Listen to enough performance podcasters, and it’s tempting to think 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. Elite footballers are all at it – along with professional piano players, mixed martial artists and high-profile executives. But if you haven’t got a dedicated nap-room or a job that permits daytime sleep, is it *truly* sufficient advantages to a burst of shut-eye for it to be worth the effort? Is there a dependable method to get to sleep quickly enough? And can you really guarantee you’ll wake up feeling refreshed, instead of groggy?
Identifying The Nap Motivation
“We can identify three key drivers for napping in the adult population,” notes a professor of sleep and circadian science researcher. “The first is termed recovery napping, essentially the action you take when you’ve had poor sleep overnight. Another is pre-emptive sleep, which involves preparing for insufficient sleep in the future, such as when working graveyard shifts. The third reason is “pleasure-based sleep”, which simply comes down to desire: there is a chance to doze in the afternoon, and it feels nice to nap.”
The initial step to undertake, then, is consider your reason for napping. “Napping can be truly beneficial when night sleeping is disturbed because of factors you cannot change – for example, if you’re a new parent, or recovering from illness or heavy physical exertion,” explains a sleep physiologist. “Yet when you take a nap since your sleep at night seems unreliable or poor, that’s often an indicator your body's sleep pressure is not at the level required. In such situations, daytime sleep can turn into part of the problem, instead of the fix. Use napping as a temporary measure for temporary issues – the priority should still be a strong and predictable night’s sleep.”
The Optimal Nap Duration
Therefore that daytime sleep must not be long enough to affect your sleep at night, and ideally should not occur in the late afternoon (depending on what time you sleep at night). How long is sensible? Guidelines are mixed. Among the most referenced research on the subject, space agency scientists noted that crew members experienced improvements of over 50% in alertness and a 34% increase in performance after a 26-minute nap (in detail, this counted a six-minute falling asleep phase). “I’d suggest using an alarm for 20 to 30 minutes – most people fall asleep within 10 minutes,” explains a sleep expert. “There’s a lot of advice around regarding the ideal number of minutes, however, that can cause people to feel more stressed than anything else – and the most counterproductive thing you can do while aiming to fall asleep is worry about it.”
If you plan to nap for a longer period, bypass the period between 45 and 60 minutes that encourages that sluggish feeling, that foggy state when you wake. “The science would say it is preferable to have an extended nap of 60 to 90 minutes compared to a medium-length nap,” explains the expert. “Forty-five minutes is long enough to plunge you into deep sleep and you’re more likely to feel disoriented when you get up – however, if you nap for a little longer to 60 or 90 minutes, you will probably to finish a full cycle and are likely to wake up feeling more rejuvenated. However, if you’re sleeping for a long period, it may impact the quality of your sleep in the evening.”
Creating the Perfect Nap Environment
When it comes to precise methods, suggestions are diverse. A few professionals suggest employing comparable habits one would use to encourage restful sleep: a quiet room, a cozy bed and maximum darkness as you can manage. Some advise that you should simply nap on a couch in whatever light is present – to prevent sleep inertia and to maintain your sleeping quarters as the space your brain links with proper sleep. “Napping is something really tricky to command,” explains a sleep coach. “Without the urge to sleep, it is tougher to get comfortable and practically command yourself to fall asleep. There’s got to be some sleep pressure there to initiate sleep to begin with. For me, it's possible to take a nap during the day and naturally wake up without a timer, however, what assists a lot of people is to look for a moment when they are naturally somewhat sleepy and calmly allow sleep to come.”
Experimentation is key, and when your choices are limited – for instance, if attempting to squeeze in 40 winks during a commute or in a work pod – it's acceptable with bringing a few tools. “Coaching professional sportspeople, I advise that they not rely on napping in bed, since they’re going to have|they will
