Hear plenty of performance gurus, and you'll be easy to think that napping is a secret weapon: rather than a sticking plaster after poor sleep, but a route to a better memory, improved mood and perhaps improved athletic performance. Professional soccer players do it regularly – along with professional piano players, mixed martial artists & high-profile executives. However, if you don't have a dedicated nap-room or a job that allows regular snoozing, are there *really* sufficient advantages to a quick nap for it to be worth the effort? Is there a dependable method to get to sleep quickly enough? Furthermore, can you truly ensure you will arise feeling improved, not worse?
Understanding Your Reasons for Napping
“There are three key drivers for taking a nap in the adult population,” says a leading sleep science specialist. “Firstly, there's termed make-up sleep, essentially what you do following a lack of sleep the previous night. Another is prophylactic napping, which involves preparing for sleep loss in the future, for instance when working overnight shifts. Finally, there's “appetitive drive”, which basically is about wanting: there is an opportunity to doze during the day, and it feels nice to do it.”
The primary task to do, therefore, is to think about why you want to nap. “Daytime sleep can be really helpful when night sleeping is disturbed for reasons outside your control – such as, for a new parent, or if you are healing after being ill or intense exercise,” states a sleep specialist. “But if you’re napping because your sleep at night is unstable or broken, that can be a sign your sleep drive is not at the level required. Under those circumstances, napping can become part of the problem, not the solution. Use napping as a temporary measure to address immediate needs – the main goal must always be a solid and consistent night’s sleep.”
The Optimal Snooze Time
This means that napping must not be long enough to disrupt your overnight rest, and preferably should not occur post-3 p.m. (based on when you sleep overnight). How long is sensible? Recommendations vary. Among the most-cited studies regarding daytime sleep, researchers at Nasa noted that space travelers experienced up to a 54% increase in alertness plus a 34% rise 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 an alarm for 20 to 30 minutes – many individuals doze off within 10 minutes,” notes a sleep expert. “There’s a lot of guidance out there regarding the optimal amount for sleeping, however, that can cause people to feel more stressed than anything – and the most counterproductive thing you can do when trying to nod off is worry about it.”
If you’re going to nap for a longer period, bypass the period between 45 and 60 minutes that induces sleep inertia, that spaced-out feeling upon waking. “Studies suggests it's more effective to have an extended nap lasting 60-90 minutes than a medium-length one,” notes the sleep scientist. “45 minutes is sufficient to plunge you into deep sleep making it more likely to feel sluggish when you get up – however, if you nap for a bit longer to a full sleep cycle, it's likely you'll to be completing of a sleep cycle and are likely to awaken feeling more alert. But if you're dozing for a long period, it may impact how you sleep later that night.”
Creating an Ideal Nap Environment
As for precise methods, recommendations vary. A few professionals recommend using the same protocol you use to foster a good night’s sleep: a silent space, a comfortable bed and maximum darkness as you can manage. Others suggest that you should merely snooze on the sofa in whatever light is available – to prevent post-nap grogginess and to “protect” your sleeping quarters as the place you associate with proper sleep. “Falling asleep is something really tricky to force,” says a sleep coach. “Lacking any drowsiness, it is tougher to lie down and basically instruct yourself to nod off. You need some drive there to bring the sleep on initially. Personally, I can often nap in full light and awaken on my own alarm-free, though, what aids most folks is to wait for a time where they feel naturally somewhat sleepy and calmly allow sleep to come.”
Experimentation is key, and when options are scarce – such as, when aiming to squeeze in some shut-eye on a train or in a work pod – it is perfectly fine to use sleep aids. “When I’m working with elite athletes, I advise that they avoid becoming accustomed to napping in bed, since they’re going to have|they will
