Listen to a few performance experts, making it tempting to convince yourself that dozing is a powerful tool: not just a band-aid following poor sleep, but a shortcut towards a better memory, a brighter outlook and maybe improved athletic performance. Premier League athletes do it regularly – and so are musicians, UFC champions and high-profile executives. But if you don't have a special sleep space or employment that allows regular snoozing, can there *honestly* sufficient advantages to a short sleep to merit the hassle? Is there a dependable method to fall asleep fast? Plus, is it possible to truly ensure you will arise feeling refreshed, rather than worse?
Identifying Your Drive to Snooze
“There are three primary motivations for napping for many people,” says a professor of sleep and circadian science researcher. “Firstly, there's what we call make-up sleep, essentially what you do following poor sleep overnight. Secondly, there's prophylactic napping, when you are pre-empting sleep loss in the future, such as during on night shifts. The third reason is “pleasure-based sleep”, which basically boils down to wanting: you get a chance to sleep in the afternoon, and it feels nice to nap.”
The primary task to undertake, then, is consider your nap motivation. “Naps can be genuinely useful when overnight rest is disturbed because of factors beyond your control – for example, if you’re a new parent, or if you are healing from sickness or heavy physical exertion,” states a sleep specialist. “However, if you take a nap because your nighttime sleep seems unreliable or broken, that can be a signal your need for sleep is not where it needs to be. In those cases, napping can become part of the problem, not the solution. Employ naps as a short-term solution for short-term problems – the main goal must always be a solid and consistent sleep at night.”
The Ideal Snooze Time
This implies that naps must not be long enough to disrupt your nighttime sleep, and best should not occur after about 3pm (based on when you sleep at night). How long is sensible? Recommendations vary. Among the most referenced research regarding daytime sleep, space agency scientists noted that crew members experienced a boost of up to 54% in attentiveness and a 34% increase in cognitive performance post a 26-minute snooze (in detail, this included an initial six-minute nodding-off period). “I recommend setting a timer for half an hour or less – many individuals are asleep quickly,” notes a sleep coach. “You'll find much recommendations concerning the optimal amount of minutes, however, that can cause people to feel more worried than anything – and the worst thing you can do while aiming to get to sleep is to stress over it.”
If you’re going to nap for a longer period, steer clear of the period between 45 and 60 minutes that induces sleep grogginess, that foggy state when you awaken. “The science suggests it is preferable to take a longer nap of 60 to 90 minutes rather than a mid-length nap,” says the professor. “45 minutes is long enough to put you into slow-wave sleep and you’re more likely to feel disoriented upon awakening – while if you take it slightly longer to an hour or 90 minutes, it's likely you'll to be on the end a full cycle and are likely to get up feeling more rejuvenated. But if you nap for a long period, it may impact the quality of your sleep in the evening.”
Finding the Perfect Sleep Space
As for exact methodologies, suggestions are diverse. Certain specialists recommend using comparable habits you’d use to foster restful sleep: a quiet room, a cozy bed and minimal light as is feasible. Some advise that you should merely snooze in a chair with ambient lighting is present – to prevent that groggy feeling and to “protect” your bedroom as the space you associate with proper sleep. “Falling asleep is quite challenging to will,” says an expert. “Lacking the urge to sleep, it becomes harder to recline and basically command yourself to nod off. You need a natural inclination present to initiate sleep initially. Personally, I can often take a nap during the day and naturally wake up alarm-free, though, what aids a lot of people is to anticipate a time that they’re naturally slightly tired and calmly ease into sleep.”
It’s worth experimenting, and when options are scarce – for instance, when aiming to squeeze in 40 winks on a train or in a work pod – it's acceptable to employ some accessories. “Coaching footballers, I recommend that they avoid becoming accustomed to napping in bed, as they’re going to have|they will
