The Formula for a Perfect Nap: When, Where and Duration?
Tune into a few performance gurus, and it’s simple to think that a nap is a powerful tool: more than a quick fix after restless night, but a route to a better memory, improved mood and maybe improved athletic performance. Professional soccer players do it regularly – along with musicians, UFC champions and high-profile executives. Yet, when you don't have a dedicated nap-room or a job that encourages frequent naps, are there *really* worthwhile perks to a burst of shut-eye for it to be worth the kerfuffle? Does there exist a reliable way to get to sleep quickly enough? Plus, is it possible to honestly promise you’ll wake up feeling better, instead of groggy?
Exploring The Reasons for Napping
“There are three key drivers for taking a nap among most adults,” explains a professor of sleep and circadian science specialist. “One is known as compensatory napping, essentially what you do following insufficient sleep the previous night. The second is pre-emptive sleep, where you are pre-empting insufficient sleep coming up, for instance if you’re working overnight shifts. The third reason is “appetitive drive”, which basically is about the wish: there is a chance to doze in the afternoon, and it's pleasant to do it.”
The first thing to do, then, is consider your nap motivation. “Naps can be really helpful when night sleeping gets interrupted due to causes beyond your control – such as, when you are caring for an infant, or if you are healing from sickness or heavy physical exertion,” states a sleep physiologist. “However, if you take a nap as your nighttime sleep seems unreliable or poor, that’s often an indicator your need for sleep is not at the level it needs to be. In those cases, daytime sleep can turn into part of the problem, not the solution. Use napping as a short-term solution to address immediate needs – the focus should still be a solid and consistent sleep at night.”
The Optimal Nap Length
Therefore that napping ought not to be too extended to affect your overnight rest, and best should not occur in the late afternoon (depending on the time you retire in the evening). What's a reasonable length? Advice differs. Among the most-cited studies about napping, space agency scientists noted that crew members showed up to a 54% increase in attentiveness and a 34% boost in task performance after a 26-minute nap (in detail, this counted a six-minute falling asleep phase). “My advice is setting an alarm for half an hour or less – most people doze off within 10 minutes,” says a sleep coach. “There’s a lot of guidance out there about the perfect length for sleeping, however, that can lead individuals to become more anxious above all – and the least helpful action one can do when trying to nod off 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 foggy state upon waking. “The science suggests it's more effective to opt for a longer nap of 60 to 90 minutes compared to a medium-length nap,” notes the sleep scientist. “Three-quarters of an hour is sufficient to plunge you into slow-wave sleep making it more likely to feel groggy when you wake up – however, if you extend it slightly longer to 60 or 90 minutes, you will probably to finish a natural sleep cycle and are likely to awaken feeling more alert. Though if you're dozing for 90 minutes, it may impact how you sleep that night.”
Establishing the Right Snooze Setting
As for precise methods, suggestions are diverse. Certain specialists propose adopting comparable habits you use to promote a good night’s sleep: a silent space, a cozy bed and minimal light as possible. Some advise that it's fine to just doze on a couch with ambient lighting is present – to avoid post-nap grogginess and to “protect” your bedroom as the environment you associate with *real* sleep. “Napping is notoriously difficult to force,” explains a sleep coach. “Without the urge to sleep, it is tougher to recline and essentially instruct yourself to fall asleep. There’s got to be some drive present to bring the sleep on initially. I can usually nap in full light and awaken on my own without a timer, however, what assists many individuals is to look for a moment where they feel naturally slightly tired and just gently relax into it.”
Trying different approaches is valuable, and when you have few options – for example, if attempting to fit in some shut-eye on a train or in a work pod – it's acceptable with bringing sleep aids. “When I’m working with professional sportspeople, I advise that they don’t get used to napping in bed, since they’re going to have|they will
