The Secret for a Perfect Kip: When, Where and Duration?
Tune into enough productivity gurus, making it easy to think that a nap is a secret weapon: more than a sticking plaster after a bad night’s sleep, but a route to improved recall, a brighter outlook and perhaps a faster 5k run time. Premier League athletes do it regularly – along with professional piano players, UFC champions and media moguls. However, if you lack a dedicated nap-room or a job that permits daytime sleep, can there *honestly* worthwhile perks to a short sleep to merit the kerfuffle? Is there a reliable way to nod off promptly? Furthermore, can you really guarantee you will arise feeling better, rather than worse?
Understanding Your Nap Motivation
“Experts note three primary motivations for taking a nap in the adult population,” explains an expert sleep and circadian science specialist. “One is what we call make-up sleep, essentially what you do when you’ve had poor sleep the night before. The second is prophylactic napping, when you are pre-empting sleep loss ahead, for instance if you’re working overnight shifts. The third is called “hedonic napping”, which basically comes down to wanting: you get an opportunity to doze in the daytime, and it's pleasant to indulge.”
The primary task to undertake, so, is consider why you want to nap. “Napping can be truly beneficial when overnight rest is being disrupted for reasons you cannot change – for instance, for caring for an infant, or recovering after being ill or heavy physical exertion,” states a sleep expert. “But if you nap since your night sleep seems unreliable or poor, that can be a signal your need for sleep is not as strong as it should be. Under those circumstances, napping can become part of the issue, rather than the answer. Employ naps for brief periods to address immediate needs – the main goal should still be a strong and predictable overnight rest.”
The Perfect Snooze Time
This means that naps must not be too extended to interfere with your sleep at night, and ideally are not recommended after about 3pm (based on what time you retire at night). How long is sensible? Advice differs. From the most-cited studies regarding daytime sleep, space agency scientists noted that crew members had improvements of over 50% in vigilance and a 34% increase in performance after a 26-minute nap (in detail, this counted an initial six-minute falling asleep phase). “I recommend setting an alarm for 20 to 30 minutes – many individuals doze off within 10 minutes,” explains a sleep coach. “There is plenty of guidance out there about the perfect length for sleeping, but that tends to make people feel more worried than anything – and the most counterproductive thing you can do when trying to fall asleep is to be anxious.”
If you plan to sleep for longer, bypass the 45-60 minute window that promotes that sluggish feeling, that spaced-out feeling when you awaken. “Studies indicates it is preferable to take an extended nap of 60 to 90 minutes rather than a mid-length nap,” says the expert. “Three-quarters of an hour is long enough to send you into a deep sleep stage and you’re more likely to feel groggy upon awakening – however, if you take it a bit longer to a full sleep cycle, it's likely you'll to be completing a full cycle and are likely to awaken feeling more alert. Though if you're dozing for an hour and a half, it will affect how you sleep later that night.”
Establishing the Right Snooze Setting
When it comes to exact methodologies, recommendations vary. A few professionals recommend employing the same protocol you use to promote restful sleep: a peaceful area, a comfortable bed and maximum darkness as you can manage. Others suggest that one could merely snooze on the sofa in whatever light happens to be around – both to discourage that groggy feeling and to “protect” your sleeping quarters as the space you associate with proper sleep. “Falling asleep is notoriously difficult to will,” says a specialist. “Without any drowsiness, it becomes harder to get comfortable and practically tell yourself to go to sleep. You need some sleep pressure present to start the process in the first place. I can usually take a nap in broad daylight and awaken on my own without an alarm, though, what aids many individuals is to wait for a moment when they are naturally feeling a bit drowsy and calmly ease into sleep.”
It’s worth experimenting, and should options are scarce – for instance, if attempting to squeeze in some shut-eye while traveling or in a work pod – it is perfectly fine to use sleep aids. “Coaching elite athletes, I recommend that they not rely on sleeping in their bed, since they’re going to have|they will
