Hear enough productivity podcasters, and you'll be tempting to think that napping is a secret weapon: not just a sticking plaster following a bad night’s sleep, but a shortcut towards enhanced cognition, better spirits and perhaps quicker running times. Elite athletes do it regularly – along with musicians, UFC champions & high-profile executives. But if you don't have a room for napping or employment that encourages regular snoozing, is it *truly* enough benefits to a quick nap for it to be worth the hassle? Is there a surefire technique to nod off promptly? Plus, is it possible to honestly promise you will get up feeling better, instead of groggy?
Identifying The Nap Motivation
“We can identify three key drivers for taking a nap in the adult population,” explains a leading sleep science professor. “One is termed recovery napping, which is what happens when you’ve had a lack of sleep the night before. The second is preparatory napping, when you are preparing for a sleep deficit in the future, such as when working on night shifts. The third is called “hedonic napping”, which essentially boils down to the wish: you have a chance to sleep during the day, and it's pleasant to do it.”
The initial step to undertake, so, is to think about your nap motivation. “Daytime sleep can be genuinely useful when overnight rest is disturbed due to causes beyond your control – for example, if you’re a new parent, or if you are healing after being ill or intense exercise,” states a sleep physiologist. “However, if you’re napping since your nighttime sleep is unstable or broken, that can be an indicator your body's sleep pressure is not as strong as it should be. In those cases, daytime sleep can turn into a contributing factor, instead of the fix. Utilize daytime sleep for brief periods for short-term problems – the priority ought to remain a robust and regular sleep at night.”
The Perfect Nap Duration
This means that napping must not be long enough to affect your nighttime sleep, and ideally are not recommended post-3 p.m. (contingent on when you go to bed in the evening). What duration is wise? Advice differs. Among the most referenced research on the subject, researchers at Nasa found that astronauts had a boost of up to 54% in vigilance and a 34% boost in task performance following a nap of 26 minutes (to be precise, this included a six-minute long falling asleep phase). “I’d suggest setting a timer for half an hour or less – many individuals fall asleep quickly,” says a specialist. “There is plenty of guidance out there regarding the optimal amount of time, but that tends to lead individuals to become more stressed above all – and the least helpful action you can possibly do when trying to nod off is to be anxious.”
If you plan to sleep for longer, bypass the 45 to 60 minute range that induces sleep grogginess, that spaced-out feeling when you awaken. “Studies indicates it’s better to have a lengthier snooze lasting 60-90 minutes compared to a medium-length nap,” explains the sleep scientist. “Three-quarters of an hour is sufficient to plunge you into a deep sleep stage and you’re more likely to feel sluggish upon awakening – however, if you take it a little longer to 60 or 90 minutes, it's likely you'll to finish of a sleep cycle and will probably wake up feeling more rejuvenated. Though if you're dozing for 90 minutes, it may impact how you sleep later that night.”
Finding the Perfect Snooze Setting
Regarding specific techniques, suggestions are diverse. A few professionals recommend using the same protocol you use to encourage restful sleep: a quiet room, a supportive surface and minimal light as possible. Some advise that one could merely snooze in a chair with ambient lighting is available – both to discourage sleep inertia and to “protect” your bed as the environment your mind associates with nighttime rest. “Falling asleep is notoriously difficult to will,” says a specialist. “Lacking the urge to sleep, it is tougher to recline and practically tell yourself to fall asleep. There’s got to be some sleep pressure there to initiate sleep initially. Personally, I can often snooze in broad daylight and wake up naturally alarm-free, but what helps a lot of people is to wait for a moment that they’re naturally somewhat sleepy and then simply ease into sleep.”
It’s worth experimenting, and if you have few options – for example, if attempting to squeeze in 40 winks on a train or in a work pod – there’s nothing wrong to use sleep aids. “Coaching elite athletes, I suggest that they avoid becoming accustomed to their own bed for naps, because they’re going to have|they will
