The Secret to an Ideal Snooze: When, Location and Duration?
Hear plenty of self-improvement experts, and you'll be easy to believe that napping is a powerful tool: more than a quick fix after a bad night’s sleep, but a path to a better memory, better spirits and perhaps quicker running times. Premier League athletes do it regularly – and so are professional piano players, mixed martial artists and high-profile executives. However, if you don't have a dedicated nap-room or employment that encourages frequent naps, are there *really* sufficient advantages to a quick nap to merit the effort? Does there exist a surefire technique to nod off promptly? Furthermore, can you really guarantee you will get up feeling refreshed, instead of groggy?
Understanding The Reasons for Napping
“We can identify three primary motivations for taking a nap in the adult population,” notes an expert circadian rhythm researcher. “The first is what we call recovery napping, that is the action you take when you’ve had a lack of sleep the previous night. The second is prophylactic napping, where you are pre-empting a sleep deficit in the future, for instance during graveyard shifts. The third reason is “hedonic napping”, which essentially is about desire: you have a moment to sleep in the daytime, and it's enjoyable to indulge.”
The first thing to consider, then, is to examine your nap motivation. “Naps can be genuinely useful when night sleeping gets interrupted because of factors you cannot change – such as, for a parent of a newborn, or you’re recovering from illness or intense exercise,” says a sleep specialist. “However, if you nap since your sleep at night is unstable or poor, that’s often a sign your sleep drive is not where it needs to be. In those cases, naps can become part of the issue, not the solution. Use napping as a temporary measure for short-term problems – the priority should still be a solid and consistent night’s sleep.”
The Optimal Nap Duration
This means that napping must not be too extended to affect your overnight rest, and ideally are not recommended post-3 p.m. (depending on what time you retire overnight). How long is sensible? Recommendations vary. From the most-cited studies on the subject, researchers at Nasa noted that crew members had up to a 54% increase in vigilance and a 34% boost in performance post a 26-minute snooze (to be precise, this included an initial six-minute nodding-off period). “I recommend setting a timer for half an hour or less – the majority doze off within 10 minutes,” explains a sleep coach. “There’s a lot of recommendations regarding the optimal amount for sleeping, yet that often cause people to feel more worried than anything else – and the least helpful action you can possibly do when attempting to fall asleep is worry about it.”
Should you decide to nap for a longer period, steer clear of the 45 to 60 minute range that encourages sleep inertia, that foggy state upon waking. “Studies suggests it is preferable to take a longer nap of 60 to 90 minutes rather than a mid-length nap,” says the sleep scientist. “Forty-five minutes is enough time to put you into deep sleep making it more likely to feel groggy upon awakening – whereas if you take it slightly longer to a full sleep cycle, it's likely you'll to be completing of a sleep cycle and should wake up feeling more rejuvenated. But if you’re sleeping for a long period, it may impact the quality of your sleep later that night.”
Creating the Right Sleep Space
When it comes to specific techniques, recommendations vary. Some experts propose employing comparable habits you use to foster quality nighttime sleep: a quiet room, a comfortable bed and as much darkness as possible. Alternatively, experts propose that it's fine to simply nap on the sofa in the existing light happens to be around – both to discourage that groggy feeling and to “protect” your bedroom as the place you associate with *real* sleep. “Falling asleep is quite challenging to command,” notes a sleep coach. “If you don’t have the urge to sleep, it is more challenging to recline and essentially command yourself to fall asleep. There must be some sleep pressure available to initiate sleep to begin with. I can usually nap during the day and awaken on my own alarm-free, however, what assists most folks is to wait for a moment that they’re naturally somewhat sleepy and just gently relax into it.”
It’s worth experimenting, and should your choices are limited – for example, if you’re trying to grab some shut-eye while traveling or at the office – it's acceptable to employ some accessories. “When I’m working with professional sportspeople, I suggest that they avoid becoming accustomed to their own bed for naps, as they’re going to have|they will