Listen to a few performance podcasters, making it simple to think that dozing is a superpower: not just a quick fix following restless night, but a shortcut to improved recall, improved mood and possibly a faster 5k run time. Professional soccer players swear by it – as do concert pianists, UFC champions & high-profile executives. But if you haven’t got a special sleep space or a job that encourages regular snoozing, can there *honestly* sufficient advantages to a quick nap for it to be worth the hassle? Can you find a reliable way to get to sleep quickly enough? And can you truly ensure you’ll wake up feeling improved, instead of groggy?
Exploring Your Drive to Snooze
“There are three main reasons for daytime sleep in the adult population,” says a leading sleep science specialist. “Firstly, there's what we call compensatory napping, which is the action you take after experiencing poor sleep overnight. Secondly, there's prophylactic napping, when you are pre-empting insufficient sleep in the future, for instance during overnight shifts. Finally, there's “hedonic napping”, which simply boils down to desire: there is an opportunity to nap in the afternoon, and it's enjoyable to nap.”
The first thing to do, therefore, is consider your reason for napping. “Napping can be really helpful when nighttime sleep gets interrupted because of factors you cannot change – for example, for caring for an infant, or recovering from illness or intense exercise,” explains a sleep specialist. “However, if you nap as your nighttime sleep seems unreliable or broken, that can be a signal your need for sleep is not as strong as it needs to be. In those cases, napping can become part of the issue, not the solution. Utilize daytime sleep for brief periods for short-term problems – the main goal should still be a strong and predictable sleep at night.”
The Optimal Snooze Time
This implies that napping ought not to be long enough to affect your nighttime sleep, and preferably are not recommended in the late afternoon (depending on the time you go to bed overnight). What's a reasonable length? Guidelines are mixed. Among a prominent study regarding daytime sleep, space agency scientists found that crew members experienced improvements of over 50% in attentiveness and a 34% boost in performance post a 26-minute snooze (in detail, this involved an initial six-minute sleep onset time). “I’d suggest setting an alarm for 20-30 minutes – many individuals doze off in under ten minutes,” notes a specialist. “You'll find much advice around about the ideal number of minutes, however, that can lead individuals to become more stressed than anything – and the least helpful action you can possibly do while aiming to fall asleep is worry about it.”
Should you decide to take an extended nap, steer clear of the period between 45 and 60 minutes that induces sleep grogginess, that disoriented sensation upon waking. “The science would say it is preferable to take a lengthier snooze of 60 to 90 minutes compared to a medium-length nap,” says the expert. “Three-quarters of an hour is sufficient to send you into slow-wave sleep and it is more probable to feel sluggish upon awakening – however, if you take it a little longer to an hour or 90 minutes, you’re likely to be on the end of a sleep cycle and will probably get up feeling more alert. Though if you’re sleeping for a long period, it may impact the quality of your sleep later that night.”
Creating the Perfect Sleep Space
As for exact methodologies, recommendations vary. A few professionals propose employing comparable habits you’d use to promote quality nighttime sleep: a quiet room, a comfortable bed and maximum darkness as is feasible. Some advise that it's fine to merely snooze on a couch in whatever light is available – to prevent that groggy feeling and to “protect” your sleeping quarters as the place your mind associates with nighttime rest. “Sleep is notoriously difficult to command,” says a sleep coach. “If you don’t have any drowsiness, it becomes harder to get comfortable and practically instruct yourself to go to sleep. You need some drive there to initiate sleep in the first place. Personally, I can often nap in broad daylight and naturally wake up without a timer, though, what aids a lot of people is to wait for an instance where they feel naturally feeling a bit drowsy and then simply ease into sleep.”
Experimentation is key, and when you have few options – for example, when aiming to fit in 40 winks on a train or at the office – there’s nothing wrong with bringing sleep aids. “When I’m working with professional sportspeople, I advise that they don’t get used to napping in bed, because they’re going to have|they will
