Hear enough self-improvement podcasters, making it easy to think that a nap is a secret weapon: not just a quick fix following poor sleep, but a path to improved recall, better spirits and perhaps a faster 5k run time. Elite athletes are all at it – and so are musicians, fighters & business leaders. But if you haven’t got a room for napping or a career that encourages daytime sleep, are there *really* sufficient advantages to a quick nap to justify the effort? Is there a reliable way to fall asleep fast? Furthermore, can you honestly promise you’ll wake up feeling refreshed, not worse?
Exploring Your Nap Motivation
“We can identify three main reasons for taking a nap among most adults,” says an expert sleep and circadian science researcher. “Firstly, there's what we call compensatory napping, which is what happens after experiencing a lack of sleep the previous night. The second is preparatory napping, which involves preparing for a sleep deficit ahead, such as when working on night shifts. The third reason is “pleasure-based sleep”, which basically comes down to the wish: you have a chance to sleep during the day, and it's enjoyable to do it.”
The initial step to do, therefore, is to examine why you want to nap. “Napping can be really helpful when overnight rest is disturbed due to causes you cannot change – for instance, if you’re caring for an infant, or you’re recovering after being ill or strenuous activity,” says a sleep physiologist. “However, if you nap since your nighttime sleep is unstable or poor, that is frequently a sign your need for sleep is not at the level required. In those cases, naps can become part of the problem, instead of the fix. Use napping for brief periods for short-term problems – the priority ought to remain a strong and predictable overnight rest.”
The Optimal Nap Duration
This means that napping shouldn’t be long enough to affect your overnight rest, and preferably should not occur after about 3pm (depending on the time you sleep overnight). What duration is wise? Advice differs. Among a prominent study on the subject, experts found that crew members had a boost of up to 54% in vigilance and a 34% increase in task performance post a 26-minute snooze (technically, this involved an initial six-minute nodding-off period). “My advice is using an alarm for half an hour or less – the majority are asleep within 10 minutes,” notes a sleep coach. “There is plenty of advice around concerning the ideal number of minutes, but that tends to make people feel more stressed than anything else – and the least helpful action you can possibly do when attempting to fall asleep is to be anxious.”
If you’re going to take an extended nap, bypass the 45-60 minute window that induces sleep inertia, that spaced-out feeling when you awaken. “The science would say it's more effective to have an extended nap of one to one and a half hours compared to a medium-length nap,” explains the professor. “Three-quarters of an hour is long enough to send you into slow-wave sleep and you’re more likely to feel groggy when you wake up – however, if you take it a bit longer to an hour or 90 minutes, you’re likely to be completing a full cycle and are likely to wake up feeling more rejuvenated. Though if you're dozing for a long period, it may impact how you sleep in the evening.”
Creating an Ideal Sleep Space
As for specific techniques, advice differs. A few professionals recommend using the same protocol you’d use to promote a good night’s sleep: a silent space, a supportive surface and as much darkness as is feasible. Alternatively, experts propose that you should merely snooze on a couch in whatever light is available – to avoid that groggy feeling and to maintain your sleeping quarters as the place your mind associates with proper sleep. “Napping is quite challenging to command,” notes a sleep coach. “Without any sleepiness, it is more challenging to recline and basically command yourself to go to sleep. There’s got to be some sleep pressure available to initiate sleep in the first place. Personally, I can often take a nap in broad daylight and wake up naturally alarm-free, but what helps most folks is to anticipate a time where they feel naturally somewhat sleepy and then simply ease into sleep.”
Trying different approaches is valuable, and when your choices are limited – for instance, if attempting to grab a quick nap on a train or at the office – there’s nothing wrong to use sleep aids. “In my work with professional sportspeople, I suggest that they don’t get used to napping in bed, since they’re going to have|they will
