Listen to enough productivity podcasters, making it easy to believe that napping is a superpower: not just a quick fix after a bad night’s sleep, but a path to enhanced cognition, better spirits and possibly a faster 5k run time. Professional soccer players are all at it – along with concert pianists, UFC champions and business leaders. But if you haven’t got a special sleep space or a job that permits frequent naps, can there *honestly* sufficient advantages to a burst of shut-eye to merit the kerfuffle? Is there a dependable method to get to sleep quickly enough? Plus, is it possible to truly ensure you will get up feeling refreshed, instead of groggy?
Exploring Your Drive to Snooze
“There are three main reasons for taking a nap in the adult population,” notes an expert sleep and circadian science specialist. “One is known as compensatory napping, essentially what happens after experiencing insufficient sleep the night before. Secondly, there's prophylactic napping, when you are preparing for insufficient sleep coming up, such as during overnight shifts. The third is called “appetitive drive”, which basically comes down to desire: there is an opportunity to nap in the afternoon, and it's pleasant to do it.”
The initial step to undertake, then, is to examine why you want to nap. “Napping can be really helpful when night sleeping is being disrupted for reasons you cannot change – for instance, if you’re a new parent, or recovering after being ill or heavy physical exertion,” says a sleep physiologist. “However, if you nap since your sleep at night is unstable or unreliable, that is frequently a sign your body's sleep pressure is not as strong as required. Under those circumstances, napping can become part of the problem, instead of the fix. Utilize daytime sleep for brief periods for short-term problems – the priority must always be a solid and consistent night’s sleep.”
The Ideal Snooze Time
Therefore that napping ought not to be too extended to interfere with your overnight rest, and preferably are not recommended in the late afternoon (depending on what time you retire at night). What duration is wise? Guidelines are mixed. In one of the most referenced research on the subject, researchers at Nasa discovered that astronauts had a boost of up to 54% in alertness and a 34% increase in cognitive performance following a nap of 26 minutes (technically, this involved an initial six-minute sleep onset time). “I’d suggest setting a timer for 20-30 minutes – many individuals doze off in under ten minutes,” notes a sleep coach. “There is plenty of advice around regarding the ideal number for sleeping, but that tends to make people feel more stressed above all – and the most counterproductive thing you can do when trying to fall asleep is to be anxious.”
If you plan to take an extended nap, bypass the 45-60 minute window that encourages that sluggish feeling, that disoriented sensation when you awaken. “Research would say it's more effective to opt for an extended nap of one to one and a half hours compared to a medium-length nap,” notes the expert. “Forty-five minutes is sufficient to send you into deep sleep and you’re more likely to feel groggy when you get up – while if you extend it a bit longer to 60 or 90 minutes, it's likely you'll to finish a natural sleep cycle and should awaken feeling more alert. Though if you nap for a long period, it will affect your sleep in the evening.”
Finding the Perfect Snooze Setting
As for specific techniques, suggestions are diverse. A few professionals propose employing similar routines you’d use to promote a good night’s sleep: a silent space, a supportive surface and as much darkness as possible. Some advise that you should merely snooze in a chair in the existing light is available – to prevent sleep inertia and to “protect” your bedroom as the space you associate with proper sleep. “Sleep is something really tricky to will,” explains an expert. “Lacking any drowsiness, it is more challenging to recline and basically command yourself to nod off. There’s got to be some sleep pressure there to start the process in the first place. I can usually nap in broad daylight and awaken on my own alarm-free, however, what assists many individuals is to wait for an instance when they are naturally somewhat sleepy and calmly allow sleep to come.”
Experimentation is key, and if options are scarce – for instance, when aiming to grab a quick nap during a commute or in a work pod – there’s nothing wrong to employ sleep aids. “In my work with footballers, I recommend that they not rely on their own bed for naps, as they’re going to have|they will
