Hear enough productivity experts, and it’s easy to think that a nap is a powerful tool: rather than a sticking plaster following poor sleep, but a route towards enhanced cognition, better spirits and perhaps quicker running times. Premier League footballers do it regularly – along with professional piano players, fighters and high-profile executives. However, if you haven’t got a room for napping or a career that allows daytime sleep, are there *really* enough benefits to a short sleep for it to be worth the effort? Does there exist a reliable way to nod off promptly? And can you really guarantee you will get up feeling refreshed, not worse?
Understanding The Drive to Snooze
“Experts note three primary motivations for taking a nap among most adults,” says a professor of circadian rhythm professor. “The first is termed make-up sleep, essentially the action you take following a lack of sleep the night before. Secondly, there's preparatory napping, which involves anticipating sleep loss in the future, for instance if you’re working on night shifts. The third is called “hedonic napping”, which essentially is about the wish: you get a moment to sleep during the day, and it feels nice to indulge.”
The primary task to undertake, then, is to think about your nap motivation. “Naps can be genuinely useful when night sleeping gets interrupted due to causes beyond your control – for instance, for a new parent, or you’re recovering from illness or intense exercise,” says a sleep expert. “But if you take a nap as your night sleep feels fragile or poor, that is frequently a sign your need for sleep is not where required. In those cases, daytime sleep can turn into a contributing factor, rather than the answer. Employ naps for brief periods for short-term problems – the priority ought to remain a strong and predictable sleep at night.”
The Optimal Nap Duration
This means that napping ought not to be sufficiently lengthy to interfere with your sleep at night, and best should not occur in the late afternoon (based on when you retire in the evening). How long is sensible? Advice differs. Among the most-cited studies on the subject, space agency scientists discovered that space travelers showed a boost of up to 54% in vigilance and a 34% increase in task performance following a nap of 26 minutes (technically, this counted an initial six-minute nodding-off period). “I’d suggest using an alarm for 20 to 30 minutes – the majority doze off quickly,” says a sleep expert. “You'll find much advice around regarding the optimal amount of minutes, however, that can cause people to feel more stressed above all – and the most counterproductive thing one can do when trying to fall asleep is to stress over it.”
If you’re going to sleep for longer, steer clear of the 45 to 60 minute range that induces sleep grogginess, that spaced-out feeling when you awaken. “Studies would say it’s better to opt for an extended nap lasting 60-90 minutes compared to a medium-length nap,” notes the expert. “Three-quarters of an hour is long enough to put you into a deep sleep stage and you’re more likely to feel disoriented when you get up – whereas if you extend it a bit longer to an hour or 90 minutes, you’re likely to be on the end a full cycle and will probably awaken feeling more rejuvenated. However, if you're dozing for 90 minutes, it may impact the quality of your sleep later that night.”
Establishing the Right Nap Environment
When it comes to specific techniques, suggestions are diverse. Some experts propose adopting the same protocol you use to encourage a good night’s sleep: a quiet room, a supportive surface and as much darkness as is feasible. Alternatively, experts propose that one could merely snooze on the sofa with ambient lighting is present – both to discourage sleep inertia and to maintain your bed as the space your mind associates with *real* sleep. “Falling asleep is notoriously difficult to force,” notes a specialist. “Lacking any drowsiness, it becomes harder to get comfortable and essentially command yourself to nod off. There’s got to be some drive present to start the process initially. Personally, I can often take a nap in full light and wake up naturally without an alarm, though, what aids most folks is to look for a time that they’re naturally feeling a bit drowsy and just gently allow sleep to come.”
It’s worth experimenting, and if you have few options – for example, when aiming to fit in a quick nap on a train or at the office – there’s nothing wrong to use some accessories. “Coaching elite athletes, I recommend that they don’t get used to napping in bed, since they’re going to have|they will
