Tune into a few performance experts, and it’s simple to think that dozing is a secret weapon: rather than a sticking plaster following restless night, but a path to improved recall, a brighter outlook and perhaps improved athletic performance. Professional athletes do it regularly – along with musicians, mixed martial artists and high-profile executives. Yet, when you haven’t got a room for napping or employment that allows regular snoozing, can there *honestly* worthwhile perks to a quick nap to merit the effort? Is there a surefire technique to nod off promptly? And can you really guarantee you’ll wake up feeling better, rather than worse?
Identifying The Drive to Snooze
“There are three main reasons for napping in the adult population,” explains a leading sleep science specialist. “The first is what we call make-up sleep, essentially what happens when you’ve had insufficient sleep overnight. The second is preparatory napping, when you are pre-empting a sleep deficit coming up, for example when working on night shifts. Finally, there's “appetitive drive”, which basically is about wanting: there is a moment to nap in the afternoon, and it's enjoyable to indulge.”
The primary task to undertake, then, is consider your reason for napping. “Naps can be genuinely useful when nighttime sleep gets interrupted because of factors beyond your control – for instance, if you’re caring for an infant, or recovering after being ill or heavy physical exertion,” says a sleep specialist. “However, if you’re napping as your nighttime sleep seems unreliable or broken, that’s often an indicator your sleep drive is not at the level required. In those cases, daytime sleep can turn into part of the issue, rather than the answer. Use napping as a short-term solution for short-term problems – the main goal should still be a solid and consistent sleep at night.”
The Optimal Snooze Time
This implies that napping shouldn’t be too extended to affect your sleep at night, and preferably are not recommended in the late afternoon (contingent on the time you go to bed at night). What duration is wise? Guidelines are mixed. In one of a prominent study regarding daytime sleep, experts discovered that crew members showed up to a 54% increase in vigilance and a 34% increase in task performance following a nap of 26 minutes (technically, this included an initial six-minute sleep onset time). “My advice is using an alarm for half an hour or less – many individuals are asleep in under ten minutes,” notes a sleep expert. “There is plenty of recommendations regarding the ideal number of minutes, yet that often cause people to feel more anxious than anything else – and the least helpful action you can do while aiming to nod off is to stress over it.”
If you’re going to nap for a longer period, avoid the 45 to 60 minute range that promotes sleep inertia, that foggy state when you awaken. “Studies suggests it’s better to have an extended nap lasting 60-90 minutes than a medium-length one,” says the professor. “Forty-five minutes is enough time to plunge you into a deep sleep stage and it is more probable to feel disoriented when you wake up – whereas if you take it a bit longer to an hour or 90 minutes, it's likely you'll to be on the end a natural sleep cycle and should get up feeling more refreshed. However, if you nap for an hour and a half, it can influence the quality of your sleep later that night.”
Establishing the Right Sleep Space
When it comes to precise methods, suggestions are diverse. A few professionals propose employing the same protocol one would use to encourage restful sleep: a silent space, a comfortable bed and minimal light as possible. Alternatively, experts propose that it's fine to just doze on the sofa in whatever light happens to be around – to avoid sleep inertia and to preserve your bedroom as the space your mind associates with *real* sleep. “Sleep is quite challenging to will,” says a sleep coach. “Lacking the urge to sleep, it is tougher to lie down and essentially instruct yourself to nod off. There’s got to be a natural inclination available to initiate sleep to begin with. Personally, I can often nap in full light and awaken on my own alarm-free, though, what aids a lot of people is to look for a time that they’re naturally somewhat sleepy and calmly ease into sleep.”
Experimentation is key, and when your choices are limited – for instance, if attempting to squeeze in 40 winks on a train or in a work pod – it's acceptable to employ some accessories. “Coaching professional sportspeople, I advise that they avoid becoming accustomed to sleeping in their bed, since they’re going to have|they will
