Hear plenty of productivity podcasters, making it easy to believe that dozing is a superpower: not just a quick fix after poor sleep, but a path to enhanced cognition, better spirits and perhaps a faster 5k run time. Premier League athletes do it regularly – along with concert pianists, mixed martial artists and business leaders. Yet, when you lack a room for napping or employment that allows daytime sleep, is it *truly* enough benefits to a short sleep for it to be worth the kerfuffle? Can you find a surefire technique to fall asleep fast? And can you honestly promise you will arise feeling refreshed, instead of groggy?
Understanding Your Drive to Snooze
“We can identify three key drivers for napping in the adult population,” notes a professor of sleep and circadian science researcher. “Firstly, there's termed recovery napping, essentially what you do after experiencing insufficient sleep the previous night. Another is pre-emptive sleep, which involves preparing for insufficient sleep ahead, such as if you’re working graveyard shifts. The third is called “pleasure-based sleep”, which essentially comes down to wanting: there is a chance to nap during the day, and it's enjoyable to nap.”
The initial step to undertake, therefore, is to think about your nap motivation. “Naps can be really helpful when nighttime sleep is being disrupted due to causes outside your control – such as, when you are a new parent, or recovering from illness or heavy physical exertion,” says a sleep expert. “Yet when you’re napping as your nighttime sleep seems unreliable or poor, that’s often a sign your body's sleep pressure is not where it needs to be. In such situations, naps can become a contributing factor, rather than the answer. Employ naps as a temporary measure for short-term problems – the main goal should still be a solid and consistent overnight rest.”
The Optimal Nap Duration
This implies that napping must not be sufficiently lengthy to affect your sleep at night, and preferably shouldn’t take place in the late afternoon (contingent on when you sleep overnight). What duration is wise? Recommendations vary. In one of a prominent study about napping, space agency scientists noted that crew members had a boost of up to 54% in vigilance and a 34% boost in performance following a nap of 26 minutes (to be precise, this involved an initial six-minute nodding-off period). “I’d suggest using an alarm for 20 to 30 minutes – many individuals doze off within 10 minutes,” explains a specialist. “You'll find much guidance out there concerning the ideal number of time, yet that often lead individuals to become more anxious above all – and the least helpful action you can do when trying to get to sleep is to stress over it.”
Should you decide to sleep for longer, avoid the period between 45 and 60 minutes that encourages sleep grogginess, that disoriented sensation when you wake. “Studies would say it is preferable to opt for an extended nap of 60 to 90 minutes compared to a medium-length nap,” notes the expert. “45 minutes is enough time to put you into a deep sleep stage and it is more probable to feel disoriented when you get up – however, if you nap for a bit longer to a full sleep cycle, you’re likely to be completing a natural sleep cycle and will probably get up feeling more refreshed. But if you’re sleeping for a long period, it may impact the quality of your sleep later that night.”
Creating the Right Snooze Setting
As for precise methods, suggestions are diverse. Some experts recommend employing similar routines one would use to encourage a good night’s sleep: a quiet room, a comfortable bed and as much darkness as possible. Alternatively, experts propose that you should merely snooze on a couch in the existing light happens to be around – to prevent that groggy feeling and to preserve your bed as the environment you associate with proper sleep. “Sleep is something really tricky to command,” explains an expert. “Lacking any drowsiness, it is tougher to get comfortable and basically instruct yourself to go to sleep. There must be some drive present to bring the sleep on in the first place. I can usually snooze in broad daylight and wake up naturally without a timer, but what helps a lot of people is to wait for an instance when they are naturally feeling a bit drowsy and calmly allow sleep to come.”
It’s worth experimenting, and should you have few options – for example, when aiming to grab a quick nap while traveling or at the office – it is perfectly fine with bringing sleep aids. “In my work with elite athletes, I advise that they avoid becoming accustomed to sleeping in their bed, as they’re going to have|they will
