The Formula for a Flawless Nap: When, Where & Duration?
Listen to plenty of self-improvement podcasters, and you'll be simple to convince yourself that a nap is a secret weapon: rather than a sticking plaster following poor sleep, but a path to improved recall, better spirits and possibly improved athletic performance. Premier League footballers do it regularly – along with professional piano players, fighters and business leaders. Yet, when you don't have a special sleep space or employment that encourages regular snoozing, is it *truly* worthwhile perks to a short sleep to justify the effort? Can you find a dependable method to get to sleep quickly enough? And can you really guarantee you will get up feeling improved, not worse?
Identifying The Drive to Snooze
“There are three key drivers for taking a nap in the adult population,” explains a professor of sleep science professor. “The first is what we call recovery napping, which is what you do after experiencing a lack of sleep the night before. The second is prophylactic napping, when you are pre-empting sleep loss in the future, such as if you’re working on night shifts. The third is called “hedonic napping”, which essentially comes down to wanting: there is an opportunity to doze during the day, and it feels nice to do it.”
The initial step to do, so, is to think about your reason for napping. “Daytime sleep can be genuinely useful when overnight rest gets interrupted because of factors you cannot change – for instance, when you are caring for an infant, or you’re recovering from sickness or strenuous activity,” states a sleep specialist. “Yet when you take a nap as your sleep at night feels fragile or poor, that is frequently a signal your body's sleep pressure is not at the level it should be. In such situations, napping can become a contributing factor, instead of the fix. Use napping as a short-term solution for short-term problems – the priority ought to remain a robust and regular night’s sleep.”
The Ideal Snooze Time
This means that daytime sleep shouldn’t be sufficiently lengthy to disrupt your sleep at night, and preferably shouldn’t take place after about 3pm (based on when you retire overnight). How long is sensible? Advice differs. From the most referenced research on the subject, researchers at Nasa noted that space travelers experienced a boost of up to 54% in alertness plus a 34% rise in task performance following a nap of 26 minutes (in detail, this involved an initial six-minute nodding-off period). “I recommend setting a timer for 20-30 minutes – most people fall asleep quickly,” notes a sleep expert. “There’s a lot of guidance out there concerning the perfect length for sleeping, however, that can make people feel more worried than anything else – and the worst thing you can do when attempting to get to sleep is worry about it.”
If you’re going to take an extended nap, avoid the period between 45 and 60 minutes that promotes that sluggish feeling, that disoriented sensation when you wake. “The science indicates it is preferable to take an extended nap of 60 to 90 minutes than a medium-length one,” explains the sleep scientist. “45 minutes is enough time to put you into a deep sleep stage making it more likely to feel sluggish when you get up – whereas if you extend it a little longer to an hour or 90 minutes, it's likely you'll to be completing a full cycle and should wake up feeling more rejuvenated. But if you’re sleeping for 90 minutes, it can influence how you sleep that night.”
Establishing the Right Nap Environment
As for precise methods, recommendations vary. A few professionals propose using similar routines you use to promote restful sleep: a quiet room, a comfortable bed and as much darkness as you can manage. Alternatively, experts propose that it's fine to simply nap on a couch with ambient lighting happens to be around – both to discourage that groggy feeling and to maintain your bedroom as the environment your mind associates with proper sleep. “Sleep is something really tricky to force,” says a specialist. “Without any drowsiness, it is tougher to lie down and essentially tell yourself to nod off. There’s got to be some drive available to bring the sleep on in the first place. For me, it's possible to take a nap in broad daylight and naturally wake up alarm-free, though, what aids many individuals is to look for a moment where they feel naturally feeling a bit drowsy and calmly ease into sleep.”
Experimentation is key, and if your choices are limited – for instance, when aiming to fit in a quick nap during a commute or in a work pod – it's acceptable to employ a few tools. “Coaching footballers, I recommend that they avoid becoming accustomed to their own bed for naps, as they’re going to have|they will
