Tune into enough performance gurus, and you'll be tempting to think that dozing is a secret weapon: not just a quick fix following restless night, but a path to enhanced cognition, better spirits and possibly a faster 5k run time. Professional footballers are all at it – along with musicians, fighters & high-profile executives. However, if you haven’t got a dedicated nap-room or employment that encourages daytime sleep, is it *truly* worthwhile perks to a burst of shut-eye to merit the hassle? Can you find a dependable method to fall asleep fast? And can you honestly promise you will get up feeling refreshed, rather than worse?
Identifying Your Drive to Snooze
“We can identify three primary motivations for taking a nap in the adult population,” says an expert sleep and circadian science researcher. “One is known as make-up sleep, that is what you do following poor sleep overnight. Another is preparatory napping, where you are preparing for insufficient sleep coming up, for example if you’re working overnight shifts. Finally, there's “pleasure-based sleep”, which essentially comes down to the wish: there is an opportunity to sleep in the afternoon, and it's enjoyable to do it.”
The first thing to do, then, is consider why you want to nap. “Naps can be genuinely useful when overnight rest is being disrupted for reasons outside your control – such as, when you are a new parent, or recovering after being ill or heavy physical exertion,” says a sleep expert. “Yet when you’re napping because your sleep at night seems unreliable or unreliable, that is frequently a sign your sleep drive is not as strong as required. In such situations, naps can become a contributing factor, rather than the answer. Use napping as a temporary measure for short-term problems – the priority ought to remain a robust and regular night’s sleep.”
The Ideal Nap Duration
This implies that naps shouldn’t be sufficiently lengthy to affect your sleep at night, and ideally shouldn’t take place in the late afternoon (contingent on what time you retire overnight). How long is sensible? Advice differs. From the most referenced research about napping, researchers at Nasa found that space travelers showed improvements of over 50% in attentiveness plus a 34% rise in cognitive performance following a nap of 26 minutes (to be precise, this included a six-minute nodding-off period). “I’d suggest setting an alarm for 20-30 minutes – many individuals fall asleep within 10 minutes,” notes a sleep coach. “There’s a lot of advice around concerning the optimal amount of minutes, but that tends to cause people to feel more stressed above all – and the most counterproductive 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 to 60 minute range that promotes sleep inertia, that disoriented sensation when you wake. “Studies indicates it’s better to opt for an extended nap of 60 to 90 minutes than a medium-length one,” explains the expert. “Forty-five minutes is long enough to plunge you into deep sleep making it more likely to feel groggy upon awakening – however, if you take it a bit longer to a full sleep cycle, you will probably to be completing a natural sleep cycle and will probably awaken feeling more rejuvenated. However, if you nap for a long period, it will affect how you sleep that night.”
Creating an Ideal Snooze Setting
Regarding precise methods, suggestions are diverse. Some experts suggest employing the same protocol you’d use to encourage restful sleep: a silent space, a cozy bed and as much darkness as possible. Some advise that you should just doze on the sofa in whatever light is available – both to discourage that groggy feeling and to “protect” your bedroom as the place your mind associates with proper sleep. “Falling asleep is notoriously difficult to force,” says a specialist. “If you don’t have any sleepiness, it is tougher to recline and essentially command yourself to fall asleep. There must be some sleep pressure present to bring the sleep on initially. I can usually snooze during the day and naturally wake up without an alarm, but what helps a lot of people is to anticipate an instance that they’re naturally slightly tired and calmly allow sleep to come.”
Experimentation is key, and should options are scarce – such as, if attempting to grab 40 winks during a commute or at the office – it's acceptable to employ sleep aids. “Coaching elite athletes, I advise that they not rely on napping in bed, because they’re going to have|they will
