Listen to a few productivity experts, making it tempting to believe that dozing is a powerful tool: more than a band-aid following a bad night’s sleep, but a path to enhanced cognition, a brighter outlook and possibly a faster 5k run time. Elite athletes are all at it – as do concert pianists, UFC champions and high-profile executives. But if you don't have a special sleep space or a job that encourages daytime sleep, can there *honestly* worthwhile perks to a short sleep to justify the kerfuffle? Is there a surefire technique to fall asleep fast? Furthermore, can you honestly promise you will get up feeling refreshed, not worse?
Understanding The Drive to Snooze
“We can identify three primary motivations for taking a nap for many people,” says an expert sleep and circadian science professor. “One is what we call recovery napping, essentially what happens when you’ve had insufficient sleep the night before. Secondly, there's pre-emptive sleep, when you are anticipating a sleep deficit ahead, for example if you’re working on night shifts. The third reason is “pleasure-based sleep”, which simply comes down to the wish: there is a chance to sleep in the daytime, and it's pleasant to indulge.”
The initial step to undertake, then, is consider your reason for napping. “Naps can be genuinely useful when night sleeping gets interrupted due to causes outside your control – for example, when you are a new parent, or recovering from sickness or intense exercise,” says a sleep specialist. “Yet when you take a nap since your sleep at night feels fragile or broken, that can be a sign your sleep drive is not at the level required. In those cases, naps can become part of the problem, not the solution. Use napping for brief periods for temporary issues – the priority ought to remain a robust and regular sleep at night.”
The Optimal Nap Duration
Therefore that napping must not be long enough to affect your sleep at night, and best are not recommended after about 3pm (depending on the time you retire in the evening). What duration is wise? Recommendations vary. From the most-cited studies about napping, researchers at Nasa found that astronauts experienced up to a 54% increase in alertness and a 34% increase in cognitive performance following a nap of 26 minutes (to be precise, this counted an initial six-minute sleep onset time). “I’d suggest setting an alarm for 20-30 minutes – the majority doze off in under ten minutes,” notes a sleep coach. “There’s a lot of recommendations regarding the perfect length of time, however, that can cause people to feel more anxious than anything – and the worst thing you can do when trying to fall asleep is to stress over it.”
Should you decide to take an extended nap, avoid the period between 45 and 60 minutes that induces sleep inertia, that foggy state upon waking. “The science indicates it's more effective to take an extended nap lasting 60-90 minutes rather than a mid-length nap,” explains the professor. “Three-quarters of an hour is sufficient to put you into a deep sleep stage making it more likely to feel disoriented upon awakening – while if you take it a little longer to a full sleep cycle, it's likely you'll to be on the end a natural sleep cycle and are likely to get up feeling more refreshed. However, if you nap for an hour and a half, it may impact the quality of your sleep in the evening.”
Finding the Perfect Nap Environment
As for precise methods, advice differs. Some experts recommend using the same protocol you use to promote quality nighttime sleep: a silent space, a comfortable bed and as much darkness as is feasible. Others suggest that it's fine to merely snooze on the sofa in whatever light happens to be around – both to discourage that groggy feeling and to preserve your sleeping quarters as the environment your mind associates with proper sleep. “Sleep is something really tricky to will,” says a sleep coach. “Lacking any drowsiness, it is tougher to recline and practically instruct yourself to nod off. There must be some sleep pressure present to start the process initially. For me, it's possible to take a nap during the day and wake up naturally alarm-free, but what helps a lot of people is to look for an instance where they feel naturally somewhat sleepy and then simply relax into it.”
It’s worth experimenting, and if options are scarce – for instance, when aiming to fit in some shut-eye during a commute or in a soundproof office pod – it's acceptable to employ sleep aids. “In my work with professional sportspeople, I suggest that they avoid becoming accustomed to sleeping in their bed, since they’re going to have|they will
