Hear a few productivity experts, and it’s easy to believe that a nap is a powerful tool: not just a band-aid following poor sleep, but a path to improved recall, improved mood and maybe quicker running times. Professional footballers are all at it – as do musicians, fighters & media moguls. Yet, when you lack a dedicated nap-room or a job that permits daytime sleep, is it *truly* sufficient advantages to a short sleep to justify the kerfuffle? Is there a dependable method to fall asleep fast? Plus, is it possible to honestly promise you will arise feeling improved, not worse?
Exploring The Drive to Snooze
“Experts note three key drivers for daytime sleep among most adults,” notes an expert sleep science professor. “The first is what we call make-up sleep, that is the action you take following insufficient sleep the night before. Secondly, there's prophylactic napping, when you are preparing for sleep loss ahead, for instance when working on night shifts. The third is called “hedonic napping”, which simply boils down to desire: there is an opportunity to nap in the daytime, and it's enjoyable to indulge.”
The initial step to do, therefore, is consider why you want to nap. “Naps can be genuinely useful when nighttime sleep gets interrupted due to causes beyond your control – for instance, for caring for an infant, or recovering from illness or intense exercise,” explains a sleep specialist. “However, if you take a nap since your nighttime sleep seems unreliable or broken, that’s often a sign your need for sleep is not where it needs to be. In those cases, naps can become a contributing factor, rather than the answer. Use napping for brief periods for short-term problems – the main goal should still be a robust and regular sleep at night.”
The Perfect Snooze Time
This implies that daytime sleep must not be sufficiently lengthy to interfere with your nighttime sleep, and ideally are not recommended after about 3pm (based on the time you go to bed overnight). What duration is wise? Advice differs. In one of the most referenced research on the subject, space agency scientists discovered that astronauts had up to a 54% increase in vigilance plus a 34% rise in cognitive performance after a 26-minute nap (technically, this counted a six-minute sleep onset time). “I recommend using an alarm for half an hour or less – most people doze off in under ten minutes,” says a specialist. “There’s a lot of guidance out there concerning the optimal amount of time, but that tends to make people feel more worried above all – and the least helpful action you can do when trying to get to sleep is to be anxious.”
Should you decide to sleep for longer, bypass the 45-60 minute window that encourages that sluggish feeling, that foggy state when you awaken. “The science suggests it’s better to take an extended nap lasting 60-90 minutes compared to a medium-length nap,” says the sleep scientist. “45 minutes is long enough to send you into slow-wave sleep making it more likely to feel disoriented upon awakening – however, if you nap for a little longer to an hour or 90 minutes, it's likely you'll to finish of a sleep cycle and will probably awaken feeling more rejuvenated. But if you nap for 90 minutes, it may impact how you sleep later that night.”
Establishing the Right Snooze Setting
Regarding specific techniques, suggestions are diverse. A few professionals suggest using comparable habits you’d use to encourage quality nighttime sleep: a peaceful area, a cozy bed and maximum darkness as possible. Alternatively, experts propose that one could simply nap on the sofa with ambient lighting is available – to prevent post-nap grogginess and to preserve your sleeping quarters as the space your brain links with nighttime rest. “Sleep is notoriously difficult to force,” explains a specialist. “Without any drowsiness, it becomes harder to get comfortable and essentially instruct yourself to fall asleep. There must be some sleep pressure available to bring the sleep on to begin with. Personally, I can often snooze in broad daylight and wake up naturally without an alarm, though, what aids many individuals is to anticipate an instance that they’re naturally somewhat sleepy and calmly allow sleep to come.”
It’s worth experimenting, and if you have few options – for instance, if you’re trying to fit in some shut-eye while traveling or in a soundproof office pod – it's acceptable to use some accessories. “In my work with professional sportspeople, I advise that they don’t get used to sleeping in their bed, because they’re going to have|they will
