Yet, when you haven’t got a room for napping or employment that permits daytime sleep, can there *honestly* sufficient advantages to a quick nap for it to be worth the kerfuffle? Can you find a reliable way to get to sleep quickly enough? Furthermore, can you honestly promise you will get up feeling improved, rather than worse?
Identifying The Drive to Snooze
“There are three main reasons for daytime sleep among most adults,” notes a leading sleep science professor. “Firstly, there's known as make-up sleep, which is what you do when you’ve had insufficient sleep overnight. Another is prophylactic napping, when you are preparing for insufficient sleep coming up, for instance if you’re working graveyard shifts. The third is called “hedonic napping”, which basically comes down to wanting: you have a moment to doze in the afternoon, and it's pleasant to nap.”
The primary task to undertake, therefore, is to think about why you want to nap. “Naps can be really helpful when night sleeping gets interrupted because of factors you cannot change – for example, for a parent of a newborn, or recovering from sickness or heavy physical exertion,” states a sleep specialist. “Yet when you take a nap because your sleep at night seems unreliable or poor, that’s often an indicator your need for sleep is not at the level required. Under those circumstances, daytime sleep can turn into part of the problem, rather than the answer. Use napping for brief periods for short-term problems – the focus must always be a solid and consistent overnight rest.”
The Optimal Nap Duration
This implies that napping shouldn’t be too extended to disrupt your sleep at night, and ideally are not recommended in the late afternoon (depending on what time you go to bed at night). What's a reasonable length? Advice differs. Among the most-cited studies regarding daytime sleep, researchers at Nasa found that astronauts experienced improvements of over 50% in attentiveness plus a 34% rise in task performance following a nap of 26 minutes (to be precise, this counted a six-minute falling asleep phase). “I recommend setting an alarm for 20-30 minutes – most people doze off quickly,” notes a specialist. “You'll find much advice around about the optimal amount of time, but that tends to cause people to feel more stressed than anything – and the least helpful action you can possibly do when attempting to get to sleep is to be anxious.”
If you’re going to sleep for longer, avoid the period between 45 and 60 minutes that promotes sleep inertia, that spaced-out feeling when you wake. “Research indicates it’s better to have a longer 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 making it more likely to feel sluggish when you wake up – whereas if you take it a bit longer to 60 or 90 minutes, you’re likely to finish a full cycle and are likely to awaken feeling more alert. However, if you nap for a long period, it will affect your sleep later that night.”
Finding the Perfect Nap Environment
When it comes to specific techniques, advice differs. A few professionals suggest employing similar routines one would use to encourage a good night’s sleep: a silent space, a comfortable bed and maximum darkness as is feasible. Alternatively, experts propose that it's fine to just doze on the sofa in the existing light happens to be around – to prevent sleep inertia and to preserve your bedroom as the environment your brain links with nighttime rest. “Falling asleep is quite challenging to force,” says a specialist. “Without the urge to sleep, it becomes harder to lie down and essentially command yourself to nod off. There must be a natural inclination available to initiate sleep in the first place. I can usually nap during the day and naturally wake up without a timer, but what helps many individuals is to wait for a moment where they feel naturally somewhat sleepy and just gently relax into it.”
It’s worth experimenting, and if your choices are limited – such as, if you’re trying to grab a quick nap while traveling or at the office – it's acceptable to use a few tools. “Coaching professional sportspeople, I suggest that they not rely on napping in bed, as they’re going to have|they will
