Listen to enough productivity gurus, and you'll be tempting to convince yourself that dozing is a powerful tool: rather than a band-aid after restless night, but a shortcut to a better memory, a brighter outlook and perhaps quicker running times. Premier League athletes are all at it – and so are musicians, fighters & media moguls. But if you lack a room for napping or a career that permits daytime sleep, is it *truly* worthwhile perks to a short sleep to merit the hassle? Does there exist a dependable method to nod off promptly? Plus, is it possible to honestly promise you will get up feeling improved, instead of groggy?
Exploring Your Drive to Snooze
“There are three primary motivations for napping for many people,” says a professor of sleep science specialist. “The first is what we call compensatory napping, that is the action you take when you’ve had insufficient sleep the night before. Secondly, there's pre-emptive sleep, which involves anticipating insufficient sleep in the future, for instance if you’re working overnight shifts. The third is called “hedonic napping”, which essentially is about the wish: there is a chance to nap during the day, and it's enjoyable to nap.”
The initial step to do, so, is to examine your reason for napping. “Napping can be really helpful when night sleeping is disturbed due to causes you cannot change – such as, when you are a new parent, or recovering from illness or intense exercise,” states a sleep specialist. “Yet when you’re napping as your night sleep feels fragile or poor, that’s often a signal your need for sleep is not at the level required. Under those circumstances, daytime sleep can turn into a contributing factor, not the solution. Use napping as a temporary measure for temporary issues – the main goal should still be a strong and predictable overnight rest.”
The Ideal Nap Length
Therefore that daytime sleep must not be sufficiently lengthy to interfere with your overnight rest, and best are not recommended in the late afternoon (contingent on when you retire at night). What's a reasonable length? Recommendations vary. In one of a prominent study regarding daytime sleep, researchers at Nasa discovered that space travelers showed a boost of up to 54% in alertness and a 34% boost in task performance post a 26-minute snooze (to be precise, this included an initial six-minute sleep onset time). “I’d suggest setting a timer for half an hour or less – most people doze off quickly,” notes a sleep coach. “There is plenty of recommendations concerning the optimal amount for sleeping, yet that often make people feel more stressed than anything else – and the least helpful action you can possibly do when trying to nod off is worry about it.”
Should you decide to sleep for longer, steer clear of the 45 to 60 minute range that promotes sleep inertia, that spaced-out feeling upon waking. “The science suggests it’s better to take a longer nap lasting 60-90 minutes compared to a medium-length nap,” notes the sleep scientist. “Forty-five minutes is enough time to plunge you into deep sleep making it more likely to feel groggy when you wake up – whereas if you take it a little longer to a full sleep cycle, you’re likely to be on the end of a sleep cycle and are likely to wake up feeling more refreshed. Though if you nap for an hour and a half, it can influence your sleep that night.”
Creating the Right Sleep Space
Regarding specific techniques, suggestions are diverse. Some experts propose using comparable habits you use to foster quality nighttime sleep: a peaceful area, a cozy bed and as much darkness as you can manage. Alternatively, experts propose that you should just doze on a couch with ambient lighting is present – to prevent that groggy feeling and to maintain your bed as the environment your mind associates with proper sleep. “Falling asleep is notoriously difficult to command,” explains a specialist. “If you don’t have any sleepiness, it is more challenging to get comfortable and practically instruct yourself to go to sleep. There must be some drive available to initiate sleep to begin with. For me, it's possible to snooze in full light and awaken on my own without a timer, but what helps a lot of people is to anticipate an instance that they’re naturally somewhat sleepy and calmly relax into it.”
Experimentation is key, and when options are scarce – for instance, if attempting to fit in a quick nap while traveling or in a soundproof office pod – it's acceptable to use sleep aids. “Coaching elite athletes, I recommend that they avoid becoming accustomed to sleeping in their bed, since they’re going to have|they will
