The Key to a Perfect Kip: Timing, Location & for How Long?
Tune into a few self-improvement experts, and you'll be simple to convince yourself that dozing is a superpower: more than a band-aid following a bad night’s sleep, but a shortcut towards enhanced cognition, a brighter outlook and possibly a faster 5k run time. Premier League footballers do it regularly – as do musicians, UFC champions & media moguls. But if you don't have a special sleep space or employment that encourages daytime sleep, are there *really* worthwhile perks to a short sleep to merit the effort? Does there exist a surefire technique to fall asleep fast? Furthermore, can you truly ensure you’ll wake up feeling refreshed, rather than worse?
Exploring Your Reasons for Napping
“We can identify three primary motivations for napping in the adult population,” explains a leading sleep science professor. “The first is known as recovery napping, which is what you do when you’ve had poor sleep the night before. Secondly, there's prophylactic napping, which involves preparing for a sleep deficit in the future, for instance when working overnight shifts. The third is called “appetitive drive”, which essentially boils down to wanting: there is an opportunity to nap in the afternoon, and it feels nice to nap.”
The first thing to consider, so, is consider your nap motivation. “Naps can be truly beneficial when overnight rest gets interrupted because of factors you cannot change – such as, for a new parent, or you’re recovering from illness or strenuous activity,” says a sleep expert. “But if you’re napping because your nighttime sleep is unstable or unreliable, that is frequently a signal your body's sleep pressure is not as strong as required. In those cases, daytime sleep can turn into a contributing factor, rather than the answer. Employ naps as a short-term solution for short-term problems – the priority should still be a solid and consistent overnight rest.”
The Perfect Nap Duration
Therefore that napping ought not to be sufficiently lengthy to interfere with your sleep at night, and ideally shouldn’t take place post-3 p.m. (contingent on what time you retire overnight). How long is sensible? Guidelines are mixed. Among the most-cited studies on the subject, researchers at Nasa noted that space travelers had up to a 54% increase in attentiveness plus a 34% rise in performance after a 26-minute nap (to be precise, this counted a six-minute long falling asleep phase). “My advice is setting a timer for 20 to 30 minutes – most people are asleep in under ten minutes,” explains a sleep coach. “There’s a lot of guidance out there concerning the optimal amount of time, yet that often cause people to feel more anxious above all – and the most counterproductive thing you can possibly do while aiming to nod off is worry about it.”
If you plan to sleep for longer, steer clear of the 45-60 minute window that promotes sleep inertia, that disoriented sensation upon waking. “The science indicates it is preferable to take a longer nap of one to one and a half hours rather than a mid-length nap,” says the expert. “Three-quarters of an hour is enough time to plunge you into a deep sleep stage and it is more probable to feel sluggish when you wake up – whereas if you nap for slightly longer to 60 or 90 minutes, it's likely you'll to be completing a full cycle and should wake up feeling more rejuvenated. But if you're dozing for 90 minutes, it can influence your sleep that night.”
Creating the Perfect Nap Environment
Regarding precise methods, advice differs. Some experts propose employing similar routines one would use to promote quality nighttime sleep: a silent space, a cozy bed and as much darkness as possible. Alternatively, experts propose that it's fine to simply nap on a couch with ambient lighting is present – to prevent that groggy feeling and to preserve your bed as the environment your brain links with *real* sleep. “Falling asleep is quite challenging to force,” notes an expert. “If you don’t have any drowsiness, it becomes harder to recline and essentially tell yourself to nod off. There must be a natural inclination present to bring the sleep on in the first place. For me, it's possible to nap in full light and awaken on my own without a timer, but what helps a lot of people is to anticipate a time where they feel naturally slightly tired and just gently ease into sleep.”
It’s worth experimenting, and when your choices are limited – such as, when aiming to grab 40 winks on a train or at the office – it is perfectly fine with bringing some accessories. “Coaching footballers, I advise that they don’t get used to napping in bed, because they’re going to have|they will
