Hear enough productivity gurus, making it easy to believe that dozing is a superpower: not just a band-aid following a bad night’s sleep, but a shortcut towards a better memory, improved mood and perhaps improved athletic performance. Premier League footballers are all at it – and so are musicians, UFC champions & media moguls. However, if you haven’t got a dedicated nap-room or a job that allows daytime sleep, can there *honestly* enough benefits to a quick nap to justify the hassle? Can you find a surefire technique to fall asleep fast? Plus, is it possible to really guarantee you will arise feeling better, rather than worse?
Understanding The Reasons for Napping
“We can identify three main reasons for daytime sleep for many people,” says a leading sleep and circadian science specialist. “One is termed recovery napping, which is what you do following a lack of sleep the previous night. Another is prophylactic napping, which involves preparing for insufficient sleep ahead, such as when working overnight shifts. The third is called “hedonic napping”, which simply is about wanting: there is an opportunity to sleep in the afternoon, and it's pleasant to do it.”
The first thing to do, so, is to examine why you want to nap. “Daytime sleep can be really helpful when nighttime sleep is disturbed due to causes beyond your control – for instance, for caring for an infant, or recovering from sickness or strenuous activity,” says a sleep expert. “However, if you’re napping because your sleep at night is unstable or broken, that is frequently a sign your sleep drive is not where it needs to be. In those cases, napping can become part of the issue, rather than the answer. Use napping for brief periods for temporary issues – the priority should still be a strong and predictable night’s sleep.”
The Optimal Snooze Time
Therefore that daytime sleep shouldn’t be long enough to disrupt your overnight rest, and preferably shouldn’t take place after about 3pm (contingent on the time you go to bed overnight). How long is sensible? Advice differs. Among a prominent study on the subject, experts discovered that space travelers experienced up to a 54% increase in alertness and a 34% boost in cognitive performance following a nap of 26 minutes (technically, this counted an initial six-minute falling asleep phase). “My advice is setting a timer for half an hour or less – most people fall asleep quickly,” notes a specialist. “There is plenty of advice around concerning the ideal number for sleeping, yet that often cause people to feel more worried than anything else – and the worst thing one can do while aiming to nod off is worry about it.”
If you’re going to take an extended nap, bypass the period between 45 and 60 minutes that encourages sleep inertia, that disoriented sensation when you wake. “The science suggests it's more effective to opt for a longer nap of one to one and a half hours compared to a medium-length nap,” says the expert. “Three-quarters of an hour is long enough to send you into a deep sleep stage making it more likely to feel groggy when you get up – while if you take it slightly longer to a full sleep cycle, you will probably to be completing a full cycle and will probably wake up feeling more alert. Though if you nap for a long period, it can influence how you sleep later that night.”
Establishing an Ideal Nap Environment
When it comes to exact methodologies, advice differs. A few professionals recommend adopting similar routines you use to foster a good night’s sleep: a silent space, a supportive surface and as much darkness as is feasible. Alternatively, experts propose that you should merely snooze on a couch with ambient lighting is available – to prevent sleep inertia and to “protect” your bed as the place your brain links with proper sleep. “Napping is notoriously difficult to will,” notes a sleep coach. “Without the urge to sleep, it is more challenging to lie down and practically instruct yourself to nod off. You need some drive there to bring the sleep on in the first place. For me, it's possible to snooze in broad daylight and naturally wake up without an alarm, though, what aids a lot of people is to wait for a moment where they feel naturally feeling a bit drowsy and just gently allow sleep to come.”
Trying different approaches is valuable, and when you have few options – for instance, if attempting to fit in some shut-eye during a commute or in a soundproof office pod – there’s nothing wrong to use some accessories. “In my work with professional sportspeople, I suggest that they not rely on napping in bed, as they’re going to have|they will
