The Key to a Perfect Snooze: When, Location and for How Long?
Listen to enough productivity experts, making it easy to convince yourself that a nap is a secret weapon: more than a quick fix after restless night, but a shortcut towards a better memory, a brighter outlook and perhaps a faster 5k run time. Professional footballers are all at it – and so are concert pianists, mixed martial artists & business leaders. But if you lack a dedicated nap-room or employment that encourages daytime sleep, is it *truly* enough benefits to a quick nap for it to be worth the hassle? Is there a surefire technique to nod off promptly? And can you truly ensure you’ll wake up feeling improved, rather than worse?
Understanding The Drive to Snooze
“Experts note three key drivers for napping for many people,” explains a professor of sleep and circadian science researcher. “Firstly, there's known as make-up sleep, which is what you do when you’ve had a lack of sleep the night before. The second is prophylactic napping, which involves anticipating a sleep deficit ahead, such as when working on night shifts. The third is called “hedonic napping”, which simply is about wanting: you have a moment to nap during the day, and it's pleasant to nap.”
The primary task to consider, so, is to think about your nap motivation. “Daytime sleep can be truly beneficial when night sleeping is being disrupted due to causes you cannot change – for example, when you are caring for an infant, or if you are healing from sickness or intense exercise,” explains a sleep physiologist. “However, if you’re napping as your night sleep is unstable or broken, that’s often a signal your body's sleep pressure is not at the level it should be. In such situations, naps can become part of the problem, instead of the fix. Employ naps as a short-term solution for temporary issues – the main goal should still be a strong and predictable night’s sleep.”
The Optimal Snooze Time
This implies that daytime sleep shouldn’t be sufficiently lengthy to disrupt your sleep at night, and preferably shouldn’t take place in the late afternoon (based on when you retire at night). What duration is wise? Recommendations vary. From the most-cited studies regarding daytime sleep, space agency scientists noted that crew members showed a boost of up to 54% in attentiveness plus a 34% rise in performance following a nap of 26 minutes (to be precise, this counted an initial six-minute falling asleep phase). “My advice is setting a timer for half an hour or less – the majority fall asleep within 10 minutes,” notes a specialist. “You'll find much recommendations about the optimal amount for sleeping, yet that often make people feel more worried than anything else – and the least helpful action you can possibly do while aiming to fall asleep is worry about it.”
If you plan to take an extended nap, avoid the 45-60 minute window that promotes sleep grogginess, that spaced-out feeling upon waking. “Studies would say it’s better to have an extended nap lasting 60-90 minutes than a medium-length one,” notes the professor. “Forty-five minutes is long enough to plunge you into slow-wave sleep and you’re more likely to feel groggy upon awakening – whereas if you nap for slightly longer to 60 or 90 minutes, it's likely you'll to finish of a sleep cycle and will probably get up feeling more rejuvenated. But if you nap for a long period, it will affect your sleep in the evening.”
Finding an Ideal Sleep Space
When it comes to exact methodologies, suggestions are diverse. Certain specialists propose employing similar routines you’d use to foster a good night’s sleep: a silent space, a supportive surface and minimal light as possible. Alternatively, experts propose that it's fine to simply nap on the sofa in the existing light is present – both to discourage sleep inertia and to “protect” your bedroom as the environment your mind associates with nighttime rest. “Falling asleep is something really tricky to force,” notes a sleep coach. “If you don’t have any sleepiness, it is tougher to lie down and essentially command yourself to nod off. There’s got to be some drive available to bring the sleep on in the first place. For me, it's possible to nap during the day and wake up naturally without an alarm, however, what assists a lot of people is to look for an instance that they’re naturally somewhat sleepy and then simply allow sleep to come.”
It’s worth experimenting, and when options are scarce – such as, if attempting to grab 40 winks on a train or in a work pod – it's acceptable with bringing sleep aids. “In my work with elite athletes, I advise that they avoid becoming accustomed to their own bed for naps, as they’re going to have|they will
