Hear plenty of self-improvement podcasters, making it simple to convince yourself that dozing is a superpower: not just a band-aid after restless night, but a shortcut to enhanced cognition, better spirits and perhaps quicker running times. Premier League soccer players swear by it – along with professional piano players, UFC champions & business leaders. But if you haven’t got a room for napping or a career that permits daytime sleep, are there *really* sufficient advantages to a short sleep for it to be worth the kerfuffle? Does there exist a reliable way to fall asleep fast? Furthermore, can you honestly promise you will get up feeling refreshed, rather than worse?
Exploring Your Reasons for Napping
“There are three main reasons for napping among most adults,” explains a leading sleep and circadian science professor. “Firstly, there's what we call make-up sleep, that is the action you take after experiencing insufficient sleep the previous night. The second is pre-emptive sleep, which involves preparing for insufficient sleep in the future, for instance when working graveyard shifts. The third reason is “hedonic napping”, which basically boils down to the wish: you get an opportunity to sleep in the afternoon, and it's pleasant to nap.”
The initial step to undertake, so, is to think about your nap motivation. “Daytime sleep can be genuinely useful when overnight rest is being disrupted because of factors you cannot change – for example, when you are caring for an infant, or if you are healing after being ill or strenuous activity,” explains a sleep specialist. “Yet when you take a nap since your nighttime sleep is unstable or broken, that’s often a sign your need for sleep is not as strong as it needs to be. In such situations, napping can become part of the problem, not the solution. Use napping for brief periods for short-term problems – the main goal ought to remain a strong and predictable night’s sleep.”
The Ideal Snooze Time
This means that daytime sleep shouldn’t be long enough to affect your sleep at night, and best should not occur in the late afternoon (depending on the time you sleep overnight). What duration is wise? Recommendations vary. Among the most-cited studies on the subject, space agency scientists noted that crew members showed improvements of over 50% in alertness plus a 34% rise in performance post a 26-minute snooze (technically, this involved an initial six-minute falling asleep phase). “I recommend using an alarm for 20-30 minutes – the majority fall asleep in under ten minutes,” notes a specialist. “There’s a lot of guidance out there concerning the ideal number for sleeping, however, that can make people feel more stressed above all – and the worst thing you can do when trying to fall asleep is to stress over it.”
If you plan to nap for a longer period, steer clear of the 45-60 minute window that encourages that sluggish feeling, that disoriented sensation when you wake. “Studies suggests it's more effective to take an extended nap of one to one and a half hours rather than a mid-length nap,” says the expert. “45 minutes is long enough to send you into deep sleep and you’re more likely to feel disoriented upon awakening – while if you take it a bit longer to an hour or 90 minutes, it's likely you'll to be on the end a full cycle and should get up feeling more alert. Though if you nap for a long period, it will affect how you sleep later that night.”
Creating the Perfect Sleep Space
As for specific techniques, advice differs. Some experts recommend employing similar routines one would use to foster restful sleep: a quiet room, a supportive surface and as much darkness as possible. Some advise that one could just doze on the sofa in whatever light is available – both to discourage that groggy feeling and to “protect” your sleeping quarters as the environment your mind associates with *real* sleep. “Sleep is quite challenging to command,” explains an expert. “Without any drowsiness, it is more challenging to get comfortable and practically instruct yourself to go to sleep. There must be some drive there to initiate sleep in the first place. For me, it's possible to take a nap in broad daylight and wake up naturally without a timer, however, what assists a lot of people is to look for a time when they are naturally somewhat sleepy and then simply ease into sleep.”
Trying different approaches is valuable, and if your choices are limited – for instance, if attempting to squeeze in 40 winks while traveling or in a soundproof office pod – there’s nothing wrong with bringing some accessories. “When I’m working with professional sportspeople, I advise that they don’t get used to sleeping in their bed, because they’re going to have|they will
