Tune into plenty of self-improvement gurus, and it’s easy to convince yourself that dozing is a secret weapon: not just a band-aid following restless night, but a path towards improved recall, better spirits and possibly quicker running times. Professional athletes swear by it – and so are musicians, UFC champions & media moguls. However, if you don't have a special sleep space or employment that permits daytime sleep, can there *honestly* worthwhile perks to a burst of shut-eye for it to be worth the kerfuffle? Does there exist a dependable method to nod off promptly? And can you honestly promise you will get up feeling improved, rather than worse?
Understanding Your Drive to Snooze
“There are three key drivers for daytime sleep among most adults,” notes a professor of sleep science specialist. “The first is termed make-up sleep, that is the action you take following a lack of sleep overnight. Secondly, there's preparatory napping, which involves preparing for a sleep deficit ahead, for instance when working overnight shifts. The third reason is “pleasure-based sleep”, which simply comes down to wanting: you get an opportunity to nap in the daytime, and it feels nice to do it.”
The first thing to do, therefore, is consider your nap motivation. “Naps can be genuinely useful when overnight rest gets interrupted for reasons beyond your control – for example, when you are caring for an infant, or you’re recovering from illness or strenuous activity,” explains a sleep specialist. “But if you nap as your night sleep is unstable or unreliable, that can be a signal your need for sleep is not at the level it should be. In those cases, daytime sleep can turn into a contributing factor, instead of the fix. Utilize daytime sleep for brief periods for temporary issues – the main goal must always be a solid and consistent sleep at night.”
The Ideal Nap Duration
Therefore that daytime sleep must not be long enough to disrupt your overnight rest, and preferably shouldn’t take place in the late afternoon (depending on when you sleep in the evening). How long is sensible? Recommendations vary. In one of the most referenced research regarding daytime sleep, researchers at Nasa found that space travelers experienced up to a 54% increase in attentiveness plus a 34% rise in task performance following a nap of 26 minutes (in detail, this included an initial six-minute nodding-off period). “My advice is setting a timer for half an hour or less – the majority fall asleep within 10 minutes,” says a sleep expert. “There’s a lot of recommendations regarding the ideal number for sleeping, yet that often cause people to feel more stressed than anything – and the least helpful action you can possibly do when attempting to get to sleep is worry about it.”
Should you decide to take an extended nap, steer clear of the 45-60 minute window that encourages sleep inertia, that foggy state when you wake. “Research would say it's more effective to have an extended nap lasting 60-90 minutes rather than a mid-length nap,” notes the expert. “Three-quarters of an hour is sufficient to plunge you into deep sleep and it is more probable to feel disoriented when you get up – whereas if you take it a bit longer to an hour or 90 minutes, you will probably to be on the end a full cycle and will probably get up feeling more rejuvenated. But if you're dozing for 90 minutes, it will affect your sleep that night.”
Establishing the Right Nap Environment
Regarding precise methods, recommendations vary. A few professionals suggest adopting the same protocol you use to foster quality nighttime sleep: a quiet room, a cozy bed and maximum darkness as is feasible. Some advise that you should merely snooze on the sofa with ambient lighting is available – both to discourage that groggy feeling and to “protect” your bedroom as the place your mind associates with *real* sleep. “Napping is something really tricky to will,” explains a specialist. “Without the urge to sleep, it becomes harder to lie down and essentially instruct yourself to go to sleep. There must be a natural inclination available to initiate sleep to begin with. I can usually take a nap in broad daylight and wake up naturally alarm-free, though, what aids a lot of people is to anticipate a time where they feel naturally somewhat sleepy and then simply allow sleep to come.”
It’s worth experimenting, and if your choices are limited – for instance, if you’re trying to grab 40 winks during a commute or at the office – it is perfectly fine with bringing some accessories. “In my work with professional sportspeople, I recommend that they not rely on napping in bed, because they’re going to have|they will
