Listen to a few self-improvement gurus, making it tempting to convince yourself that a nap is a powerful tool: more than a quick fix following poor sleep, but a path to improved recall, better spirits and possibly a faster 5k run time. Elite soccer players are all at it – as do musicians, mixed martial artists & business leaders. Yet, when you lack a room for napping or a career that encourages daytime sleep, are there *really* worthwhile perks to a short sleep to justify the kerfuffle? Does there exist a dependable method to get to sleep quickly enough? Plus, is it possible to honestly promise you’ll wake up feeling better, not worse?
Identifying Your Drive to Snooze
“We can identify three primary motivations for daytime sleep in the adult population,” notes a professor of sleep science professor. “One is what we call compensatory napping, essentially the action you take following insufficient sleep overnight. Secondly, there's prophylactic napping, where you are pre-empting a sleep deficit in the future, for example during graveyard shifts. The third reason is “hedonic napping”, which basically boils down to wanting: there is a chance to doze in the daytime, and it's enjoyable to do it.”
The initial step to consider, therefore, is to think about your nap motivation. “Napping can be genuinely useful when nighttime sleep is disturbed due to causes outside your control – for instance, if you’re a parent of a newborn, or if you are healing after being ill or heavy physical exertion,” says a sleep expert. “Yet when you take a nap since your night sleep feels fragile or unreliable, that’s often an indicator your body's sleep pressure is not at the level it needs to be. In those cases, napping can become a contributing factor, instead of the fix. Utilize daytime sleep as a short-term solution for temporary issues – the priority must always be a robust and regular sleep at night.”
The Optimal Snooze Time
This means that daytime sleep must not be long enough to affect your nighttime sleep, and best are not recommended post-3 p.m. (depending on when you go to bed at night). How long is sensible? Advice differs. Among a prominent study regarding daytime sleep, space agency scientists discovered that astronauts experienced a boost of up to 54% in alertness and a 34% increase in performance post a 26-minute snooze (technically, this included a six-minute nodding-off period). “I recommend using an alarm for 20-30 minutes – most people fall asleep in under ten minutes,” explains a sleep coach. “There’s a lot of guidance out there concerning the optimal amount for sleeping, but that tends to make people feel more stressed above all – and the worst thing you can do when attempting to get to sleep is worry about it.”
Should you decide to nap for a longer period, avoid the 45-60 minute window that induces sleep grogginess, that disoriented sensation when you awaken. “Studies indicates it’s better to have an extended nap lasting 60-90 minutes rather than a mid-length nap,” explains the expert. “Forty-five minutes is long enough to put you into a deep sleep stage making it more likely to feel groggy when you wake up – whereas if you extend it a little longer to a full sleep cycle, you’re likely to finish a full cycle and will probably wake up feeling more refreshed. However, if you're dozing for an hour and a half, it can influence how you sleep later that night.”
Finding the Perfect Snooze Setting
As for precise methods, advice differs. A few professionals propose using the same protocol you use to promote quality nighttime sleep: a peaceful area, a cozy bed and as much darkness as is feasible. Others suggest that it's fine to simply nap in a chair in whatever light is available – both to discourage sleep inertia and to “protect” your bed as the space your brain links with nighttime rest. “Falling asleep is something really tricky to force,” explains an expert. “If you don’t have any drowsiness, it is more challenging to lie down and basically instruct yourself to fall asleep. You need a natural inclination there to initiate sleep initially. I can usually nap in full light and wake up naturally alarm-free, but what helps many individuals is to anticipate an instance when they are naturally feeling a bit drowsy and just gently relax into it.”
Trying different approaches is valuable, and if options are scarce – for example, if you’re trying to grab a quick nap while traveling or at the office – it is perfectly fine to employ a few tools. “Coaching professional sportspeople, I advise that they avoid becoming accustomed to napping in bed, as they’re going to have|they will
