Hear plenty of productivity experts, making it easy to think that dozing is a superpower: not just a band-aid after restless night, but a route to enhanced cognition, a brighter outlook and perhaps quicker running times. Elite footballers are all at it – along with concert pianists, UFC champions and high-profile executives. However, if you haven’t got a dedicated nap-room or a job that encourages frequent naps, are there *really* sufficient advantages to a quick nap to merit the hassle? Does there exist a surefire technique to fall asleep fast? And can you honestly promise you will arise feeling better, not worse?
Identifying Your Reasons for Napping
“There are three primary motivations for napping for many people,” notes a leading sleep and circadian science researcher. “The first is known as make-up sleep, essentially the action you take following poor sleep the previous night. Secondly, there's pre-emptive sleep, when you are preparing for sleep loss coming up, for example if you’re working overnight shifts. The third reason is “hedonic napping”, which simply boils down to wanting: you get a chance to sleep in the afternoon, and it's pleasant to nap.”
The first thing to undertake, therefore, is to examine your nap motivation. “Daytime sleep can be truly beneficial when overnight rest gets interrupted for reasons beyond your control – for instance, if you’re a parent of a newborn, or if you are healing from illness or heavy physical exertion,” states a sleep expert. “But if you take a nap because your night sleep seems unreliable or unreliable, that’s often a signal your need for sleep is not as strong as it needs to be. In those cases, naps can become part of the problem, instead of the fix. Utilize daytime sleep as a short-term solution for temporary issues – the focus should still be a solid and consistent sleep at night.”
The Optimal Snooze Time
This implies that naps ought not to be too extended to affect your sleep at night, and best are not recommended in the late afternoon (contingent on when you go to bed in the evening). What's a reasonable length? Guidelines are mixed. In one of the most referenced research on the subject, space agency scientists noted that crew members had a boost of up to 54% in attentiveness and a 34% boost in cognitive performance after a 26-minute nap (in detail, this included a six-minute falling asleep phase). “I’d suggest using an alarm for 20 to 30 minutes – many individuals fall asleep quickly,” explains a sleep coach. “You'll find much advice around about the ideal number for sleeping, however, that can make people feel more anxious than anything – and the most counterproductive thing you can possibly do when attempting to get to sleep is to be anxious.”
If you’re going to take an extended nap, bypass the 45-60 minute window that promotes that sluggish feeling, that foggy state when you awaken. “Research suggests it’s better to have an extended nap lasting 60-90 minutes compared to a medium-length nap,” says the professor. “45 minutes is long enough to put you into deep sleep making it more likely to feel sluggish when you get up – while if you take it a bit longer to a full sleep cycle, you’re likely to finish of a sleep cycle and will probably get up feeling more refreshed. But if you’re sleeping for an hour and a half, it will affect how you sleep later that night.”
Finding an Ideal Nap Environment
Regarding specific techniques, advice differs. A few professionals propose adopting the same protocol one would use to promote a good night’s sleep: a peaceful area, a cozy bed and as much darkness as you can manage. Some advise that you should merely snooze on a couch in the existing light happens to be around – to avoid post-nap grogginess and to “protect” your sleeping quarters as the space your brain links with *real* sleep. “Falling asleep is notoriously difficult to command,” explains a sleep coach. “If you don’t have any drowsiness, it is more challenging to recline and practically tell yourself to go to sleep. There’s got to be a natural inclination present to bring the sleep on initially. Personally, I can often nap in broad daylight and wake up naturally without a timer, however, what assists many individuals is to look for a moment where they feel naturally slightly tired and then simply ease into sleep.”
Trying different approaches is valuable, and if options are scarce – for instance, if attempting to grab some shut-eye on a train or in a work pod – there’s nothing wrong to use sleep aids. “In my work with professional sportspeople, I recommend that they avoid becoming accustomed to sleeping in their bed, as they’re going to have|they will
