Hear plenty of performance gurus, and it’s simple to think that dozing is a superpower: not just a band-aid following a bad night’s sleep, but a route to improved recall, improved mood and perhaps quicker running times. Professional athletes do it regularly – as do professional piano players, fighters and high-profile executives. Yet, when you don't have a special sleep space or a job that encourages regular snoozing, is it *truly* worthwhile perks to a short sleep to justify the kerfuffle? Does there exist a surefire technique to nod off promptly? Furthermore, can you truly ensure you will arise feeling better, not worse?
Identifying Your Reasons for Napping
“We can identify three key drivers for napping among most adults,” says an expert sleep and circadian science researcher. “Firstly, there's termed compensatory napping, which is the action you take after experiencing poor sleep the night before. Secondly, there's pre-emptive sleep, which involves pre-empting sleep loss coming up, such as when working graveyard shifts. Finally, there's “pleasure-based sleep”, which basically is about the wish: you have an opportunity to sleep in the daytime, and it's enjoyable to do it.”
The primary task to consider, therefore, is consider your nap motivation. “Daytime sleep can be truly beneficial when overnight rest gets interrupted because of factors you cannot change – such as, when you are a parent of a newborn, or if you are healing after being ill or heavy physical exertion,” says a sleep specialist. “However, if you nap as your nighttime sleep seems unreliable or unreliable, that’s often a sign your body's sleep pressure is not at the level it should be. In such situations, napping can become a contributing factor, rather than the answer. Employ naps as a temporary measure to address immediate needs – the focus must always be a solid and consistent sleep at night.”
The Ideal Nap Duration
This means that daytime sleep must not be sufficiently lengthy to affect your sleep at night, and best shouldn’t take place post-3 p.m. (contingent on the time you retire overnight). How long is sensible? Recommendations vary. In one of the most referenced research regarding daytime sleep, researchers at Nasa found that astronauts experienced a boost of up to 54% in attentiveness and a 34% increase in task performance post a 26-minute snooze (to be precise, this counted a six-minute nodding-off period). “My advice is using an alarm for 20 to 30 minutes – most people are asleep quickly,” says a specialist. “There’s a lot of recommendations regarding the ideal number of minutes, however, that can lead individuals to become more worried above all – and the most counterproductive thing you can possibly do when attempting to fall asleep is to be anxious.”
If you plan to nap for a longer period, bypass the period between 45 and 60 minutes that encourages that sluggish feeling, that disoriented sensation when you awaken. “Research indicates it's more effective to take a lengthier snooze of one to one and a half hours rather than a mid-length nap,” notes the expert. “Three-quarters of an hour is sufficient to send you into a deep sleep stage and it is more probable to feel groggy upon awakening – while if you take it a little longer to a full sleep cycle, it's likely you'll to be on the end of a sleep cycle and should wake up feeling more alert. However, if you're dozing for 90 minutes, it can influence how you sleep in the evening.”
Finding an Ideal Nap Environment
Regarding precise methods, recommendations vary. Certain specialists recommend adopting the same protocol one would use to encourage restful sleep: a silent space, a supportive surface and maximum darkness as is feasible. Alternatively, experts propose that you should just doze on the sofa with ambient lighting is available – to avoid post-nap grogginess and to “protect” your bedroom as the environment you associate with nighttime rest. “Napping is quite challenging to force,” notes an expert. “Without any sleepiness, it becomes harder to get comfortable and basically tell yourself to nod off. There’s got to be some drive there to initiate sleep in the first place. I can usually take a nap during the day and awaken on my own without an alarm, but what helps many individuals is to look for an instance that they’re naturally feeling a bit drowsy and then simply relax into it.”
Trying different approaches is valuable, and if options are scarce – for instance, if attempting to grab a quick nap during a commute or at the office – there’s nothing wrong to use some accessories. “When I’m working with professional sportspeople, I advise that they don’t get used to sleeping in their bed, since they’re going to have|they will
