The Secret for a Flawless Nap: Timing, Where and for How Long?
Listen to plenty of self-improvement gurus, making it easy to believe that dozing is a secret weapon: rather than a sticking plaster after poor sleep, but a route towards a better memory, better spirits and possibly improved athletic performance. Professional soccer players do it regularly – as do professional piano players, UFC champions & media moguls. But if you don't have a special sleep space or a career that encourages frequent naps, are there *really* worthwhile perks to a burst of shut-eye to justify the kerfuffle? Does there exist a reliable way to nod off promptly? And can you truly ensure you will get up feeling improved, not worse?
Identifying Your Reasons for Napping
“There are three key drivers for daytime sleep among most adults,” explains an expert circadian rhythm specialist. “One is known as make-up sleep, essentially the action you take when you’ve had a lack of sleep overnight. Secondly, there's pre-emptive sleep, when you are anticipating a sleep deficit coming up, such as if you’re working graveyard shifts. The third is called “pleasure-based sleep”, which essentially is about the wish: you have a chance to doze in the daytime, and it's enjoyable to indulge.”
The primary task to consider, so, is to think about your nap motivation. “Napping can be genuinely useful when overnight rest gets interrupted because of factors beyond your control – for example, for a new parent, or if you are healing from illness or strenuous activity,” says a sleep specialist. “However, if you take a nap because your sleep at night is unstable or unreliable, that’s often an indicator your body's sleep pressure is not at the level it should be. Under those circumstances, napping can become part of the problem, not the solution. Utilize daytime sleep for brief periods for short-term problems – the focus ought to remain a solid and consistent overnight rest.”
The Ideal Nap Duration
Therefore that napping must not be sufficiently lengthy to affect your sleep at night, and best shouldn’t take place in the late afternoon (based on what time you go to bed in the evening). How long is sensible? Advice differs. From a prominent study regarding daytime sleep, researchers at Nasa discovered that astronauts had a boost of up to 54% in vigilance and a 34% boost in cognitive performance following a nap of 26 minutes (in detail, this counted a six-minute sleep onset time). “I’d suggest setting a timer for 20-30 minutes – many individuals fall asleep within 10 minutes,” explains a sleep coach. “You'll find much recommendations regarding the perfect length for sleeping, but that tends to cause people to feel more worried than anything – and the most counterproductive thing you can do when trying to nod off is to stress over it.”
If you plan to take an extended nap, avoid the 45 to 60 minute range that encourages sleep inertia, that disoriented sensation when you awaken. “Studies indicates it is preferable to have an extended nap of 60 to 90 minutes compared to a medium-length nap,” says the sleep scientist. “Forty-five minutes is sufficient to put you into deep sleep and you’re more likely to feel sluggish when you get up – however, if you take it a bit longer to an hour or 90 minutes, it's likely you'll to finish a natural sleep cycle and are likely to awaken feeling more refreshed. But if you nap for a long period, it will affect how you sleep later that night.”
Establishing an Ideal Nap Environment
As for exact methodologies, recommendations vary. Some experts suggest employing similar routines you use to foster a good night’s sleep: a peaceful area, a supportive surface and as much darkness as you can manage. Others suggest that it's fine to simply nap on a couch in whatever light is present – both to discourage post-nap grogginess and to maintain your bedroom as the environment you associate with nighttime rest. “Sleep is something really tricky to force,” says a sleep coach. “If you don’t have any sleepiness, it becomes harder to lie down and practically tell yourself to go to sleep. There’s got to be some sleep pressure present to initiate sleep in the first place. For me, it's possible to take a nap during the day and awaken on my own alarm-free, however, what assists most folks is to anticipate a moment where they feel naturally feeling a bit drowsy and then simply ease into sleep.”
Trying different approaches is valuable, and should your choices are limited – for instance, if attempting to squeeze in 40 winks while traveling or in a work pod – it is perfectly fine to use sleep aids. “When I’m working with footballers, I suggest that they avoid becoming accustomed to their own bed for naps, because they’re going to have|they will
