The Key to an Ideal Snooze: Timing, Location & for How Long?
Listen to enough productivity podcasters, and you'll be easy to believe that dozing is a superpower: more than a sticking plaster following poor sleep, but a path to a better memory, a brighter outlook and perhaps improved athletic performance. Premier League soccer players swear by it – along with professional piano players, UFC champions and high-profile executives. But if you haven’t got a dedicated nap-room or a career that allows daytime sleep, can there *honestly* enough benefits to a short sleep to justify the hassle? Does there exist a surefire technique to fall asleep fast? Plus, is it possible to really guarantee you’ll wake up feeling better, not worse?
Identifying Your Nap Motivation
“There are three main reasons for taking a nap in the adult population,” notes an expert sleep and circadian science professor. “Firstly, there's what we call compensatory napping, essentially what you do when you’ve had poor sleep overnight. The second is preparatory napping, where you are anticipating sleep loss ahead, for instance if you’re working overnight shifts. The third is called “pleasure-based sleep”, which basically is about the wish: you have an opportunity to nap in the daytime, and it's enjoyable to do it.”
The initial step to do, therefore, is to examine your nap motivation. “Napping can be genuinely useful when night sleeping is being disrupted for reasons beyond your control – for example, if you’re a new parent, or if you are healing after being ill or intense exercise,” states a sleep expert. “However, if you take a nap since your nighttime sleep feels fragile or unreliable, that can be an indicator your body's sleep pressure is not as strong as it needs to be. Under those circumstances, daytime sleep can turn into a contributing factor, rather than the answer. Employ naps as a temporary measure for temporary issues – the focus ought to remain a robust and regular night’s sleep.”
The Ideal Nap Length
This implies that napping shouldn’t be too extended to interfere with your overnight rest, and preferably shouldn’t take place post-3 p.m. (depending on what time you retire in the evening). What's a reasonable length? Guidelines are mixed. Among the most-cited studies on the subject, researchers at Nasa discovered that astronauts had improvements of over 50% in vigilance and a 34% boost in cognitive performance following a nap of 26 minutes (to be precise, this involved an initial six-minute nodding-off period). “I’d suggest setting a timer for 20-30 minutes – the majority are asleep quickly,” explains a specialist. “There is plenty of guidance out there concerning the optimal amount of minutes, however, that can lead individuals to become more stressed above all – and the most counterproductive thing you can do while aiming to fall asleep is to stress over it.”
If you’re going to nap for a longer period, steer clear of the 45-60 minute window that promotes that sluggish feeling, that spaced-out feeling when you awaken. “Studies suggests it is preferable to opt for a longer nap lasting 60-90 minutes compared to a medium-length nap,” says the sleep scientist. “45 minutes is sufficient to plunge you into a deep sleep stage and it is more probable to feel sluggish when you wake up – whereas if you extend it slightly longer to 60 or 90 minutes, you will probably to finish of a sleep cycle and will probably awaken feeling more alert. But if you nap for a long period, it will affect how you sleep later that night.”
Creating the Right Snooze Setting
As for precise methods, suggestions are diverse. Certain specialists suggest adopting similar routines you’d use to encourage restful sleep: a quiet room, a supportive surface and maximum darkness as possible. Others suggest that one could merely snooze in a chair in the existing light is available – to avoid post-nap grogginess and to preserve your bedroom as the space your brain links with proper sleep. “Falling asleep is notoriously difficult to will,” explains an expert. “Without any drowsiness, it is tougher to get comfortable and basically tell yourself to nod off. There must be some sleep pressure available to initiate sleep initially. For me, it's possible to nap during the day and naturally wake up without an alarm, but what helps a lot of people is to wait for an instance that they’re naturally somewhat sleepy and then simply ease into sleep.”
It’s worth experimenting, and if you have few options – for instance, if you’re trying to squeeze in some shut-eye during a commute or at the office – it's acceptable to employ a few tools. “Coaching footballers, I advise that they don’t get used to napping in bed, since they’re going to have|they will
