Listen to enough performance experts, making it simple to convince yourself that napping is a superpower: more than a band-aid after poor sleep, but a shortcut towards enhanced cognition, improved mood and perhaps quicker running times. Elite footballers are all at it – along with concert pianists, mixed martial artists & business leaders. However, if you lack a dedicated nap-room or a career that permits daytime sleep, is it *truly* worthwhile perks to a burst of shut-eye to justify the effort? Can you find a surefire technique to fall asleep fast? And can you honestly promise you will get up feeling refreshed, instead of groggy?
Exploring Your Nap Motivation
“We can identify three key drivers for napping in the adult population,” explains an expert sleep and circadian science professor. “The first is what we call recovery napping, which is what you do when you’ve had insufficient sleep the night before. The second is prophylactic napping, which involves anticipating insufficient sleep coming up, for example when working on night shifts. The third is called “pleasure-based sleep”, which basically comes down to desire: you have an opportunity to sleep during the day, and it's pleasant to nap.”
The initial step to do, so, is to think about your reason for napping. “Napping can be truly beneficial when nighttime sleep is disturbed because of factors beyond your control – for example, when you are a new parent, or if you are healing after being ill or heavy physical exertion,” explains a sleep expert. “However, if you’re napping since your sleep at night seems unreliable or broken, that’s often a sign your need for sleep is not where it needs to be. In those cases, napping can become a contributing factor, not the solution. Use napping for brief periods for temporary issues – the priority should still be a strong and predictable overnight rest.”
The Optimal Nap Length
This means that naps must not be sufficiently lengthy to interfere with your nighttime sleep, and best should not occur in the late afternoon (based on the time you retire at night). What's a reasonable length? Recommendations vary. In one of a prominent study about napping, experts noted that crew members showed a boost of up to 54% in alertness and a 34% boost in performance post a 26-minute snooze (technically, this included an initial six-minute nodding-off period). “My advice is setting an alarm for half an hour or less – most people fall asleep in under ten minutes,” explains a sleep coach. “There’s a lot of guidance out there regarding the perfect length for sleeping, yet that often make people feel more stressed than anything else – and the most counterproductive thing you can do when attempting to nod off is to stress over it.”
Should you decide to nap for a longer period, steer clear of the 45-60 minute window that promotes sleep grogginess, that spaced-out feeling upon waking. “The science suggests it's more effective to take a longer nap of one to one and a half hours compared to a medium-length nap,” notes the professor. “Three-quarters of an hour is long enough to plunge you into a deep sleep stage and it is more probable to feel groggy upon awakening – however, if you take it a bit longer to an hour or 90 minutes, you will probably to be completing a full cycle and are likely to awaken feeling more rejuvenated. Though if you nap for an hour and a half, it will affect the quality of your sleep in the evening.”
Establishing the Right Sleep Space
As for precise methods, suggestions are diverse. Certain specialists suggest employing similar routines one would use to promote restful sleep: a peaceful area, a cozy bed and as much darkness as possible. Others suggest that you should just doze in a chair with ambient lighting is available – both to discourage post-nap grogginess and to preserve your bed as the space your mind associates with proper sleep. “Sleep is quite challenging to will,” says an expert. “Without any sleepiness, it is tougher to get comfortable and practically command yourself to nod off. You need some drive present to start the process to begin with. Personally, I can often nap in full light and naturally wake up without a timer, though, what aids a lot of people is to look for a time where they feel naturally slightly tired and then simply relax into it.”
It’s worth experimenting, and when your choices are limited – for instance, when aiming to grab 40 winks on a train or in a work pod – it is perfectly fine with bringing a few tools. “When I’m working with professional sportspeople, I suggest that they don’t get used to napping in bed, because they’re going to have|they will
