The Secret to a Perfect Nap: Timing, Where & Duration?
Hear a few performance podcasters, and you'll be tempting to convince yourself that a nap is a powerful tool: not just a quick fix after a bad night’s sleep, but a shortcut towards a better memory, better spirits and possibly improved athletic performance. Professional soccer players swear by it – as do musicians, mixed martial artists & media moguls. Yet, when you don't have a special sleep space or a job that permits regular snoozing, is it *truly* enough benefits to a burst of shut-eye for it to be worth the effort? Can you find a surefire technique to nod off promptly? And can you honestly promise you will get up feeling better, not worse?
Understanding Your Nap Motivation
“There are three key drivers for napping in the adult population,” explains an expert circadian rhythm specialist. “One is what we call recovery napping, which is what happens when you’ve had a lack of sleep the previous night. Another is preparatory napping, where you are preparing for a sleep deficit ahead, for example when working on night shifts. The third is called “hedonic napping”, which essentially boils down to desire: there is a chance to nap during the day, and it feels nice to indulge.”
The first thing to do, therefore, is to examine your nap motivation. “Napping can be genuinely useful when nighttime sleep gets interrupted for reasons you cannot change – for example, for a parent of a newborn, or if you are healing from sickness or strenuous activity,” states a sleep physiologist. “However, if you’re napping because your night sleep seems unreliable or poor, that can be a sign your need for sleep is not where it needs to be. In such situations, daytime sleep can turn into part of the problem, not the solution. Employ naps as a temporary measure for short-term problems – the focus should still be a robust and regular sleep at night.”
The Optimal Nap Duration
This implies that napping ought not to be sufficiently lengthy to affect your overnight rest, and best shouldn’t take place after about 3pm (based on the time you go to bed at night). What's a reasonable length? Guidelines are mixed. Among the most referenced research about napping, researchers at Nasa noted that astronauts showed improvements of over 50% in vigilance and a 34% boost in performance following a nap of 26 minutes (to be precise, this counted a six-minute long nodding-off period). “I recommend using an alarm for 20 to 30 minutes – most people are asleep within 10 minutes,” notes a sleep expert. “There is plenty of advice around regarding the ideal number of minutes, yet that often make people feel more anxious above all – and the worst thing you can do when attempting to nod off is to be anxious.”
If you’re going to sleep for longer, avoid the 45 to 60 minute range that induces that sluggish feeling, that disoriented sensation when you wake. “Studies indicates it is preferable to have a lengthier snooze lasting 60-90 minutes than a medium-length one,” explains the professor. “Forty-five minutes is long enough to put you into slow-wave sleep and you’re more likely to feel sluggish upon awakening – whereas if you nap for a bit longer to 60 or 90 minutes, you will probably to be on the end a full cycle and should get up feeling more refreshed. However, if you’re sleeping for 90 minutes, it can influence how you sleep in the evening.”
Establishing the Perfect Nap Environment
Regarding precise methods, recommendations vary. Certain specialists recommend using the same protocol you’d use to promote restful sleep: a quiet room, a cozy bed and minimal light as possible. Some advise that you should simply nap on the sofa in the existing light happens to be around – to prevent post-nap grogginess and to “protect” your bed as the environment you associate with nighttime rest. “Sleep is notoriously difficult to will,” notes an expert. “If you don’t have any drowsiness, it is tougher to recline and practically instruct yourself to fall asleep. There must be a natural inclination present to bring the sleep on initially. I can usually take a nap during the day and wake up naturally without a timer, but what helps many individuals is to look for a moment that they’re naturally somewhat sleepy and just gently relax into it.”
It’s worth experimenting, and if you have few options – such as, when aiming to squeeze in 40 winks on a train or in a work pod – it's acceptable to employ a few tools. “In my work with footballers, I recommend that they not rely on their own bed for naps, since they’re going to have|they will
