Listen to plenty of productivity gurus, and it’s tempting to think that dozing is a superpower: rather than a band-aid following a bad night’s sleep, but a shortcut to improved recall, better spirits and maybe a faster 5k run time. Professional athletes swear by it – as do concert pianists, fighters and media moguls. Yet, when you haven’t got a special sleep space or a career that encourages daytime sleep, can there *honestly* enough benefits to a burst of shut-eye for it to be worth the kerfuffle? Does there exist a surefire technique to fall asleep fast? And can you truly ensure you’ll wake up feeling better, instead of groggy?
Exploring The Drive to Snooze
“There are three primary motivations for napping among most adults,” says a professor of circadian rhythm professor. “One is known as compensatory napping, which is what you do after experiencing a lack of sleep overnight. Another is prophylactic napping, when you are anticipating sleep loss coming up, for instance when working overnight shifts. Finally, there's “appetitive drive”, which essentially is about the wish: there is a chance to nap during the day, and it's pleasant to nap.”
The primary task to undertake, then, is to examine your nap motivation. “Daytime sleep can be truly beneficial when nighttime sleep gets interrupted due to causes outside your control – for instance, when you are a new parent, or you’re recovering from sickness or heavy physical exertion,” explains a sleep expert. “But if you’re napping because your nighttime sleep seems unreliable or broken, that can be a sign your body's sleep pressure is not where required. In those cases, daytime sleep can turn into part of the issue, rather than the answer. Use napping as a temporary measure to address immediate needs – the priority should still be a strong and predictable overnight rest.”
The Ideal Snooze Time
This means that napping shouldn’t be long enough to interfere with your nighttime sleep, and preferably are not recommended in the late afternoon (contingent on what time you sleep overnight). What duration is wise? Guidelines are mixed. In one of the most referenced research on the subject, researchers at Nasa found that crew members had improvements of over 50% in alertness plus a 34% rise in performance following a nap of 26 minutes (in detail, this counted a six-minute long falling asleep phase). “My advice is using an alarm for half an hour or less – many individuals doze off within 10 minutes,” says a specialist. “There’s a lot of advice around about the perfect length of minutes, but that tends to cause people to feel more worried above all – and the most counterproductive thing you can possibly do when trying to fall asleep is worry about it.”
If you’re going to sleep for longer, avoid the 45-60 minute window that promotes that sluggish feeling, that foggy state when you wake. “Research suggests it's more effective to have a longer nap of 60 to 90 minutes than a medium-length one,” notes the professor. “45 minutes is enough time to send you into slow-wave sleep and you’re more likely to feel disoriented when you get up – however, if you take it a bit longer to an hour or 90 minutes, you’re likely to finish of a sleep cycle and will probably get up feeling more rejuvenated. However, if you're dozing for 90 minutes, it will affect the quality of your sleep in the evening.”
Establishing an Ideal Snooze Setting
Regarding exact methodologies, suggestions are diverse. Some experts recommend adopting the same protocol one would use to encourage quality nighttime sleep: a quiet room, a cozy bed and as much darkness as you can manage. Alternatively, experts propose that you should just doze in a chair in the existing light happens to be around – to prevent post-nap grogginess and to preserve your sleeping quarters as the space you associate with *real* sleep. “Napping is quite challenging to command,” explains an expert. “If you don’t have any drowsiness, it becomes harder to recline and practically command yourself to nod off. You need some drive available to start the process initially. For me, it's possible to nap in broad daylight and awaken on my own alarm-free, however, what assists most folks is to look for a moment that they’re naturally somewhat sleepy and just gently relax into it.”
Experimentation is key, and if your choices are limited – for instance, if attempting to squeeze in 40 winks while traveling or in a work pod – it's acceptable with bringing a few tools. “Coaching footballers, I advise that they avoid becoming accustomed to their own bed for naps, because they’re going to have|they will
