Hear enough productivity experts, making it tempting to convince yourself that dozing is a secret weapon: not just a sticking plaster after poor sleep, but a shortcut towards a better memory, better spirits and perhaps a faster 5k run time. Professional footballers are all at it – and so are musicians, mixed martial artists and media moguls. Yet, when you haven’t got a dedicated nap-room or a job that encourages regular snoozing, is it *truly* sufficient advantages to a short sleep to justify the hassle? Can you find a surefire technique to fall asleep fast? Furthermore, can you really guarantee you’ll wake up feeling refreshed, not worse?
Exploring Your Drive to Snooze
“There are three primary motivations for napping in the adult population,” explains an expert circadian rhythm professor. “One is what we call recovery napping, that is the action you take when you’ve had a lack of sleep the night before. The second is prophylactic napping, which involves preparing for insufficient sleep coming up, for instance during overnight shifts. The third is called “pleasure-based sleep”, which basically comes down to the wish: there is an opportunity to nap during the day, and it's enjoyable to nap.”
The first thing to consider, therefore, is consider your nap motivation. “Napping can be really helpful when overnight rest is disturbed because of factors you cannot change – such as, when you are a new parent, or you’re recovering from sickness or heavy physical exertion,” says a sleep physiologist. “Yet when you’re napping since your sleep at night is unstable or unreliable, that can be a signal your sleep drive is not at the level required. Under those circumstances, naps can become part of the issue, instead of the fix. Employ naps for brief periods for short-term problems – the focus must always be a robust and regular overnight rest.”
The Optimal Snooze Time
This means that naps ought not to be long enough to disrupt your overnight rest, and preferably shouldn’t take place in the late afternoon (based on what time you retire overnight). How long is sensible? Advice differs. Among the most referenced research on the subject, researchers at Nasa discovered that crew members experienced a boost of up to 54% in vigilance and a 34% boost in performance following a nap of 26 minutes (to be precise, this included a six-minute long falling asleep phase). “I’d suggest using an alarm for 20-30 minutes – many individuals are asleep quickly,” explains a sleep coach. “You'll find much recommendations concerning the perfect length for sleeping, but that tends to make people feel more worried above all – and the most counterproductive thing you can possibly do when trying to fall asleep is to be anxious.”
Should you decide to take an extended nap, bypass the 45-60 minute window that encourages sleep grogginess, that foggy state upon waking. “Studies suggests it’s better to opt for an extended nap lasting 60-90 minutes compared to a medium-length nap,” notes the professor. “45 minutes is sufficient to put you into deep sleep and you’re more likely to feel disoriented when you wake up – whereas if you extend it a little longer to a full sleep cycle, you’re likely to be completing a full cycle and should get up feeling more refreshed. However, if you’re sleeping for a long period, it can influence how you sleep later that night.”
Finding an Ideal Sleep Space
When it comes to exact methodologies, advice differs. A few professionals recommend employing similar routines one would use to foster quality nighttime sleep: a silent space, a supportive surface and as much darkness as is feasible. Others suggest that you should merely snooze in a chair with ambient lighting is present – to prevent post-nap grogginess and to “protect” your bedroom as the space your brain links with *real* sleep. “Sleep is notoriously difficult to force,” notes a sleep coach. “Lacking any sleepiness, it is more challenging to get comfortable and essentially command yourself to go to sleep. There must be some sleep pressure available to bring the sleep on in the first place. Personally, I can often nap during the day and awaken on my own alarm-free, though, what aids many individuals is to look for an instance that they’re naturally feeling a bit drowsy and just gently ease into sleep.”
Trying different approaches is valuable, and if options are scarce – for example, if attempting to grab a quick nap while traveling or in a work pod – it's acceptable to use a few tools. “In my work with footballers, I recommend that they avoid becoming accustomed to napping in bed, since they’re going to have|they will
