Hear plenty of performance podcasters, and you'll be simple to think that dozing is a secret weapon: rather than a band-aid after poor sleep, but a shortcut to enhanced cognition, improved mood and perhaps a faster 5k run time. Professional soccer players are all at it – along with musicians, mixed martial artists & high-profile executives. However, if you haven’t got a special sleep space or employment that allows regular snoozing, is it *truly* sufficient advantages to a burst of shut-eye for it to be worth the hassle? Does there exist a surefire technique to get to sleep quickly enough? Furthermore, can you truly ensure you will get up feeling improved, instead of groggy?
Exploring Your Nap Motivation
“Experts note three main reasons for daytime sleep for many people,” explains an expert sleep science researcher. “Firstly, there's termed compensatory napping, essentially what happens following a lack of sleep the previous night. The second is preparatory napping, when you are pre-empting insufficient sleep ahead, for example when working graveyard shifts. The third is called “pleasure-based sleep”, which simply boils down to the wish: you get an opportunity to doze in the daytime, and it's enjoyable to indulge.”
The initial step to do, therefore, is consider why you want to nap. “Napping can be truly beneficial when nighttime sleep is being disrupted because of factors outside your control – for example, if you’re a parent of a newborn, or recovering from illness or heavy physical exertion,” explains a sleep specialist. “But if you take a nap as your sleep at night seems unreliable or poor, that is frequently a signal your sleep drive is not where required. In those cases, daytime sleep can turn into a contributing factor, rather than the answer. Employ naps as a temporary measure to address immediate needs – the priority should still be a solid and consistent night’s sleep.”
The Optimal Snooze Time
Therefore that naps must not be long enough to disrupt your sleep at night, and best shouldn’t take place post-3 p.m. (depending on what time you retire overnight). What's a reasonable length? Recommendations vary. In one of the most-cited studies on the subject, experts found that crew members had up to a 54% increase in alertness plus a 34% rise in performance post a 26-minute snooze (technically, this counted a six-minute long sleep onset time). “My advice is using an alarm for half an hour or less – many individuals doze off in under ten minutes,” notes a sleep coach. “You'll find much guidance out there about the ideal number of time, but that tends to cause people to feel more stressed than anything else – and the worst thing you can do when trying to get to sleep is worry about it.”
Should you decide to sleep for longer, steer clear of the 45-60 minute window that encourages sleep grogginess, that foggy state when you wake. “The science would say it's more effective to have an extended nap lasting 60-90 minutes compared to a medium-length nap,” notes the sleep scientist. “Forty-five minutes is sufficient to plunge you into deep sleep making it more likely to feel sluggish when you get up – however, if you extend it a little longer to 60 or 90 minutes, it's likely you'll to be on the end a full cycle and will probably wake up feeling more refreshed. But if you nap for a long period, it may impact the quality of your sleep later that night.”
Creating the Perfect Sleep Space
Regarding exact methodologies, recommendations vary. Some experts suggest employing the same protocol one would use to encourage a good night’s sleep: a silent space, a comfortable bed and minimal light as possible. Alternatively, experts propose that it's fine to merely snooze in a chair with ambient lighting is available – both to discourage sleep inertia and to “protect” your bed as the environment your brain links with nighttime rest. “Sleep is notoriously difficult to force,” explains a specialist. “Without any drowsiness, it is tougher to lie down and essentially command yourself to fall asleep. There’s got to be a natural inclination available to initiate sleep initially. I can usually snooze during the day and wake up naturally alarm-free, but what helps most folks is to anticipate a moment that they’re naturally somewhat sleepy and calmly allow sleep to come.”
Trying different approaches is valuable, and when you have few options – for instance, if attempting to fit in a quick nap while traveling or at the office – there’s nothing wrong with bringing sleep aids. “When I’m working with professional sportspeople, I advise that they not rely on their own bed for naps, since they’re going to have|they will
