The Secret for a Flawless Nap: Timing, Where & Duration?
Hear plenty of self-improvement podcasters, making it tempting to convince yourself that a nap is a superpower: rather than a quick fix after restless night, but a route towards improved recall, a brighter outlook and possibly a faster 5k run time. Elite soccer players do it regularly – and so are musicians, UFC champions & business leaders. However, if you haven’t got a dedicated nap-room or a job that permits daytime sleep, are there *really* worthwhile perks to a quick nap for it to be worth the hassle? Does there exist a dependable method to get to sleep quickly enough? Furthermore, can you truly ensure you will get up feeling refreshed, rather than worse?
Exploring The Reasons for Napping
“There are three main reasons for napping among most adults,” says a professor of sleep and circadian science researcher. “The first is what we call recovery napping, essentially the action you take following insufficient sleep the night before. The second is prophylactic napping, where you are preparing for sleep loss in the future, for example when working graveyard shifts. The third is called “pleasure-based sleep”, which simply is about desire: you have a chance to nap in the afternoon, and it's enjoyable to nap.”
The primary task to do, so, is to think about why you want to nap. “Daytime sleep can be really helpful when overnight rest is being disrupted because of factors you cannot change – for example, for a new parent, or recovering from illness or intense exercise,” explains a sleep expert. “Yet when you nap because your night sleep seems unreliable or unreliable, that is frequently a signal your need for sleep is not at the level it should be. Under those circumstances, naps can become part of the issue, instead of the fix. Employ naps as a temporary measure for short-term problems – the main goal ought to remain a strong and predictable overnight rest.”
The Ideal Snooze Time
This means that daytime sleep ought not to be long enough to interfere with your overnight rest, and ideally should not occur in the late afternoon (depending on when you go to bed overnight). What duration is wise? Recommendations vary. Among a prominent study about napping, space agency scientists found that space travelers showed improvements of over 50% in alertness plus a 34% rise in cognitive performance after a 26-minute nap (in detail, this counted a six-minute long sleep onset time). “My advice is using an alarm for 20-30 minutes – most people doze off quickly,” explains a specialist. “There is plenty of advice around concerning the perfect length for sleeping, but that tends to cause people to feel more stressed than anything – and the least helpful action you can possibly do when trying to get to sleep is to be anxious.”
If you plan to nap for a longer period, avoid the 45-60 minute window that promotes sleep grogginess, that foggy state when you wake. “Studies would say it’s better to have a longer nap of 60 to 90 minutes rather than a mid-length nap,” explains the expert. “Forty-five minutes is sufficient to send you into deep sleep and it is more probable to feel groggy when you wake up – whereas if you take it a bit longer to an hour or 90 minutes, you’re likely to finish of a sleep cycle and will probably get up feeling more rejuvenated. Though if you’re sleeping for a long period, it can influence your sleep that night.”
Establishing the Right Snooze Setting
When it comes to exact methodologies, advice differs. A few professionals recommend employing comparable habits one would use to encourage quality nighttime sleep: a peaceful area, a comfortable bed and maximum darkness as you can manage. Others suggest that one could just doze on a couch with ambient lighting is present – both to discourage sleep inertia and to “protect” your bedroom as the environment your brain links with proper sleep. “Falling asleep is notoriously difficult to will,” notes a specialist. “Lacking any sleepiness, it is tougher to lie down and basically command yourself to nod off. You need some drive present to bring the sleep on initially. For me, it's possible to take a nap during the day and awaken on my own alarm-free, though, what aids many individuals is to wait for an instance where they feel naturally somewhat sleepy and then simply relax into it.”
Trying different approaches is valuable, and when your choices are limited – such as, if attempting to fit in a quick nap during a commute or in a work pod – it is perfectly fine to employ sleep aids. “In my work with elite athletes, I recommend that they don’t get used to napping in bed, as they’re going to have|they will
