Hear plenty of productivity experts, and it’s simple to think that dozing is a powerful tool: not just a sticking plaster following restless night, but a shortcut to enhanced cognition, improved mood and maybe quicker running times. Premier League footballers do it regularly – along with concert pianists, mixed martial artists and business leaders. But if you lack a dedicated nap-room or a career that allows daytime sleep, can there *honestly* enough benefits to a burst of shut-eye to merit the kerfuffle? Does there exist a surefire technique to nod off promptly? And can you honestly promise you will get up feeling better, rather than worse?
Identifying The Reasons for Napping
“We can identify three primary motivations for napping for many people,” explains a leading circadian rhythm specialist. “Firstly, there's termed make-up sleep, which is what you do following poor sleep overnight. Secondly, there's preparatory napping, when you are pre-empting a sleep deficit ahead, such as during graveyard shifts. The third reason is “hedonic napping”, which simply boils down to the wish: you get a moment to doze in the afternoon, and it's pleasant to do it.”
The first thing to do, then, is consider why you want to nap. “Naps can be truly beneficial when nighttime sleep gets interrupted due to causes beyond your control – for example, if you’re caring for an infant, or recovering from sickness or heavy physical exertion,” states a sleep expert. “Yet when you take a nap as your sleep at night is unstable or unreliable, that can be an indicator your sleep drive is not as strong as required. Under those circumstances, naps can become part of the problem, not the solution. Use napping as a short-term solution for temporary issues – the priority ought to remain a solid and consistent sleep at night.”
The Perfect Nap Length
This means that napping must not be long enough to disrupt your nighttime sleep, and preferably shouldn’t take place in the late afternoon (contingent on the time you sleep at night). What duration is wise? Advice differs. Among the most-cited studies regarding daytime sleep, space agency scientists found that crew members experienced improvements of over 50% in alertness and a 34% boost in task performance following a nap of 26 minutes (in detail, this included a six-minute sleep onset time). “My advice is setting a timer for half an hour or less – most people doze off within 10 minutes,” explains a specialist. “There’s a lot of guidance out there about the perfect length for sleeping, but that tends to make people feel more stressed above all – and the worst thing one can do when attempting to nod off is to be anxious.”
If you’re going to nap for a longer period, avoid the 45 to 60 minute range that encourages sleep grogginess, that disoriented sensation when you awaken. “Research indicates it’s better to have an extended nap of one to one and a half hours rather than a mid-length nap,” explains the professor. “Three-quarters of an hour is enough time to send you into deep sleep and it is more probable to feel sluggish when you wake up – whereas if you extend it slightly longer to 60 or 90 minutes, it's likely you'll to finish a full cycle and should get up feeling more refreshed. But if you're dozing for 90 minutes, it will affect the quality of your sleep later that night.”
Establishing an Ideal Nap Environment
As for specific techniques, suggestions are diverse. A few professionals suggest using similar routines you use to promote restful sleep: a silent space, a comfortable bed and minimal light as is feasible. Some advise that it's fine to merely snooze in a chair with ambient lighting happens to be around – both to discourage that groggy feeling and to preserve your sleeping quarters as the place you associate with proper sleep. “Sleep is something really tricky to will,” says an expert. “Without the urge to sleep, it is more challenging to get comfortable and essentially tell yourself to go to sleep. There must be some sleep pressure available to initiate sleep in the first place. Personally, I can often nap in broad daylight and wake up naturally without an alarm, however, what assists most folks is to wait for an instance when they are naturally feeling a bit drowsy and just gently allow sleep to come.”
It’s worth experimenting, and if options are scarce – for instance, if attempting to fit in a quick nap on a train or in a soundproof office pod – there’s nothing wrong to employ some accessories. “In my work with footballers, I recommend that they don’t get used to napping in bed, as they’re going to have|they will
