Hear enough self-improvement experts, and it’s tempting to convince yourself that dozing is a powerful tool: rather than a sticking plaster after poor sleep, but a shortcut to enhanced cognition, a brighter outlook and possibly improved athletic performance. Professional footballers do it regularly – as do professional piano players, mixed martial artists and business leaders. But if you haven’t got a special sleep space or a job that allows regular snoozing, can there *honestly* worthwhile perks to a short sleep for it to be worth the hassle? Can you find a reliable way to get to sleep quickly enough? Furthermore, can you honestly promise you will arise feeling refreshed, not worse?
Exploring The Drive to Snooze
“Experts note three main reasons for napping in the adult population,” explains a professor of sleep science professor. “The first is termed make-up sleep, that is what happens when you’ve had insufficient sleep the night before. Secondly, there's prophylactic napping, which involves preparing for a sleep deficit ahead, such as when working graveyard shifts. The third is called “pleasure-based sleep”, which basically is about desire: there is a moment to sleep during the day, and it's pleasant to indulge.”
The primary task to do, so, is to examine why you want to nap. “Daytime sleep can be genuinely useful when night sleeping is disturbed because of factors you cannot change – such as, for caring for an infant, or you’re recovering from sickness or intense exercise,” explains a sleep expert. “Yet when you’re napping because your night sleep seems unreliable or poor, that can be an indicator your body's sleep pressure is not as strong as it needs to be. In such situations, daytime sleep can turn into part of the problem, rather than the answer. Utilize daytime sleep as a temporary measure for temporary issues – the focus ought to remain a strong and predictable sleep at night.”
The Ideal Snooze Time
This implies that daytime sleep must not be too extended to interfere with your nighttime sleep, and best shouldn’t take place after about 3pm (based on what time you go to bed in the evening). How long is sensible? Recommendations vary. Among a prominent study about napping, researchers at Nasa noted that crew members had improvements of over 50% in vigilance plus a 34% rise in performance after a 26-minute nap (in detail, this involved a six-minute nodding-off period). “I recommend using an alarm for 20-30 minutes – many individuals are asleep quickly,” notes a sleep expert. “You'll find much advice around concerning the perfect length of time, but that tends to lead individuals to become more worried than anything – and the least helpful action you can possibly do when trying to nod off is to be anxious.”
If you’re going to nap for a longer period, steer clear of the period between 45 and 60 minutes that promotes sleep grogginess, that spaced-out feeling when you wake. “Studies suggests it's more effective to opt for an extended nap lasting 60-90 minutes compared to a medium-length nap,” says the professor. “45 minutes is enough time to plunge you into deep sleep making it more likely to feel sluggish when you get up – whereas if you nap for slightly longer to 60 or 90 minutes, you will probably to be completing of a sleep cycle and are likely to get up feeling more rejuvenated. However, if you're dozing for a long period, it may impact the quality of your sleep later that night.”
Finding the Right Nap Environment
Regarding specific techniques, suggestions are diverse. Some experts suggest using the same protocol one would use to foster a good night’s sleep: a silent space, a supportive surface and maximum darkness as you can manage. Some advise that one could merely snooze on the sofa in the existing light is available – both to discourage sleep inertia and to “protect” your bedroom as the space you associate with proper sleep. “Falling asleep is notoriously difficult to command,” notes an expert. “Without any drowsiness, it becomes harder to get comfortable and essentially instruct yourself to fall asleep. There must be some drive available to initiate sleep in the first place. I can usually snooze during the day and awaken on my own without a timer, but what helps most folks is to wait for a time where they feel naturally slightly tired and calmly allow sleep to come.”
Experimentation is key, and if options are scarce – for example, if attempting to squeeze in some shut-eye while traveling or in a work pod – it's acceptable with bringing sleep aids. “Coaching professional sportspeople, I recommend that they avoid becoming accustomed to napping in bed, since they’re going to have|they will
