The Key to an Ideal Nap: Timing, Location & for How Long?
Tune into a few productivity podcasters, and it’s tempting to believe that napping is a secret weapon: not just a sticking plaster after poor sleep, but a path towards improved recall, better spirits and maybe quicker running times. Professional footballers do it regularly – along with concert pianists, mixed martial artists & high-profile executives. But if you lack a room for napping or a job that permits regular snoozing, can there *honestly* sufficient advantages to a burst of shut-eye for it to be worth the effort? Can you find a surefire technique to fall asleep fast? And can you honestly promise you’ll wake up feeling improved, rather than worse?
Identifying The Reasons for Napping
“Experts note three primary motivations for taking a nap in the adult population,” notes an expert circadian rhythm professor. “Firstly, there's known as make-up sleep, essentially what you do following poor sleep the night before. Another is preparatory napping, when you are preparing for a sleep deficit coming up, for example during graveyard shifts. Finally, there's “pleasure-based sleep”, which basically boils down to the wish: you have a moment to nap in the afternoon, and it's enjoyable to indulge.”
The primary task to undertake, therefore, is consider your nap motivation. “Napping can be really helpful when nighttime sleep gets interrupted because of factors you cannot change – for example, if you’re a parent of a newborn, or you’re recovering after being ill or intense exercise,” states a sleep expert. “However, if you take a nap since your sleep at night seems unreliable or unreliable, that is frequently an indicator your body's sleep pressure is not at the level it needs to be. In such situations, napping can become part of the problem, instead of the fix. Employ naps as a temporary measure for short-term problems – the priority must always be a solid and consistent sleep at night.”
The Optimal Snooze Time
This means that naps shouldn’t be sufficiently lengthy to disrupt your sleep at night, and best shouldn’t take place after about 3pm (based on the time you go to bed overnight). What duration is wise? Guidelines are mixed. In one of a prominent study on the subject, researchers at Nasa noted that astronauts experienced up to a 54% increase in alertness plus a 34% rise in cognitive performance after a 26-minute nap (to be precise, this counted an initial six-minute falling asleep phase). “I’d suggest setting an alarm for half an hour or less – many individuals are asleep quickly,” notes a sleep expert. “You'll find much guidance out there about the perfect length of time, but that tends to lead individuals to become more anxious than anything else – and the most counterproductive thing you can possibly do when trying to nod off is to stress over it.”
If you plan to nap for a longer period, bypass the period between 45 and 60 minutes that promotes sleep inertia, that spaced-out feeling when you awaken. “Research would say it's more effective to take a longer nap of one to one and a half hours compared to a medium-length nap,” notes the professor. “Forty-five minutes is enough time to put you into deep sleep and it is more probable to feel groggy when you wake up – while if you extend it slightly longer to an hour or 90 minutes, you will probably to be on the end a full cycle and should get up feeling more refreshed. But if you're dozing for a long period, it will affect how you sleep in the evening.”
Finding the Right Snooze Setting
When it comes to exact methodologies, recommendations vary. Certain specialists suggest employing the same protocol one would use to foster quality nighttime sleep: a silent space, a comfortable bed and maximum darkness as possible. Alternatively, experts propose that one could merely snooze in a chair with ambient lighting happens to be around – both to discourage that groggy feeling and to “protect” your bedroom as the space your mind associates with proper sleep. “Napping is notoriously difficult to command,” says a specialist. “Without any drowsiness, it is tougher to get comfortable and basically command yourself to nod off. There’s got to be a natural inclination present to initiate sleep to begin with. Personally, I can often take a nap in full light and naturally wake up without a timer, though, what aids many individuals is to look for a time when they are naturally somewhat sleepy and calmly ease into sleep.”
Experimentation is key, and if you have few options – for instance, when aiming to squeeze in 40 winks on a train or in a soundproof office pod – it's acceptable to employ a few tools. “When I’m working with professional sportspeople, I suggest that they avoid becoming accustomed to their own bed for naps, since they’re going to have|they will
