🔗 Share this article

Listen to a few performance podcasters, making it tempting to convince yourself that dozing is a secret weapon: rather than a sticking plaster after restless night, but a shortcut to a better memory, a brighter outlook and maybe a faster 5k run time. Elite soccer players are all at it – along with professional piano players, UFC champions & media moguls. However, if you don't have a special sleep space or a job that encourages frequent naps, are there *really* worthwhile perks to a short sleep to justify the hassle? Does there exist a surefire technique to nod off promptly? Furthermore, can you really guarantee you will get up feeling refreshed, not worse?

Understanding The Drive to Snooze

“There are three main reasons for napping for many people,” explains a professor of circadian rhythm researcher. “The first is termed compensatory napping, that is what happens when you’ve had insufficient sleep the night before. Secondly, there's pre-emptive sleep, which involves anticipating a sleep deficit coming up, such as during on night shifts. The third is called “appetitive drive”, which essentially is about desire: you get a moment to sleep during the day, and it's pleasant to indulge.”

The initial step to do, so, is consider your nap motivation. “Naps can be really helpful when overnight rest is disturbed because of factors beyond your control – for example, when you are caring for an infant, or recovering from illness or strenuous activity,” states a sleep physiologist. “Yet when you nap as your sleep at night seems unreliable or unreliable, that is frequently a signal your need for sleep is not as strong as it needs to be. In those cases, napping can become part of the issue, instead of the fix. Utilize daytime sleep as a short-term solution for short-term problems – the main goal must always be a robust and regular night’s sleep.”

The Perfect Nap Length

This means that naps shouldn’t be long enough to affect your sleep at night, and preferably are not recommended in the late afternoon (depending on what time you go to bed overnight). How long is sensible? Recommendations vary. From the most-cited studies about napping, researchers at Nasa found that astronauts had improvements of over 50% in attentiveness and a 34% increase in task performance after a 26-minute nap (to be precise, this counted a six-minute falling asleep phase). “My advice is setting a timer for half an hour or less – the majority fall asleep quickly,” notes a sleep expert. “There’s a lot of recommendations about the optimal amount of time, however, that can cause people to feel more anxious than anything – and the least helpful action you can do when trying to nod off is worry about it.”

Should you decide to nap for a longer period, steer clear of the 45 to 60 minute range that induces that sluggish feeling, that foggy state upon waking. “Studies would say it is preferable to opt for a longer nap of 60 to 90 minutes compared to a medium-length nap,” notes the expert. “Three-quarters of an hour is sufficient to put you into slow-wave sleep and it is more probable to feel groggy upon awakening – while if you take it slightly longer to an hour or 90 minutes, it's likely you'll to finish a natural sleep cycle and are likely to get up feeling more alert. But if you're dozing for a long period, it can influence your sleep later that night.”

Establishing the Right Sleep Space

When it comes to precise methods, recommendations vary. A few professionals suggest using similar routines you’d use to promote a good night’s sleep: a quiet room, a cozy bed and maximum darkness as is feasible. Alternatively, experts propose that it's fine to merely snooze on the sofa in the existing light is present – to prevent that groggy feeling and to maintain your sleeping quarters as the space you associate with *real* sleep. “Sleep is quite challenging to command,” explains a specialist. “Lacking any sleepiness, it is more challenging to recline and essentially tell yourself to fall asleep. There’s got to be some drive there to initiate sleep in the first place. Personally, I can often take a nap in broad daylight and awaken on my own without an alarm, though, what aids many individuals is to wait for a time when they are naturally slightly tired and just gently ease into sleep.”

Trying different approaches is valuable, and when options are scarce – such as, if you’re trying to grab some shut-eye during a commute or in a work pod – it is perfectly fine to employ some accessories. “Coaching professional sportspeople, I recommend that they not rely on their own bed for naps, because they’re going to have|they will