The Formula to an Ideal Nap: Timing, Where and Duration?
Hear plenty of productivity gurus, and it’s easy to believe that a nap is a secret weapon: rather than a quick fix following restless night, but a route towards a better memory, better spirits and perhaps a faster 5k run time. Premier League soccer players do it regularly – as do professional piano players, fighters and media moguls. Yet, when you haven’t got a room for napping or employment that allows frequent naps, is it *truly* worthwhile perks to a quick nap to merit the hassle? Can you find a dependable method to get to sleep quickly enough? Furthermore, can you really guarantee you’ll wake up feeling improved, not worse?
Identifying The Nap Motivation
“We can identify three key drivers for daytime sleep for many people,” explains a leading circadian rhythm professor. “One is known as make-up sleep, that is the action you take when you’ve had a lack of sleep the previous night. Secondly, there's prophylactic napping, which involves preparing for sleep loss in the future, for example when working overnight shifts. The third is called “pleasure-based sleep”, which essentially boils down to the wish: there is a chance to sleep in the daytime, and it feels nice to indulge.”
The primary task to consider, so, is to think about your nap motivation. “Napping can be genuinely useful when night sleeping is being disrupted due to causes you cannot change – such as, for a new parent, or recovering from illness or strenuous activity,” explains a sleep specialist. “Yet when you take a nap because your nighttime sleep feels fragile or broken, that can be a signal your need for sleep is not at the level it needs to be. Under those circumstances, daytime sleep can turn into part of the problem, instead of the fix. Employ naps as a temporary measure to address immediate needs – the focus must always be a robust and regular overnight rest.”
The Perfect Nap Duration
This means that napping shouldn’t be long enough to interfere with your sleep at night, and preferably shouldn’t take place after about 3pm (based on the time you retire overnight). How long is sensible? Recommendations vary. In one of the most referenced research on the subject, space agency scientists noted that space travelers had improvements of over 50% in attentiveness and a 34% increase in task performance post a 26-minute snooze (in detail, this included an initial six-minute nodding-off period). “My advice is using an alarm for 20 to 30 minutes – many individuals are asleep quickly,” notes a specialist. “You'll find much recommendations about the optimal amount for sleeping, but that tends to make people feel more worried than anything else – and the most counterproductive thing you can do when trying to nod off is to stress over it.”
Should you decide to sleep for longer, steer clear of the 45 to 60 minute range that induces sleep inertia, that disoriented sensation when you awaken. “Studies suggests it’s better to have a longer nap of 60 to 90 minutes compared to a medium-length nap,” notes the sleep scientist. “Forty-five minutes is enough time to plunge you into slow-wave sleep and it is more probable to feel sluggish when you get up – whereas if you nap for a bit longer to an hour 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 dozing for an hour and a half, it can influence your sleep later that night.”
Creating an Ideal Snooze Setting
When it comes to precise methods, recommendations vary. A few professionals propose adopting the same protocol you’d use to promote quality nighttime sleep: a peaceful area, a supportive surface and minimal light as possible. Alternatively, experts propose that you should just doze on the sofa in whatever light is available – to avoid sleep inertia and to preserve your bedroom as the space your brain links with proper sleep. “Falling asleep is something really tricky to command,” notes a sleep coach. “Lacking any drowsiness, it becomes harder to recline and basically tell yourself to go to sleep. There must be some drive present to bring the sleep on in the first place. I can usually snooze during the day and wake up naturally without a timer, though, what aids most folks is to look for an instance where they feel naturally slightly tired and then simply ease into sleep.”
Experimentation is key, and should options are scarce – for example, if you’re trying to squeeze in 40 winks on a train or in a work pod – there’s nothing wrong with bringing some accessories. “Coaching footballers, I suggest that they not rely on their own bed for naps, because they’re going to have|they will
