Hear a few performance gurus, and it’s simple to think that dozing is a powerful tool: not just a quick fix after restless night, but a path towards a better memory, improved mood and possibly a faster 5k run time. Professional footballers swear by it – and so are musicians, mixed martial artists & media moguls. Yet, when you haven’t got a special sleep space or employment that allows frequent naps, is it *truly* enough benefits to a quick nap to merit the kerfuffle? Does there exist a surefire technique to fall asleep fast? Furthermore, can you truly ensure you will arise feeling better, rather than worse?
Understanding The Drive to Snooze
“We can identify three key drivers for napping for many people,” notes a professor of sleep science researcher. “The first is known as compensatory napping, that is what you do when you’ve had a lack of sleep overnight. The second is prophylactic napping, where you are preparing for sleep loss coming up, for instance if you’re working on night shifts. Finally, there's “pleasure-based sleep”, which essentially is about the wish: there is an opportunity to nap in the afternoon, and it's pleasant to do it.”
The primary task to undertake, then, is to think about why you want to nap. “Naps can be genuinely useful when nighttime sleep is disturbed because of factors beyond your control – for instance, for a new parent, or recovering from illness or heavy physical exertion,” states a sleep specialist. “But if you nap since your night sleep is unstable or unreliable, that is frequently a sign your need for sleep is not as strong as it needs to be. In those cases, daytime sleep can turn into a contributing factor, not the solution. Employ naps for brief periods to address immediate needs – the focus ought to remain a strong and predictable sleep at night.”
The Perfect Nap Length
This implies that napping must not be long enough to disrupt your nighttime sleep, and best should not occur post-3 p.m. (contingent on the time you go to bed at night). How long is sensible? Guidelines are mixed. In one of the most-cited studies about napping, experts found that space travelers experienced improvements of over 50% in alertness plus a 34% rise in performance post a 26-minute snooze (technically, this involved a six-minute sleep onset time). “My advice is using an alarm for 20-30 minutes – the majority are asleep in under ten minutes,” says a sleep coach. “There is plenty of guidance out there about the ideal number for sleeping, but that tends to make people feel more anxious than anything – and the most counterproductive thing you can do when trying to nod off is to stress over it.”
If you’re going to nap for a longer period, steer clear of the period between 45 and 60 minutes that encourages that sluggish feeling, that disoriented sensation when you awaken. “Research suggests it is preferable to opt for an extended nap lasting 60-90 minutes rather than a mid-length nap,” explains the sleep scientist. “Three-quarters of an hour is enough time to plunge you into slow-wave sleep making it more likely to feel disoriented when you wake up – while if you extend it a bit longer to a full sleep cycle, it's likely you'll to finish of a sleep cycle and should get up feeling more rejuvenated. However, if you’re sleeping for an hour and a half, it may impact the quality of your sleep in the evening.”
Establishing the Perfect Snooze Setting
As for exact methodologies, suggestions are diverse. Certain specialists propose adopting the same protocol you’d use to foster restful sleep: a quiet room, a supportive surface and as much darkness as is feasible. Some advise that it's fine to just doze on the sofa with ambient lighting is available – to prevent post-nap grogginess and to “protect” your sleeping quarters as the place your mind associates with nighttime rest. “Sleep is notoriously difficult to command,” notes a sleep coach. “If you don’t have the urge to sleep, it becomes harder to lie down and practically instruct yourself to go to sleep. There must be some sleep pressure available to bring the sleep on to begin with. Personally, I can often snooze in full light and wake up naturally alarm-free, but what helps a lot of people is to look for an instance that they’re naturally slightly tired and calmly allow sleep to come.”
It’s worth experimenting, and should options are scarce – for instance, if you’re trying to fit in 40 winks while traveling or at the office – it is perfectly fine with bringing sleep aids. “In my work with elite athletes, I suggest that they don’t get used to their own bed for naps, since they’re going to have|they will
