Tune into a few performance podcasters, and you'll be tempting to convince yourself that dozing is a powerful tool: rather than a band-aid following a bad night’s sleep, but a path towards improved recall, better spirits and possibly quicker running times. Professional soccer players are all at it – and so are professional piano players, fighters & business leaders. But if you lack a room for napping or a career that allows frequent naps, are there *really* enough benefits to a burst of shut-eye to justify the hassle? Can you find a reliable way to get to sleep quickly enough? Furthermore, can you honestly promise you will arise feeling better, not worse?
Exploring Your Drive to Snooze
“Experts note three main reasons for daytime sleep for many people,” notes an expert sleep science professor. “The first is known as make-up sleep, which is what happens when you’ve had insufficient sleep the previous night. Secondly, there's preparatory napping, where you are preparing for insufficient sleep coming up, for instance if you’re working on night shifts. The third reason is “appetitive drive”, which simply comes down to the wish: you have a chance to nap in the afternoon, and it's enjoyable to do it.”
The primary task to consider, so, is consider your nap motivation. “Daytime sleep can be truly beneficial when night sleeping is being disrupted because of factors outside your control – such as, for a new parent, or recovering from illness or strenuous activity,” says a sleep expert. “Yet when you nap since your sleep at night is unstable or unreliable, that’s often a signal your sleep drive is not as strong as required. In such situations, naps can become part of the problem, rather than the answer. Employ naps for brief periods for temporary issues – the main goal ought to remain a strong and predictable night’s sleep.”
The Ideal Snooze Time
This implies that naps shouldn’t be sufficiently lengthy to affect your nighttime sleep, and ideally shouldn’t take place after about 3pm (depending on the time you go to bed in the evening). How long is sensible? Advice differs. In one of a prominent study on the subject, space agency scientists found that astronauts had a boost of up to 54% in alertness and a 34% increase in performance following a nap of 26 minutes (in detail, this counted an initial six-minute nodding-off period). “I’d suggest setting an alarm for 20 to 30 minutes – the majority fall asleep in under ten minutes,” says a sleep expert. “You'll find much guidance out there concerning the perfect length for sleeping, but that tends to make people feel more anxious than anything – and the least helpful action you can do while aiming to get to sleep is worry about it.”
Should you decide to nap for a longer period, avoid the 45 to 60 minute range that promotes sleep inertia, that foggy state when you awaken. “The science would say it’s better to take a longer nap of one to one and a half hours rather than a mid-length nap,” explains the professor. “45 minutes is sufficient to put you into deep sleep and you’re more likely to feel sluggish upon awakening – however, if you nap for a little longer to an hour or 90 minutes, it's likely you'll to be completing a natural sleep cycle and should awaken feeling more alert. However, if you’re sleeping for a long period, it will affect how you sleep that night.”
Establishing the Perfect Snooze Setting
Regarding specific techniques, recommendations vary. Certain specialists recommend adopting the same protocol you use to promote quality nighttime sleep: a peaceful area, a cozy bed and minimal light as is feasible. Others suggest that it's fine to merely snooze on a couch with ambient lighting is available – to avoid post-nap grogginess and to maintain your sleeping quarters as the space your mind associates with nighttime rest. “Falling asleep is notoriously difficult to command,” notes a specialist. “Lacking the urge to sleep, it becomes harder to get comfortable and basically instruct yourself to go to sleep. There’s got to be some sleep pressure there to initiate sleep to begin with. Personally, I can often snooze during the day and awaken on my own without an alarm, but what helps a lot of people is to look for a time where they feel naturally feeling a bit drowsy and then simply relax into it.”
Experimentation is key, and if you have few options – for instance, if attempting to squeeze in some shut-eye during a commute or in a work pod – it's acceptable to use a few tools. “When I’m working with elite athletes, I suggest that they not rely on their own bed for naps, since they’re going to have|they will
