Listen to plenty of performance podcasters, and it’s easy to convince yourself that dozing is a superpower: rather than a quick fix following poor sleep, but a shortcut towards improved recall, better spirits and perhaps quicker running times. Premier League soccer players do it regularly – as do musicians, fighters and media moguls. Yet, when you don't have a special sleep space or a career that allows regular snoozing, can there *honestly* enough benefits to a quick nap to merit the effort? Does there exist a dependable method to get to sleep quickly enough? Furthermore, can you honestly promise you will arise feeling refreshed, instead of groggy?
Exploring Your Reasons for Napping
“There are three primary motivations for daytime sleep among most adults,” says a leading sleep and circadian science specialist. “The first is termed compensatory napping, that is the action you take after experiencing a lack of sleep overnight. The second is pre-emptive sleep, which involves pre-empting sleep loss in the future, for instance if you’re working on night shifts. The third reason is “hedonic napping”, which simply boils down to wanting: you get a chance to doze during the day, and it's enjoyable to nap.”
The initial step to consider, so, is to think about why you want to nap. “Daytime sleep can be genuinely useful when overnight rest gets interrupted due to causes beyond your control – for instance, for a new parent, or if you are healing from illness or intense exercise,” says a sleep specialist. “But if you’re napping as your nighttime sleep feels fragile or poor, that can be a signal your body's sleep pressure is not at the level it should be. In such situations, napping can become a contributing factor, instead of the fix. Utilize daytime sleep for brief periods for short-term problems – the main goal must always be a solid and consistent night’s sleep.”
The Perfect Snooze Time
This implies that daytime sleep ought not to be too extended to affect your overnight rest, and best shouldn’t take place post-3 p.m. (depending on when you sleep overnight). How long is sensible? Guidelines are mixed. In one of a prominent study on the subject, researchers at Nasa noted that astronauts had a boost of up to 54% in alertness and a 34% increase in performance after a 26-minute nap (in detail, this involved a six-minute nodding-off period). “My advice is setting an alarm for 20-30 minutes – most people doze off quickly,” explains a sleep expert. “There’s a lot of advice around regarding the perfect length of time, but that tends to lead individuals to become more stressed than anything else – and the worst thing one can do while aiming to fall asleep is to stress over it.”
If you’re going to nap for a longer period, steer clear of the 45 to 60 minute range that encourages sleep grogginess, that foggy state when you awaken. “The science indicates it is preferable to opt for a longer nap of 60 to 90 minutes rather than a mid-length nap,” explains the expert. “Three-quarters of an hour is long enough to put you into deep sleep and it is more probable to feel groggy when you get up – whereas if you extend it a bit longer to a full sleep cycle, you’re likely to be on the end a full cycle and will probably awaken feeling more rejuvenated. Though if you're dozing for an hour and a half, it can influence how you sleep that night.”
Creating the Perfect Snooze Setting
Regarding specific techniques, suggestions are diverse. Certain specialists propose employing the same protocol you use to encourage quality nighttime sleep: a silent space, a supportive surface and as much darkness as possible. Others suggest that it's fine to merely snooze in a chair in whatever light happens to be around – both to discourage post-nap grogginess and to maintain your bedroom as the place your mind associates with proper sleep. “Sleep is notoriously difficult to force,” notes an expert. “If you don’t have any drowsiness, it becomes harder to recline and basically tell yourself to go to sleep. There must be some drive available to initiate sleep initially. Personally, I can often snooze in broad daylight and wake up naturally without a timer, but what helps most folks is to look for a moment that they’re naturally somewhat sleepy and then simply relax into it.”
Trying different approaches is valuable, and if you have few options – for instance, if attempting to grab some shut-eye during a commute or in a soundproof office pod – there’s nothing wrong with bringing some accessories. “When I’m working with footballers, I advise that they avoid becoming accustomed to napping in bed, as they’re going to have|they will
