Hear plenty of productivity experts, and it’s simple to believe that a nap is a powerful tool: rather than a quick fix following a bad night’s sleep, but a path to improved recall, better spirits and possibly improved athletic performance. Elite footballers are all at it – along with professional piano players, UFC champions and media moguls. But if you haven’t got a dedicated nap-room or a career that allows regular snoozing, is it *truly* enough benefits to a burst of shut-eye for it to be worth the kerfuffle? Does there exist a surefire technique to nod off promptly? Furthermore, can you honestly promise you will get up feeling improved, instead of groggy?
Understanding Your Reasons for Napping
“We can identify three key drivers for taking a nap in the adult population,” says a leading circadian rhythm researcher. “Firstly, there's what we call recovery napping, that is what happens when you’ve had a lack of sleep the night before. Another is pre-emptive sleep, which involves pre-empting a sleep deficit ahead, such as during graveyard shifts. Finally, there's “pleasure-based sleep”, which basically comes down to the wish: you get a chance to nap in the daytime, and it's pleasant to do it.”
The primary task to undertake, therefore, is to think about your reason for napping. “Daytime sleep can be genuinely useful when overnight rest is being disrupted because of factors you cannot change – such as, if you’re a new parent, or recovering from sickness or intense exercise,” says a sleep physiologist. “Yet when you take a nap because your sleep at night is unstable or broken, that is frequently a sign your sleep drive is not at the level it needs to be. In such situations, napping can become part of the issue, instead of the fix. Use napping as a temporary measure to address immediate needs – the main goal must always be a strong and predictable night’s sleep.”
The Optimal Nap Length
This means that napping must not be long enough to disrupt your sleep at night, and ideally shouldn’t take place post-3 p.m. (based on when you go to bed in the evening). How long is sensible? Guidelines are mixed. From the most-cited studies on the subject, researchers at Nasa found that astronauts had a boost of up to 54% in alertness and a 34% boost in cognitive performance following a nap of 26 minutes (in detail, this counted a six-minute long falling asleep phase). “My advice is setting an alarm for 20 to 30 minutes – many individuals doze off in under ten minutes,” says a sleep expert. “You'll find much recommendations concerning the perfect length of time, yet that often lead individuals to become more stressed above all – and the worst thing you can do when attempting to fall asleep is worry about it.”
If you’re going to take an extended nap, avoid the period between 45 and 60 minutes that promotes sleep inertia, that disoriented sensation upon waking. “The science would say it's more effective to have a longer nap of one to one and a half hours compared to a medium-length nap,” explains the expert. “45 minutes is enough time to plunge you into slow-wave sleep making it more likely to feel sluggish when you get up – however, if you take it a bit longer to a full sleep cycle, you will probably to finish of a sleep cycle and should wake up feeling more alert. However, if you nap for an hour and a half, it can influence the quality of your sleep later that night.”
Creating an Ideal Nap Environment
Regarding specific techniques, suggestions are diverse. Certain specialists propose employing the same protocol you’d use to promote restful sleep: a peaceful area, a supportive surface and as much darkness as is feasible. Others suggest that it's fine to simply nap in a chair in whatever light is present – to avoid that groggy feeling and to “protect” your bed as the environment your mind associates with nighttime rest. “Falling asleep is something really tricky to command,” notes a sleep coach. “If you don’t have any drowsiness, it is tougher to get comfortable and practically tell yourself to nod off. There must be some drive available to initiate sleep in the first place. For me, it's possible to snooze in broad daylight and awaken on my own without a timer, however, what assists many individuals is to look for a moment that they’re naturally feeling a bit drowsy and then simply allow sleep to come.”
Trying different approaches is valuable, and when your choices are limited – for instance, when aiming to squeeze in some shut-eye on a train or at the office – there’s nothing wrong to use some accessories. “In my work with professional sportspeople, I advise that they don’t get used to sleeping in their bed, as they’re going to have|they will
