The Key for a Flawless Snooze: Timing, Location and for How Long?
Hear a few productivity experts, and it’s easy to think that dozing is a powerful tool: rather than a quick fix after restless night, but a route to enhanced cognition, improved mood and maybe improved athletic performance. Premier League soccer players do it regularly – and so are professional piano players, UFC champions & business leaders. But if you haven’t got a special sleep space or employment that allows frequent naps, are there *really* worthwhile perks to a quick nap to merit the hassle? Can you find a dependable method to nod off promptly? And can you really guarantee you’ll wake up feeling improved, rather than worse?
Understanding The Drive to Snooze
“We can identify three primary motivations for daytime sleep among most adults,” notes an expert circadian rhythm specialist. “The first is known as recovery napping, essentially what you do after experiencing insufficient sleep the night before. Another is prophylactic napping, which involves preparing for insufficient sleep coming up, for example when working overnight shifts. The third is called “appetitive drive”, which simply is about wanting: there is an opportunity to sleep in the afternoon, and it's pleasant to indulge.”
The initial step to consider, then, is consider your nap motivation. “Daytime sleep can be really helpful when overnight rest is being disrupted due to causes you cannot change – such as, when you are a new parent, or you’re recovering after being ill or heavy physical exertion,” explains a sleep specialist. “Yet when you’re napping since your sleep at night seems unreliable or broken, that’s often a sign your body's sleep pressure is not at the level it needs to be. In such situations, daytime sleep can turn into part of the problem, rather than the answer. Employ naps as a temporary measure for short-term problems – the main goal must always be a solid and consistent night’s sleep.”
The Ideal Nap Length
This implies that daytime sleep must not be too extended to affect your overnight rest, and ideally are not recommended post-3 p.m. (based on the time you retire overnight). What's a reasonable length? Advice differs. Among the most referenced research regarding daytime sleep, experts discovered that crew members experienced a boost of up to 54% in alertness and a 34% boost in cognitive performance after a 26-minute nap (technically, this included a six-minute long nodding-off period). “I’d suggest using an alarm for 20 to 30 minutes – many individuals are asleep within 10 minutes,” says a specialist. “There’s a lot of guidance out there about the perfect length of minutes, however, that can lead individuals to become more stressed than anything – and the most counterproductive thing you can do when trying to fall asleep is to stress over it.”
If you plan to sleep for longer, steer clear of the 45-60 minute window that promotes sleep grogginess, that spaced-out feeling when you awaken. “The science would say it's more effective to have a longer nap of one to one and a half hours than a medium-length one,” says the expert. “Forty-five minutes is sufficient to plunge you into deep sleep making it more likely to feel disoriented when you wake up – whereas if you nap for slightly longer to 60 or 90 minutes, you’re likely to be completing a natural sleep cycle and should wake up feeling more refreshed. But if you nap for 90 minutes, it can influence the quality of your sleep that night.”
Establishing an Ideal Nap Environment
When it comes to precise methods, advice differs. Some experts recommend adopting similar routines you use to promote a good night’s sleep: a peaceful area, a supportive surface and as much darkness as possible. Some advise that it's fine to merely snooze on the sofa with ambient lighting is available – to avoid post-nap grogginess and to maintain your sleeping quarters as the space your mind associates with nighttime rest. “Falling asleep is notoriously difficult to command,” notes a specialist. “If you don’t have any sleepiness, it is tougher to recline and practically command yourself to fall asleep. There must be some sleep pressure present to start the process in the first place. For me, it's possible to snooze during the day and wake up naturally without a timer, but what helps many individuals is to wait for a time where they feel naturally slightly tired and then simply allow sleep to come.”
Experimentation is key, and when your choices are limited – for instance, if attempting to squeeze in a quick nap during a commute or in a work pod – it is perfectly fine with bringing a few tools. “When I’m working with elite athletes, I suggest that they not rely on napping in bed, as they’re going to have|they will
