Listen to plenty of performance podcasters, and it’s simple to believe that napping is a superpower: not just a sticking plaster after poor sleep, but a path towards enhanced cognition, better spirits and possibly improved athletic performance. Elite footballers do it regularly – along with musicians, fighters & high-profile executives. Yet, when you haven’t got a dedicated nap-room or a career that allows regular snoozing, can there *honestly* enough benefits to a burst of shut-eye to justify the hassle? Is there a surefire technique to fall asleep fast? Plus, is it possible to really guarantee you will get up feeling improved, rather than worse?
Identifying The Drive to Snooze
“We can identify three main reasons for daytime sleep for many people,” explains a professor of circadian rhythm specialist. “One is termed recovery napping, essentially the action you take when you’ve had poor sleep the night before. Another is prophylactic napping, when you are anticipating insufficient sleep coming up, such as when working on night shifts. The third reason is “hedonic napping”, which simply is about wanting: there is a chance to nap in the afternoon, and it feels nice to indulge.”
The first thing to consider, so, is to think about your nap motivation. “Napping can be genuinely useful when nighttime sleep is being disrupted due to causes outside your control – such as, when you are caring for an infant, or you’re recovering from sickness or strenuous activity,” says a sleep expert. “But if you’re napping because your nighttime sleep seems unreliable or broken, that is frequently an indicator your need for sleep is not as strong as it should be. Under those circumstances, napping can become a contributing factor, rather than the answer. Use napping as a short-term solution to address immediate needs – the priority must always be a strong and predictable overnight rest.”
The Ideal Nap Duration
This implies that napping shouldn’t be long enough to disrupt your nighttime sleep, and best shouldn’t take place in the late afternoon (based on when you go to bed in the evening). What's a reasonable length? Recommendations vary. From a prominent study about napping, researchers at Nasa found that astronauts had a boost of up to 54% in alertness and a 34% boost in task performance following a nap of 26 minutes (technically, this included an initial six-minute falling asleep phase). “I recommend setting an alarm for 20-30 minutes – the majority are asleep in under ten minutes,” says a sleep expert. “There is plenty of advice around about the ideal number for sleeping, however, that can lead individuals to become more anxious above all – and the worst thing you can possibly do while aiming to get to sleep is to stress over it.”
If you plan to nap for a longer period, bypass the 45 to 60 minute range that promotes that sluggish feeling, that spaced-out feeling upon waking. “Research would say it is preferable to take an extended nap of 60 to 90 minutes compared to a medium-length nap,” says the expert. “Forty-five minutes is sufficient to send you into a deep sleep stage and you’re more likely to feel sluggish when you get up – while if you take it a little longer to a full sleep cycle, you’re likely to be completing of a sleep cycle and are likely to get up feeling more refreshed. However, if you’re sleeping for a long period, it can influence how you sleep in the evening.”
Establishing the Right Sleep Space
When it comes to specific techniques, suggestions are diverse. Certain specialists propose adopting the same protocol you’d use to encourage quality nighttime sleep: a peaceful area, a cozy bed and as much darkness as possible. Some advise that you should merely snooze in a chair in the existing light is available – to prevent post-nap grogginess and to “protect” your sleeping quarters as the environment your mind associates with *real* sleep. “Napping is something really tricky to will,” notes an expert. “Without any sleepiness, it is tougher to lie down and essentially command yourself to nod off. You need some sleep pressure present to start the process to begin with. For me, it's possible to snooze during the day and naturally wake up without an alarm, however, what assists a lot of people is to look for a moment when they are naturally slightly tired and calmly allow sleep to come.”
It’s worth experimenting, and should you have few options – for example, when aiming to squeeze in some shut-eye during a commute or at the office – it's acceptable to use a few tools. “Coaching elite athletes, I advise that they avoid becoming accustomed to sleeping in their bed, as they’re going to have|they will
