Hear a few productivity gurus, making it tempting to believe that dozing is a secret weapon: more than a sticking plaster after poor sleep, but a path to a better memory, a brighter outlook and perhaps improved athletic performance. Professional footballers swear by it – and so are musicians, mixed martial artists and business leaders. However, if you haven’t got a room for napping or employment that encourages regular snoozing, is it *truly* worthwhile perks to a quick nap for it to be worth the hassle? Is there a surefire technique to fall asleep fast? And can you really guarantee you will get up feeling better, rather than worse?
Exploring Your Drive to Snooze
“There are three key drivers for daytime sleep in the adult population,” notes an expert sleep science professor. “The first is what we call recovery napping, that is what happens after experiencing insufficient sleep the previous night. Another is preparatory napping, where you are preparing for insufficient sleep coming up, for example when working graveyard shifts. The third is called “appetitive drive”, which essentially boils down to desire: you get an opportunity to sleep in the afternoon, and it's enjoyable to nap.”
The first thing to undertake, therefore, is to think about your nap motivation. “Napping can be truly beneficial when night sleeping is being disrupted because of factors outside your control – for instance, if you’re a parent of a newborn, or if you are healing from sickness or heavy physical exertion,” explains a sleep specialist. “However, if you nap since your sleep at night is unstable or poor, that is frequently an indicator your need for sleep is not at the level it should be. In such situations, daytime sleep can turn into part of the issue, rather than the answer. Utilize daytime sleep as a temporary measure for short-term problems – the focus ought to remain a solid and consistent sleep at night.”
The Optimal Snooze Time
This implies that daytime sleep must not be sufficiently lengthy to disrupt your nighttime sleep, and best shouldn’t take place in the late afternoon (contingent on when you retire in the evening). How long is sensible? Recommendations vary. In one of a prominent study on the subject, experts found that crew members experienced a boost of up to 54% in attentiveness plus a 34% rise in performance post a 26-minute snooze (in detail, this involved an initial six-minute nodding-off period). “My advice is setting a timer for 20-30 minutes – most people are asleep in under ten minutes,” notes a specialist. “There is plenty of advice around concerning the optimal amount of time, yet that often cause people to feel more worried above all – and the most counterproductive thing you can possibly do when trying to fall asleep is to stress over it.”
If you’re going to nap for a longer period, avoid the 45 to 60 minute range that encourages sleep grogginess, that spaced-out feeling upon waking. “Research would say it is preferable to opt for a lengthier snooze of one to one and a half hours compared to a medium-length nap,” explains the sleep scientist. “45 minutes is sufficient to send you into a deep sleep stage making it more likely to feel disoriented when you wake up – whereas if you extend it slightly longer to an hour or 90 minutes, it's likely you'll to finish a natural sleep cycle and should get up feeling more rejuvenated. Though if you’re sleeping for 90 minutes, it can influence the quality of your sleep that night.”
Finding an Ideal Sleep Space
Regarding specific techniques, suggestions are diverse. Certain specialists propose employing comparable habits you use to foster a good night’s sleep: a quiet room, a comfortable bed and minimal light as is feasible. Some advise that one could merely snooze on a couch in whatever light happens to be around – to avoid sleep inertia and to “protect” your sleeping quarters as the place your mind associates with nighttime rest. “Falling asleep is notoriously difficult to will,” says an expert. “Lacking the urge to sleep, it becomes harder to recline and essentially tell yourself to nod off. You need some drive there to initiate sleep initially. Personally, I can often take a nap during the day and awaken on my own without a timer, though, what aids many individuals is to look for a moment that they’re naturally feeling a bit drowsy and just gently allow sleep to come.”
It’s worth experimenting, and when your choices are limited – for example, if attempting to grab 40 winks during a commute or at the office – there’s nothing wrong to use sleep aids. “In my work with footballers, I suggest that they avoid becoming accustomed to their own bed for naps, because they’re going to have|they will
