Hear a few performance podcasters, and you'll be tempting to think that dozing is a superpower: not just a quick fix after a bad night’s sleep, but a path towards a better memory, better spirits and maybe a faster 5k run time. Professional footballers swear by it – as do musicians, mixed martial artists and high-profile executives. However, if you don't have a special sleep space or employment that permits regular snoozing, can there *honestly* sufficient advantages to a short sleep for it to be worth the kerfuffle? Can you find a dependable method to nod off promptly? And can you really guarantee you’ll wake up feeling improved, instead of groggy?
Exploring Your Reasons for Napping
“Experts note three primary motivations for napping in the adult population,” explains a leading sleep and circadian science specialist. “One is known as make-up sleep, essentially what happens when you’ve had insufficient sleep the night before. Secondly, there's pre-emptive sleep, where you are pre-empting insufficient sleep coming up, such as if you’re working overnight shifts. The third is called “pleasure-based sleep”, which essentially is about wanting: you have an opportunity to nap in the daytime, and it's pleasant to nap.”
The initial step to undertake, therefore, is to think about your reason for napping. “Daytime sleep can be truly beneficial when nighttime sleep is disturbed for reasons outside your control – for example, if you’re caring for an infant, or you’re recovering from illness or heavy physical exertion,” says a sleep expert. “But if you’re napping as your sleep at night is unstable or poor, that is frequently a sign your body's sleep pressure is not where required. In such situations, naps can become a contributing factor, rather than the answer. Employ naps as a temporary measure for temporary issues – the main goal must always be a solid and consistent overnight rest.”
The Optimal Nap Duration
This means that naps ought not to be long enough to disrupt your overnight rest, and ideally should not occur in the late afternoon (contingent on what time you go to bed in the evening). How long is sensible? Recommendations vary. From the most-cited studies about napping, space agency scientists noted that space travelers had up to a 54% increase in vigilance plus a 34% rise in cognitive performance after a 26-minute nap (technically, this included a six-minute falling asleep phase). “My advice is setting a timer for 20-30 minutes – most people fall asleep within 10 minutes,” says a specialist. “There’s a lot of advice around regarding the optimal amount of minutes, yet that often cause people to feel more anxious than anything – and the worst thing you can possibly do while aiming to nod off is to stress over it.”
If you plan to sleep for longer, steer clear of the 45 to 60 minute range that encourages sleep inertia, that foggy state when you wake. “Studies indicates it’s better to opt for an extended nap lasting 60-90 minutes compared to a medium-length nap,” explains the expert. “Three-quarters of an hour is sufficient to plunge you into deep sleep making it more likely to feel groggy when you get up – whereas if you take it slightly longer to an hour or 90 minutes, you’re likely to be on the end of a sleep cycle and will probably get up feeling more alert. Though if you nap for 90 minutes, it may impact the quality of your sleep in the evening.”
Creating the Perfect Snooze Setting
As for specific techniques, advice differs. Certain specialists recommend using comparable habits you’d use to encourage quality nighttime sleep: a quiet room, a cozy bed and minimal light as possible. Alternatively, experts propose that you should merely snooze on a couch in whatever light is present – to prevent sleep inertia and to “protect” your sleeping quarters as the space your mind associates with *real* sleep. “Napping is notoriously difficult to will,” says a sleep coach. “Lacking the urge to sleep, it becomes harder to lie down and basically tell yourself to nod off. There’s got to be some sleep pressure there to start the process in the first place. I can usually snooze in broad daylight and wake up naturally without an alarm, but what helps most folks is to wait for a time where they feel naturally slightly tired and then simply ease into sleep.”
Trying different approaches is valuable, and should options are scarce – such as, if attempting to squeeze in some shut-eye on a train or in a soundproof office pod – there’s nothing wrong to use a few tools. “Coaching footballers, I recommend that they avoid becoming accustomed to sleeping in their bed, since they’re going to have|they will
