Listen to a few performance experts, making it simple to think that a nap is a secret weapon: more than a quick fix following poor sleep, but a route towards improved recall, better spirits and possibly improved athletic performance. Elite athletes do it regularly – and so are professional piano players, UFC champions and media moguls. Yet, when you lack a special sleep space or a career that encourages frequent naps, is it *truly* enough benefits to a burst of shut-eye for it to be worth the kerfuffle? Does there exist a reliable way to get to sleep quickly enough? Furthermore, can you honestly promise you’ll wake up feeling improved, instead of groggy?
Exploring The Reasons for Napping
“There are three main reasons for napping among most adults,” says a professor of sleep science professor. “Firstly, there's what we call compensatory napping, that is what you do following insufficient sleep the previous night. Another is prophylactic napping, when you are anticipating sleep loss in the future, such as when working overnight shifts. Finally, there's “pleasure-based sleep”, which basically is about the wish: you get a moment to sleep in the afternoon, and it's pleasant to do it.”
The initial step to consider, therefore, is to think about why you want to nap. “Napping can be genuinely useful when nighttime sleep is disturbed for reasons beyond your control – for example, when you are a new parent, or you’re recovering after being ill or intense exercise,” says a sleep specialist. “However, if you’re napping since your night sleep feels fragile or unreliable, that can be a signal your body's sleep pressure is not as strong as required. Under those circumstances, napping can become part of the issue, not the solution. Use napping for brief periods for short-term problems – the main goal should still be a robust and regular night’s sleep.”
The Perfect Nap Duration
This implies that naps ought not to be too extended to affect your nighttime sleep, and best are not recommended post-3 p.m. (based on what time you go to bed at night). What duration is wise? Advice differs. Among a prominent study about napping, researchers at Nasa noted that crew members had a boost of up to 54% in attentiveness and a 34% boost in task performance after a 26-minute nap (in detail, this included a six-minute long sleep onset time). “I’d suggest setting a timer for half an hour or less – most people fall asleep in under ten minutes,” says a sleep expert. “There’s a lot of advice around about the optimal amount of minutes, yet that often make people feel more worried above all – and the most counterproductive thing you can do while aiming to nod off is worry about it.”
If you’re going to take an extended nap, avoid the 45 to 60 minute range that encourages that sluggish feeling, that foggy state upon waking. “Research indicates it's more effective to take a longer nap of one to one and a half hours compared to a medium-length nap,” notes the sleep scientist. “Forty-five minutes is sufficient to put you into a deep sleep stage and it is more probable to feel groggy upon awakening – whereas if you take it a bit longer to 60 or 90 minutes, you’re likely to be on the end of a sleep cycle and will probably awaken feeling more refreshed. But if you nap for a long period, it will affect the quality of your sleep later that night.”
Establishing the Perfect Snooze Setting
Regarding exact methodologies, recommendations vary. Certain specialists recommend using comparable habits you’d use to encourage a good night’s sleep: a silent space, a supportive surface and minimal light as you can manage. Others suggest that one could just doze in a chair in whatever light is available – to avoid that groggy feeling and to preserve your bed as the place you associate with proper sleep. “Falling asleep is notoriously difficult to command,” explains a sleep coach. “Lacking any drowsiness, it is tougher to get comfortable and practically instruct yourself to fall asleep. You need some sleep pressure there to start the process initially. I can usually take a nap during the day and awaken on my own without an alarm, though, what aids most folks is to anticipate an instance where they feel naturally somewhat sleepy and just gently ease into sleep.”
It’s worth experimenting, and when options are scarce – for instance, if you’re trying to grab a quick nap during a commute or in a soundproof office pod – it is perfectly fine to use sleep aids. “In my work with footballers, I recommend that they not rely on napping in bed, since they’re going to have|they will
