Tune into enough performance podcasters, and you'll be easy to think that a nap is a superpower: not just a sticking plaster following restless night, but a shortcut to a better memory, better spirits and possibly a faster 5k run time. Premier League footballers do it regularly – along with concert pianists, UFC champions & high-profile executives. Yet, when you haven’t got a dedicated nap-room or employment that permits regular snoozing, are there *really* sufficient advantages to a short sleep to merit the kerfuffle? Is there a dependable method to fall asleep fast? Furthermore, can you honestly promise you will arise feeling better, rather than worse?
Identifying Your Drive to Snooze
“We can identify three key drivers for daytime sleep among most adults,” explains an expert circadian rhythm specialist. “One is what we call recovery napping, which is what you do when you’ve had a lack of sleep overnight. Another is pre-emptive sleep, which involves pre-empting sleep loss in the future, for example during graveyard shifts. The third reason is “hedonic napping”, which essentially boils down to desire: you have an opportunity to sleep during the day, and it feels nice to indulge.”
The first thing to do, so, is to examine your reason for napping. “Daytime sleep can be genuinely useful when overnight rest is disturbed because of factors beyond your control – for example, when you are a new parent, or recovering after being ill or strenuous activity,” explains a sleep expert. “Yet when you nap because your night sleep feels fragile or broken, that’s often an indicator your need for sleep is not where required. Under those circumstances, daytime sleep can turn into part of the problem, not the solution. Use napping as a temporary measure to address immediate needs – the priority should still be a strong and predictable overnight rest.”
The Perfect Nap Length
Therefore that daytime sleep must not be long enough to affect your sleep at night, and preferably are not recommended post-3 p.m. (based on the time you retire overnight). How long is sensible? Advice differs. Among the most-cited studies regarding daytime sleep, space agency scientists found that crew members showed a boost of up to 54% in alertness plus a 34% rise in performance after a 26-minute nap (technically, this included a six-minute long nodding-off period). “My advice is setting a timer for 20-30 minutes – most people are asleep quickly,” says a sleep expert. “There’s a lot of recommendations regarding the perfect length of time, but that tends to lead individuals to become more anxious than anything else – and the most counterproductive thing one can do when attempting to fall asleep is worry about it.”
If you’re going to take an extended nap, steer clear of the 45 to 60 minute range that encourages sleep inertia, that spaced-out feeling when you wake. “Research suggests it's more effective to have a longer nap of one to one and a half hours compared to a medium-length nap,” explains the professor. “Forty-five minutes is long enough to send you into slow-wave sleep and it is more probable to feel sluggish when you get up – however, if you extend it a bit longer to 60 or 90 minutes, you will probably to be on the end a full cycle and are likely to get up feeling more rejuvenated. Though if you’re sleeping for an hour and a half, it may impact how you sleep later that night.”
Establishing an Ideal Sleep Space
As for exact methodologies, suggestions are diverse. Some experts suggest employing the same protocol you use to foster restful sleep: a peaceful area, a supportive surface and as much darkness as possible. Some advise that it's fine to just doze on a couch with ambient lighting happens to be around – both to discourage that groggy feeling and to “protect” your sleeping quarters as the environment your brain links with *real* sleep. “Napping is quite challenging to will,” explains a specialist. “Lacking the urge to sleep, it is more challenging to lie down and essentially tell yourself to go to sleep. There’s got to be some sleep pressure available to start the process in the first place. Personally, I can often nap in broad daylight and awaken on my own alarm-free, though, what aids many individuals is to look for a time when they are naturally somewhat sleepy and then simply relax into it.”
Trying different approaches is valuable, and when options are scarce – for instance, if attempting to squeeze in some shut-eye on a train or in a work pod – there’s nothing wrong to use some accessories. “When I’m working with professional sportspeople, I suggest that they don’t get used to sleeping in their bed, because they’re going to have|they will
