Listen to a few productivity gurus, making it simple to convince yourself that dozing is a secret weapon: not just a quick fix following restless night, but a route to enhanced cognition, improved mood and perhaps quicker running times. Premier League soccer players are all at it – and so are concert pianists, fighters and media moguls. But if you haven’t got a special sleep space or employment that encourages regular snoozing, can there *honestly* worthwhile perks to a short sleep to merit the hassle? Can you find a surefire technique to fall asleep fast? Furthermore, can you truly ensure you will get up feeling refreshed, not worse?
Identifying The Drive to Snooze
“We can identify three main reasons for napping among most adults,” notes a leading circadian rhythm researcher. “The first is termed recovery napping, that is what you do when you’ve had insufficient sleep the previous night. Another is pre-emptive sleep, where you are anticipating insufficient sleep ahead, for instance when working overnight shifts. Finally, there's “hedonic napping”, which basically comes down to wanting: you get an opportunity to doze in the daytime, and it's enjoyable to indulge.”
The first thing to do, then, is consider your nap motivation. “Napping can be truly beneficial when overnight rest gets interrupted due to causes beyond your control – for example, for a parent of a newborn, or recovering after being ill or strenuous activity,” says a sleep expert. “But if you nap as your nighttime sleep feels fragile or unreliable, that is frequently a signal your body's sleep pressure is not at the level it needs to be. In those cases, daytime sleep can turn into part of the issue, not the solution. Use napping as a temporary measure to address immediate needs – the main goal must always be a strong and predictable night’s sleep.”
The Ideal Nap Length
This means that napping ought not to be sufficiently lengthy to affect your overnight rest, and preferably shouldn’t take place after about 3pm (contingent on the time you sleep overnight). What duration is wise? Advice differs. From the most referenced research about napping, space agency scientists found that space travelers showed up to a 54% increase in vigilance plus a 34% rise in performance after a 26-minute nap (in detail, this included an initial six-minute falling asleep phase). “My advice is setting a timer for 20-30 minutes – the majority doze off in under ten minutes,” notes a specialist. “You'll find much advice around regarding the perfect length for sleeping, however, that can lead individuals to become more anxious above all – and the worst thing you can do when attempting to fall asleep is to stress over it.”
If you plan to nap for a longer period, avoid the 45 to 60 minute range that encourages sleep grogginess, that disoriented sensation when you awaken. “Studies indicates it’s better to have an extended nap lasting 60-90 minutes compared to a medium-length nap,” explains the professor. “Three-quarters of an hour is sufficient to put you into a deep sleep stage making it more likely to feel sluggish when you wake up – while if you nap for a bit longer to 60 or 90 minutes, you will probably to be completing a full cycle and are likely to get up feeling more refreshed. Though if you're dozing for an hour and a half, it can influence your sleep that night.”
Creating an Ideal Nap Environment
As for specific techniques, recommendations vary. Certain specialists suggest using the same protocol you’d use to foster restful sleep: a silent space, a supportive surface and minimal light as you can manage. Some advise that one could just doze in a chair in the existing light happens to be around – to prevent post-nap grogginess and to preserve your bed as the environment your brain links with proper sleep. “Sleep is quite challenging to force,” says a specialist. “Without any sleepiness, it is more challenging to lie down and basically tell yourself to go to sleep. You need some drive present to bring the sleep on to begin with. I can usually snooze in broad daylight and wake up naturally alarm-free, though, what aids many individuals is to wait for an instance that they’re naturally somewhat sleepy and just gently ease into sleep.”
It’s worth experimenting, and if you have few options – for example, if attempting to squeeze in some shut-eye while traveling or in a work pod – it is perfectly fine to employ sleep aids. “In my work with professional sportspeople, I recommend that they not rely on sleeping in their bed, since they’re going to have|they will
