Listen to enough self-improvement experts, making it tempting to believe that napping is a secret weapon: more than a quick fix after restless night, but a shortcut to improved recall, a brighter outlook and maybe a faster 5k run time. Premier League footballers are all at it – along with concert pianists, UFC champions and media moguls. However, if you lack a room for napping or employment that permits regular snoozing, are there *really* worthwhile perks to a quick nap to merit the kerfuffle? Is there a reliable way to get to sleep quickly enough? And can you really guarantee you will arise feeling improved, rather than worse?
Understanding Your Nap Motivation
“There are three primary motivations for taking a nap for many people,” notes a professor of sleep and circadian science researcher. “Firstly, there's termed recovery napping, essentially the action you take after experiencing insufficient sleep the night before. Secondly, there's pre-emptive sleep, where you are pre-empting insufficient sleep coming up, for example during graveyard shifts. The third is called “hedonic napping”, which basically boils down to the wish: you get an opportunity to sleep during the day, and it feels nice to indulge.”
The initial step to do, so, is to examine why you want to nap. “Napping can be genuinely useful when nighttime sleep is disturbed due to causes outside your control – for example, when you are a new parent, or recovering from illness or intense exercise,” says a sleep physiologist. “But if you take a nap because your sleep at night feels fragile or unreliable, that can be a signal your need for sleep is not at the level it should be. Under those circumstances, daytime sleep can turn into part of the problem, instead of the fix. Utilize daytime sleep as a temporary measure to address immediate needs – the focus should still be a strong and predictable overnight rest.”
The Ideal Snooze Time
This means that naps shouldn’t be sufficiently lengthy to disrupt your nighttime sleep, and best should not occur in the late afternoon (contingent on the time you go to bed at night). What duration is wise? Guidelines are mixed. In one of the most-cited studies regarding daytime sleep, space agency scientists found that crew members experienced improvements of over 50% in vigilance and a 34% increase in performance following a nap of 26 minutes (technically, this involved a six-minute long sleep onset time). “I recommend setting a timer for 20-30 minutes – many individuals are asleep within 10 minutes,” notes a sleep expert. “There’s a lot of guidance out there about the ideal number of minutes, however, that can cause people to feel more worried than anything else – and the least helpful action you can do while aiming to get to sleep is to be anxious.”
If you’re going to sleep for longer, steer clear of the 45 to 60 minute range that encourages sleep inertia, that disoriented sensation when you wake. “Research suggests it's more effective to take a longer nap lasting 60-90 minutes rather than a mid-length nap,” says the sleep scientist. “45 minutes is sufficient to put you into deep sleep making it more likely to feel sluggish when you get up – however, if you take it slightly longer to a full sleep cycle, you’re likely to be on the end of a sleep cycle and are likely to get up feeling more alert. However, if you’re sleeping for an hour and a half, it may impact your sleep that night.”
Creating the Right Sleep Space
When it comes to specific techniques, recommendations vary. Certain specialists suggest employing the same protocol you use to foster quality nighttime sleep: a quiet room, a cozy bed and minimal light as is feasible. Others suggest that it's fine to merely snooze in a chair in whatever light is present – both to discourage sleep inertia and to maintain your bedroom as the space you associate with *real* sleep. “Sleep is notoriously difficult to force,” explains a sleep coach. “If you don’t have any drowsiness, it is tougher to recline and essentially command yourself to fall asleep. There must be some sleep pressure available to start the process in the first place. I can usually take a nap in full light and naturally wake up without an alarm, though, what aids many individuals is to wait for an instance that they’re naturally somewhat sleepy and just gently ease into sleep.”
Trying different approaches is valuable, and should your choices are limited – for instance, when aiming to squeeze in a quick nap while traveling or at the office – it's acceptable with bringing some accessories. “In my work with professional sportspeople, I advise that they avoid becoming accustomed to their own bed for naps, since they’re going to have|they will
