Listen to plenty of productivity podcasters, making it tempting to believe that napping is a secret weapon: more than a sticking plaster following restless night, but a shortcut towards a better memory, improved mood and possibly improved athletic performance. Premier League athletes are all at it – as do professional piano players, UFC champions & business leaders. But if you lack a room for napping or a career that encourages frequent naps, can there *honestly* worthwhile perks to a burst of shut-eye to justify the effort? Is there a reliable way to get to sleep quickly enough? Plus, is it possible to really guarantee you will arise feeling better, rather than worse?
Exploring Your Reasons for Napping
“There are three primary motivations for napping for many people,” says an expert circadian rhythm researcher. “One is known as make-up sleep, essentially what you do when you’ve had insufficient sleep the previous night. Another is prophylactic napping, which involves pre-empting insufficient sleep coming up, for instance when working on night shifts. The third reason is “pleasure-based sleep”, which basically is about desire: you have a chance to sleep in the afternoon, and it's pleasant to indulge.”
The initial step to do, therefore, is consider your nap motivation. “Napping can be really helpful when nighttime sleep gets interrupted due to causes you cannot change – for example, when you are caring for an infant, or you’re recovering after being ill or intense exercise,” states a sleep specialist. “But if you take a nap because your sleep at night is unstable or broken, that is frequently an indicator your body's sleep pressure is not where required. In those cases, napping can become a contributing factor, rather than the answer. Employ naps as a temporary measure for short-term problems – the main goal must always be a robust and regular sleep at night.”
The Optimal Snooze Time
Therefore that napping must not be too extended to interfere with your overnight rest, and best shouldn’t take place post-3 p.m. (contingent on when you sleep overnight). What's a reasonable length? Advice differs. In one of the most referenced research regarding daytime sleep, experts found that astronauts experienced up to a 54% increase in alertness and a 34% boost in task performance following a nap of 26 minutes (to be precise, this included an initial six-minute falling asleep phase). “I recommend setting an alarm for half an hour or less – most people doze off in under ten minutes,” explains a specialist. “There is plenty of recommendations about the ideal number of time, yet that often make people feel more worried than anything – and the most counterproductive thing you can possibly do while aiming to nod off is worry about it.”
Should you decide to nap for a longer period, bypass the period between 45 and 60 minutes that encourages that sluggish feeling, that spaced-out feeling upon waking. “Studies would say it’s better to have a longer nap lasting 60-90 minutes rather than a mid-length nap,” notes the professor. “Three-quarters of an hour is long enough to send you into deep sleep and it is more probable to feel groggy upon awakening – while if you extend it a little longer to 60 or 90 minutes, you’re likely to be completing a full cycle and should get up feeling more alert. However, if you're dozing for a long period, it may impact your sleep that night.”
Creating an Ideal Snooze Setting
As for exact methodologies, advice differs. A few professionals suggest employing similar routines you’d use to foster quality nighttime sleep: a peaceful area, a comfortable bed and as much darkness as you can manage. Others suggest that it's fine to simply nap on the sofa in whatever light is available – to avoid sleep inertia and to “protect” your bedroom as the space you associate with proper sleep. “Napping is notoriously difficult to command,” explains an expert. “Lacking the urge to sleep, it is more challenging to recline and essentially instruct yourself to nod off. There’s got to be some sleep pressure present to start the process initially. Personally, I can often snooze during the day and naturally wake up alarm-free, but what helps most folks is to look for a time where they feel naturally feeling a bit drowsy and just gently allow sleep to come.”
Trying different approaches is valuable, and when options are scarce – for example, when aiming to fit in 40 winks during a commute or in a work pod – it is perfectly fine to employ sleep aids. “When I’m working with footballers, I recommend that they not rely on sleeping in their bed, because they’re going to have|they will
