Tune into a few performance podcasters, making it tempting to believe that napping is a superpower: rather than a quick fix after poor sleep, but a path towards improved recall, better spirits and perhaps improved athletic performance. Professional athletes are all at it – along with musicians, mixed martial artists & high-profile executives. However, if you don't have a special sleep space or a job that permits regular snoozing, are there *really* worthwhile perks to a short sleep to merit the kerfuffle? Can you find a reliable way to get to sleep quickly enough? Furthermore, can you truly ensure you will get up feeling better, rather than worse?
Exploring The Reasons for Napping
“Experts note three key drivers for taking a nap in the adult population,” explains an expert sleep science professor. “The first is known as compensatory napping, which is what you do after experiencing insufficient sleep the night before. Secondly, there's prophylactic napping, which involves preparing for sleep loss in the future, for example if you’re working on night shifts. The third reason is “pleasure-based sleep”, which essentially boils down to desire: there is a moment to doze in the afternoon, and it feels nice to indulge.”
The first thing to consider, therefore, is consider why you want to nap. “Daytime sleep can be truly beneficial when nighttime sleep is disturbed because of factors you cannot change – such as, for a parent of a newborn, or if you are healing from illness or strenuous activity,” states a sleep expert. “Yet when you nap since your sleep at night feels fragile or unreliable, that can be a signal your sleep drive is not where it should be. In such situations, napping can become part of the problem, not the solution. Utilize daytime sleep for brief periods for temporary issues – the main goal must always be a solid and consistent sleep at night.”
The Perfect Snooze Time
Therefore that daytime sleep ought not to be long enough to interfere with your overnight rest, and ideally are not recommended post-3 p.m. (depending on what time you sleep overnight). What duration is wise? Recommendations vary. In one of the most referenced research regarding daytime sleep, space agency scientists discovered that space travelers had a boost of up to 54% in alertness plus a 34% rise in cognitive performance following a nap of 26 minutes (to be precise, this included a six-minute nodding-off period). “I recommend using an alarm for half an hour or less – most people are asleep within 10 minutes,” says a sleep coach. “There is plenty of recommendations about the ideal number of minutes, but that tends to cause people to feel more anxious above all – and the worst thing you can do when attempting to nod off is worry about it.”
If you’re going to sleep for longer, avoid the period between 45 and 60 minutes that induces that sluggish feeling, that foggy state when you awaken. “The science suggests it is preferable to take a longer nap lasting 60-90 minutes rather than a mid-length nap,” notes the expert. “45 minutes is enough time to plunge you into a deep sleep stage and you’re more likely to feel sluggish when you get up – however, if you extend it a bit longer to an hour or 90 minutes, it's likely you'll to finish a full cycle and should get up feeling more rejuvenated. Though if you’re sleeping for an hour and a half, it may impact your sleep later that night.”
Finding the Right Sleep Space
As for precise methods, recommendations vary. Certain specialists propose employing comparable habits you’d use to encourage restful sleep: a silent space, a supportive surface and maximum darkness as you can manage. Some advise that you should just doze on a couch in whatever light is present – to prevent that groggy feeling and to maintain your bedroom as the environment your brain links with proper sleep. “Falling asleep is notoriously difficult to force,” notes an expert. “Without any sleepiness, it is tougher to recline and basically command yourself to nod off. There must be some drive there to initiate sleep in the first place. Personally, I can often snooze in full light and naturally wake up alarm-free, but what helps a lot of people is to wait for an instance when they are naturally slightly tired and then simply allow sleep to come.”
Experimentation is key, and should you have few options – for instance, if you’re trying to grab a quick nap while traveling or in a work pod – it's acceptable with bringing sleep aids. “In my work with elite athletes, I recommend that they avoid becoming accustomed to their own bed for naps, since they’re going to have|they will
