The Formula to an Ideal Nap: Timing, Where and Duration?
Tune into plenty of self-improvement experts, and you'll be easy to think that dozing is a powerful tool: rather than a band-aid after a bad night’s sleep, but a route to a better memory, improved mood and possibly improved athletic performance. Elite footballers are all at it – along with professional piano players, fighters & high-profile executives. Yet, when you haven’t got a room for napping or a career that encourages frequent naps, can there *honestly* enough benefits to a quick nap to justify the kerfuffle? Can you find a surefire technique to get to sleep quickly enough? And can you truly ensure you will arise feeling improved, instead of groggy?
Identifying Your Reasons for Napping
“We can identify three primary motivations for daytime sleep among most adults,” explains a leading circadian rhythm professor. “The first is what we call make-up sleep, that is what happens after experiencing insufficient sleep the night before. The second is prophylactic napping, when you are pre-empting a sleep deficit in the future, for instance during overnight shifts. The third reason is “appetitive drive”, which basically boils down to wanting: you get a chance to sleep in the daytime, and it's enjoyable to do it.”
The primary task to undertake, so, is consider why you want to nap. “Daytime sleep can be truly beneficial when overnight rest is disturbed for reasons outside your control – such as, when you are a parent of a newborn, or you’re recovering from illness or heavy physical exertion,” says a sleep expert. “Yet when you nap as your night sleep is unstable or broken, that is frequently a signal your need for sleep is not where required. In such situations, naps can become a contributing factor, not the solution. Utilize daytime sleep as a temporary measure for temporary issues – the focus must always be a robust and regular overnight rest.”
The Ideal Nap Length
Therefore that daytime sleep must not be long enough to interfere with your overnight rest, and best shouldn’t take place post-3 p.m. (depending on when you retire overnight). What's a reasonable length? Advice differs. In one of the most referenced research about napping, space agency scientists found that crew members had a boost of up to 54% in alertness and a 34% boost in task performance after a 26-minute nap (to be precise, this included a six-minute long falling asleep phase). “I recommend setting an alarm for half an hour or less – many individuals are asleep in under ten minutes,” says a sleep expert. “You'll find much advice around regarding the ideal number for sleeping, however, that can lead individuals to become more worried above all – and the worst thing you can do while aiming to nod off is to be anxious.”
If you’re going to take an extended nap, bypass the 45-60 minute window that encourages sleep inertia, that foggy state when you wake. “Research suggests it’s better to take a lengthier snooze lasting 60-90 minutes than a medium-length one,” says the sleep scientist. “Forty-five minutes is sufficient to plunge you into a deep sleep stage and you’re more likely to feel disoriented upon awakening – whereas if you nap for a little longer to a full sleep cycle, you will probably to finish a full cycle and are likely to get up feeling more rejuvenated. However, if you're dozing for an hour and a half, it may impact your sleep later that night.”
Creating an Ideal Snooze Setting
When it comes to exact methodologies, advice differs. Some experts recommend employing similar routines one would use to encourage a good night’s sleep: a silent space, a supportive surface and minimal light as you can manage. Alternatively, experts propose that one could simply nap on the sofa in whatever light is present – both to discourage sleep inertia and to “protect” your sleeping quarters as the place your brain links with nighttime rest. “Sleep is quite challenging to force,” notes a sleep coach. “If you don’t have the urge to sleep, it is tougher to lie down and practically instruct yourself to go to sleep. You need some sleep pressure available to bring the sleep on initially. For me, it's possible to snooze in broad daylight and naturally wake up without an alarm, though, what aids most folks is to wait for an instance that they’re naturally slightly tired and then simply relax into it.”
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's acceptable to use a few tools. “In my work with professional sportspeople, I advise that they not rely on their own bed for naps, because they’re going to have|they will
