Hear enough productivity experts, and you'll be easy to convince yourself that dozing is a powerful tool: rather than a sticking plaster following restless night, but a shortcut towards improved recall, a brighter outlook and perhaps improved athletic performance. Premier League soccer players are all at it – as do concert pianists, UFC champions & business leaders. But if you haven’t got a room for napping or a job that permits daytime sleep, is it *truly* worthwhile perks to a burst of shut-eye to justify the effort? Does there exist a reliable way to nod off promptly? And can you really guarantee you’ll wake up feeling improved, instead of groggy?
Understanding Your Drive to Snooze
“There are three primary motivations for napping among most adults,” explains an expert sleep and circadian science researcher. “The first is known as compensatory napping, which is what happens after experiencing poor sleep the night before. Another is preparatory napping, where you are preparing for sleep loss in the future, for example if you’re working overnight shifts. The third is called “hedonic napping”, which essentially boils down to wanting: you have a chance to nap in the afternoon, and it's enjoyable to do it.”
The primary task to undertake, so, is to think about why you want to nap. “Daytime sleep can be really helpful when nighttime sleep is disturbed due to causes beyond your control – for example, for a new parent, or recovering from illness or intense exercise,” explains a sleep physiologist. “But if you’re napping as your sleep at night is unstable or broken, that’s often a signal your sleep drive is not as strong as required. In such situations, napping can become part of the problem, instead of the fix. Utilize daytime sleep as a short-term solution for short-term problems – the main goal must always be a robust and regular night’s sleep.”
The Perfect Nap Length
Therefore that napping shouldn’t be sufficiently lengthy to interfere with your nighttime sleep, and ideally are not recommended post-3 p.m. (contingent on what time you go to bed in the evening). What duration is wise? Guidelines are mixed. In one of the most-cited studies on the subject, space agency scientists discovered that crew members had improvements of over 50% in attentiveness plus a 34% rise in performance after a 26-minute nap (in detail, this counted a six-minute long falling asleep phase). “I’d suggest using an alarm for half an hour or less – the majority are asleep within 10 minutes,” says a sleep coach. “You'll find much guidance out there concerning the perfect length for sleeping, however, that can cause people to feel more stressed above all – and the least helpful action you can do when trying to get to sleep is to be anxious.”
If you’re going to take an extended nap, avoid the 45 to 60 minute range that encourages sleep grogginess, that foggy state when you wake. “Studies would say it is preferable to have an extended nap lasting 60-90 minutes rather than a mid-length nap,” says the expert. “Forty-five minutes is long enough to send you into a deep sleep stage and you’re more likely to feel sluggish when you wake up – however, if you take it slightly longer to an hour or 90 minutes, you’re likely to finish a full cycle and will probably get up feeling more alert. Though if you're dozing for a long period, it will affect how you sleep that night.”
Creating the Perfect Nap Environment
When it comes to precise methods, recommendations vary. Certain specialists propose adopting the same protocol you’d use to foster a good night’s sleep: a peaceful area, a supportive surface and maximum darkness as you can manage. Others suggest that it's fine to just doze on the sofa in whatever light happens to be around – both to discourage post-nap grogginess and to preserve your sleeping quarters as the environment your mind associates with proper sleep. “Sleep is quite challenging to will,” notes a sleep coach. “If you don’t have the urge to sleep, it is more challenging to recline and practically tell yourself to fall asleep. You need some sleep pressure present to start the process to begin with. I can usually snooze in full light and awaken on my own without a timer, though, what aids many individuals is to anticipate a moment where they feel naturally somewhat sleepy and then simply relax into it.”
It’s worth experimenting, and when you have few options – for instance, when aiming to fit in 40 winks during a commute or in a work pod – there’s nothing wrong with bringing some accessories. “When I’m working with footballers, I recommend that they don’t get used to napping in bed, because they’re going to have|they will