Hear enough performance gurus, making it easy to convince yourself that napping is a superpower: more than a quick fix after poor sleep, but a path to improved recall, a brighter outlook and maybe improved athletic performance. Premier League athletes swear by it – along with concert pianists, UFC champions & media moguls. But if you haven’t got a special sleep space or a career that permits daytime sleep, can there *honestly* worthwhile perks to a quick nap to merit the kerfuffle? Is there a surefire technique to nod off promptly? And can you truly ensure you’ll wake up feeling better, rather than worse?
Understanding Your Nap Motivation
“Experts note three primary motivations for taking a nap among most adults,” notes a leading circadian rhythm researcher. “Firstly, there's what we call recovery napping, which is the action you take following insufficient sleep the night before. Another is prophylactic napping, which involves preparing for sleep loss coming up, such as if you’re working on night shifts. The third is called “appetitive drive”, which simply is about the wish: you get a chance to sleep during the day, and it's pleasant to nap.”
The first thing to undertake, therefore, is to examine why you want to nap. “Daytime sleep can be truly beneficial when nighttime sleep gets interrupted because of factors beyond your control – for example, if you’re caring for an infant, or recovering after being ill or intense exercise,” explains a sleep physiologist. “However, if you nap as your nighttime sleep feels fragile or poor, that can be a sign your need for sleep is not where it needs to be. Under those circumstances, daytime sleep can turn into a contributing factor, not the solution. Employ naps as a temporary measure to address immediate needs – the focus must always be a robust and regular sleep at night.”
The Ideal Nap Duration
This implies that napping must not be sufficiently lengthy to affect your overnight rest, and ideally shouldn’t take place after about 3pm (contingent on what time you sleep in the evening). What's a reasonable length? Guidelines are mixed. In one of the most-cited studies regarding daytime sleep, space agency scientists discovered that astronauts showed up to a 54% increase in alertness and a 34% increase in cognitive performance post a 26-minute snooze (to be precise, this included a six-minute long nodding-off period). “I recommend using an alarm for half an hour or less – the majority doze off within 10 minutes,” says a sleep expert. “There’s a lot of advice around about the ideal number of minutes, but that tends to lead individuals to become more anxious than anything – and the worst thing one can do while aiming to get to sleep is worry about it.”
Should you decide to take an extended nap, avoid the period between 45 and 60 minutes that induces sleep grogginess, that disoriented sensation when you awaken. “Research would say it is preferable to have a lengthier snooze of one to one and a half hours than a medium-length one,” explains the expert. “Three-quarters of an hour is enough time to plunge you into slow-wave sleep and it is more probable to feel groggy upon awakening – while if you take it a little longer to an hour or 90 minutes, you will probably to be completing a natural sleep cycle and will probably wake up feeling more rejuvenated. But if you’re sleeping for a long period, it can influence how you sleep that night.”
Finding an Ideal Snooze Setting
As for exact methodologies, recommendations vary. A few professionals propose using comparable habits one would use to promote a good night’s sleep: a silent space, a comfortable bed and minimal light as you can manage. Some advise that it's fine to simply nap on a couch with ambient lighting happens to be around – both to discourage post-nap grogginess and to “protect” your bedroom as the environment you associate with *real* sleep. “Falling asleep is notoriously difficult to command,” explains a sleep coach. “Without any drowsiness, it is tougher to recline and practically command yourself to go to sleep. There’s got to be a natural inclination present to start the process initially. For me, it's possible to snooze during the day and wake up naturally without an alarm, however, what assists most folks is to look for a moment when they are naturally slightly tired and just gently allow sleep to come.”
It’s worth experimenting, and when options are scarce – for instance, when aiming to squeeze in 40 winks during a commute or in a soundproof office pod – it's acceptable with bringing some accessories. “In my work with elite athletes, I suggest that they avoid becoming accustomed to their own bed for naps, as they’re going to have|they will
