Listen to enough productivity podcasters, and you'll be simple to believe that a nap is a secret weapon: rather than a band-aid after a bad night’s sleep, but a route towards improved recall, better spirits and perhaps quicker running times. Elite athletes swear by it – and so are concert pianists, mixed martial artists & high-profile executives. Yet, when you lack a dedicated nap-room or a career that encourages daytime sleep, can there *honestly* enough benefits to a short sleep for it to be worth the effort? Does there exist a surefire technique to get to sleep quickly enough? And can you honestly promise you will get up feeling refreshed, rather than worse?
Exploring Your Nap Motivation
“There are three key drivers for daytime sleep among most adults,” says an expert sleep and circadian science professor. “One is termed make-up sleep, essentially what you do after experiencing poor sleep overnight. Secondly, there's preparatory napping, when you are anticipating insufficient sleep coming up, for instance during overnight shifts. The third is called “hedonic napping”, which basically boils down to the wish: you have a moment to doze in the afternoon, and it's pleasant to do it.”
The initial step to consider, then, is consider your reason for napping. “Napping can be genuinely useful when nighttime sleep is disturbed because of factors beyond your control – such as, if you’re a new parent, or if you are healing after being ill or heavy physical exertion,” explains a sleep specialist. “Yet when you’re napping as your sleep at night is unstable or poor, that is frequently an indicator your need for sleep is not as strong as it needs to be. Under those circumstances, daytime sleep can turn into part of the issue, rather than the answer. Employ naps as a short-term solution to address immediate needs – the main goal should still be a solid and consistent overnight rest.”
The Optimal Snooze Time
This means that naps must not be sufficiently lengthy to interfere with your overnight rest, and preferably shouldn’t take place post-3 p.m. (based on when you go to bed overnight). What duration is wise? Recommendations vary. In one of the most referenced research on the subject, experts discovered that space travelers had up to a 54% increase in attentiveness plus a 34% rise in task performance post a 26-minute snooze (in detail, this involved an initial six-minute falling asleep phase). “I recommend setting a timer for 20-30 minutes – the majority are asleep in under ten minutes,” explains a specialist. “There’s a lot of guidance out there concerning the optimal amount of time, yet that often make people feel more stressed than anything else – and the worst thing you can possibly do when trying to get to sleep is to be anxious.”
If you’re going to sleep for longer, steer clear of the period between 45 and 60 minutes that encourages sleep grogginess, that spaced-out feeling when you awaken. “Research suggests it’s better to have an extended nap lasting 60-90 minutes rather than a mid-length nap,” explains the expert. “Three-quarters of an hour is sufficient to plunge you into deep sleep and you’re more likely to feel groggy when you get up – however, if you nap for a little longer to 60 or 90 minutes, it's likely you'll to finish a full cycle and are likely to wake up feeling more rejuvenated. Though if you’re sleeping for an hour and a half, it may impact the quality of your sleep in the evening.”
Creating the Right Snooze Setting
When it comes to specific techniques, advice differs. Certain specialists suggest using comparable habits you’d use to promote restful sleep: a quiet room, a comfortable bed and minimal light as you can manage. Alternatively, experts propose that you should just doze on the sofa in whatever light is present – to avoid that groggy feeling and to maintain your sleeping quarters as the place your mind associates with *real* sleep. “Sleep is something really tricky to will,” notes a sleep coach. “Without the urge to sleep, it is tougher to recline and basically instruct yourself to go to sleep. There’s got to be some sleep pressure present to bring the sleep on initially. For me, it's possible to take a nap in broad daylight and naturally wake up alarm-free, but what helps many individuals is to anticipate a time that they’re naturally feeling a bit drowsy and calmly relax into it.”
Experimentation is key, and should your choices are limited – such as, if attempting to grab a quick nap during a commute or at the office – there’s nothing wrong with bringing sleep aids. “In my work with elite athletes, I suggest that they not rely on sleeping in their bed, as they’re going to have|they will
