The Key for a Perfect Kip: Timing, Where & for How Long?
Listen to plenty of performance experts, and you'll be simple to think that dozing is a powerful tool: more than a sticking plaster following a bad night’s sleep, but a shortcut towards enhanced cognition, improved mood and possibly a faster 5k run time. Premier League footballers swear by it – as do musicians, fighters & business leaders. Yet, when you haven’t got a dedicated nap-room or employment that encourages frequent naps, can there *honestly* worthwhile perks to a burst of shut-eye to merit the kerfuffle? Is there a reliable way to get to sleep quickly enough? Furthermore, can you really guarantee you will get up feeling refreshed, not worse?
Exploring The Nap Motivation
“There are three main reasons for taking a nap for many people,” explains a leading sleep and circadian science professor. “Firstly, there's known as recovery napping, which is what you do following poor sleep overnight. Secondly, there's preparatory napping, where you are pre-empting insufficient sleep ahead, for example when working on night shifts. The third is called “pleasure-based sleep”, which essentially boils down to wanting: you have a chance to sleep in the daytime, and it's enjoyable to do it.”
The primary task to consider, therefore, is to examine why you want to nap. “Naps can be really helpful when night sleeping gets interrupted for reasons beyond your control – for example, for a new parent, or you’re recovering from illness or heavy physical exertion,” says a sleep specialist. “But if you take a nap since your night sleep is unstable or unreliable, that can be an indicator your need for sleep is not where it should be. Under those circumstances, napping can become part of the issue, not the solution. Use napping for brief periods to address immediate needs – the focus ought to remain a robust and regular sleep at night.”
The Optimal Nap Duration
Therefore that napping must not be long enough to interfere with your overnight rest, and ideally should not occur post-3 p.m. (contingent on what time you go to bed at night). What's a reasonable length? Recommendations vary. Among the most-cited studies about napping, space agency scientists noted that astronauts showed a boost of up to 54% in vigilance plus a 34% rise in performance following a nap of 26 minutes (in detail, this involved an initial six-minute sleep onset time). “My advice is setting an alarm for half an hour or less – the majority are asleep in under ten minutes,” explains a specialist. “You'll find much guidance out there about the optimal amount of time, yet that often lead individuals to become more stressed than anything else – and the worst thing you can do while aiming to nod off is to stress over it.”
Should you decide to nap for a longer period, steer clear of the 45-60 minute window that encourages that sluggish feeling, that spaced-out feeling when you awaken. “Research indicates it is preferable to take an extended nap lasting 60-90 minutes than a medium-length one,” says the sleep scientist. “Forty-five minutes is enough time to plunge you into a deep sleep stage and it is more probable to feel groggy when you get up – while if you extend it a bit longer to 60 or 90 minutes, you’re likely to finish a natural sleep cycle and should wake up feeling more rejuvenated. But if you're dozing for 90 minutes, it can influence your sleep later that night.”
Creating the Right Snooze Setting
When it comes to specific techniques, advice differs. Some experts propose employing similar routines you’d use to foster quality nighttime sleep: a quiet room, a supportive surface and as much darkness as possible. Alternatively, experts propose that it's fine to simply nap on a couch in the existing light happens to be around – to avoid sleep inertia and to “protect” your bedroom as the space you associate with nighttime rest. “Sleep is something really tricky to command,” explains a specialist. “Without the urge to sleep, it becomes harder to get comfortable and essentially tell yourself to fall asleep. There’s got to be a natural inclination there to start the process initially. For me, it's possible to snooze during the day and awaken on my own without a timer, though, what aids many individuals is to wait for a moment when they are naturally slightly tired and just gently allow sleep to come.”
Trying different approaches is valuable, and if your choices are limited – for instance, if you’re trying to fit in a quick nap during a commute or in a soundproof office pod – it is perfectly fine with bringing a few tools. “When I’m working with professional sportspeople, I advise that they avoid becoming accustomed to their own bed for naps, as they’re going to have|they will
