The Secret to a Perfect Nap: When, Location and for How Long?
Tune into a few self-improvement podcasters, making it tempting to convince yourself that dozing is a secret weapon: not just a quick fix after a bad night’s sleep, but a shortcut towards improved recall, better spirits and maybe improved athletic performance. Professional soccer players do it regularly – and so are concert pianists, fighters and media moguls. However, if you don't have a dedicated nap-room or a career that encourages daytime sleep, can there *honestly* enough benefits to a burst of shut-eye to justify the effort? Can you find a dependable method to nod off promptly? Furthermore, can you truly ensure you will get up feeling better, rather than worse?
Understanding The Reasons for Napping
“We can identify three primary motivations for napping in the adult population,” explains a leading sleep science researcher. “Firstly, there's termed recovery napping, that is what you do after experiencing poor sleep the previous night. The second is pre-emptive sleep, which involves anticipating sleep loss ahead, for example during overnight shifts. The third reason is “appetitive drive”, which essentially boils down to wanting: you have an opportunity to nap in the afternoon, and it feels nice to indulge.”
The first thing to consider, then, is to examine why you want to nap. “Napping can be genuinely useful when night sleeping gets interrupted for reasons outside your control – such as, when you are a new parent, or if you are healing after being ill or strenuous activity,” states a sleep physiologist. “But if you nap since your nighttime sleep feels fragile or broken, that can be a signal your body's sleep pressure is not as strong as required. In such situations, daytime sleep can turn into part of the problem, instead of the fix. Utilize daytime sleep as a short-term solution to address immediate needs – the main goal must always be a solid and consistent sleep at night.”
The Optimal Nap Length
This implies that daytime sleep ought not to be long enough to affect your overnight rest, and preferably should not occur after about 3pm (contingent on the time you sleep overnight). What's a reasonable length? Advice differs. In one of a prominent study about napping, space agency scientists found that crew members showed up to a 54% increase in vigilance and a 34% increase in performance after a 26-minute nap (technically, this involved an initial six-minute falling asleep phase). “I recommend setting a timer for 20 to 30 minutes – the majority fall asleep in under ten minutes,” says a sleep expert. “You'll find much recommendations concerning the optimal amount of minutes, but that tends to cause people to feel more anxious above all – and the worst thing one can do while aiming to get to sleep is worry about it.”
If you’re going to nap for a longer period, avoid the 45 to 60 minute range that promotes that sluggish feeling, that spaced-out feeling upon waking. “Research would say it's more effective to have a longer nap of 60 to 90 minutes rather than a mid-length nap,” notes the professor. “Forty-five minutes is enough time to plunge you into deep sleep making it more likely to feel disoriented upon awakening – while if you nap for slightly longer to a full sleep cycle, you’re likely to finish a full cycle and will probably wake up feeling more alert. However, if you nap for an hour and a half, it can influence the quality of your sleep later that night.”
Finding the Right Snooze Setting
As for exact methodologies, recommendations vary. Some experts recommend employing comparable habits you’d use to foster quality nighttime sleep: a peaceful area, a cozy bed and minimal light as is feasible. Alternatively, experts propose that you should merely snooze on a couch in whatever light is present – to avoid post-nap grogginess and to maintain your bed as the place you associate with *real* sleep. “Sleep is notoriously difficult to force,” explains an expert. “Lacking any drowsiness, it is more challenging to get comfortable and essentially instruct yourself to nod off. There must be some drive present to initiate sleep in the first place. Personally, I can often snooze in broad daylight and wake up naturally alarm-free, but what helps many individuals is to anticipate an instance that they’re naturally feeling a bit drowsy and then simply allow sleep to come.”
Trying different approaches is valuable, and when you have few options – for instance, if attempting to squeeze in a quick nap during a commute or in a work pod – it is perfectly fine to employ sleep aids. “In my work with professional sportspeople, I recommend that they avoid becoming accustomed to sleeping in their bed, as they’re going to have|they will
