The Key for an Ideal Kip: Timing, Location and for How Long?
Hear a few performance podcasters, and it’s simple to think that dozing is a secret weapon: rather than a band-aid after poor sleep, but a shortcut towards improved recall, improved mood and possibly improved athletic performance. Elite soccer players are all at it – and so are concert pianists, UFC champions and high-profile executives. Yet, when you haven’t got a dedicated nap-room or a job that allows frequent naps, are there *really* worthwhile perks to a quick nap for it to be worth the effort? Can you find a dependable method to nod off promptly? Furthermore, can you truly ensure you’ll wake up feeling refreshed, not worse?
Exploring Your Drive to Snooze
“We can identify three primary motivations for daytime sleep in the adult population,” says a professor of circadian rhythm professor. “The first is termed compensatory napping, essentially the action you take following insufficient sleep the previous night. Another is prophylactic napping, which involves pre-empting a sleep deficit coming up, such as when working overnight shifts. The third is called “pleasure-based sleep”, which basically comes down to wanting: you have a chance to doze in the afternoon, and it's enjoyable to nap.”
The primary task to do, so, is to think about your reason for napping. “Daytime sleep can be genuinely useful when nighttime sleep is disturbed due to causes beyond your control – for instance, when you are a new parent, or you’re recovering from illness or intense exercise,” explains a sleep physiologist. “Yet when you take a nap as your night sleep is unstable or unreliable, that’s often an indicator your body's sleep pressure is not at the level it needs to be. In those cases, daytime sleep can turn into part of the problem, rather than the answer. Utilize daytime sleep for brief periods to address immediate needs – the priority must always be a strong and predictable overnight rest.”
The Perfect Snooze Time
This means that daytime sleep must not be long enough to affect your nighttime sleep, and ideally shouldn’t take place post-3 p.m. (depending on what time you sleep in the evening). What's a reasonable length? Recommendations vary. From the most-cited studies on the subject, space agency scientists noted that astronauts showed improvements of over 50% in attentiveness plus a 34% rise in cognitive performance after a 26-minute nap (technically, this included a six-minute falling asleep phase). “My advice is setting an alarm for 20 to 30 minutes – the majority are asleep within 10 minutes,” notes a specialist. “There’s a lot of guidance out there concerning the perfect length of time, however, that can cause people to feel more worried than anything else – and the least helpful action you can do while aiming to nod off is to stress over it.”
Should you decide to take an extended nap, avoid the period between 45 and 60 minutes that promotes sleep grogginess, that disoriented sensation upon waking. “Studies indicates it is preferable to take an extended nap lasting 60-90 minutes than a medium-length one,” notes the professor. “45 minutes is long enough to put you into deep sleep making it more likely to feel groggy when you get up – however, if you nap for slightly longer to a full sleep cycle, you’re likely to finish a natural sleep cycle and will probably awaken feeling more rejuvenated. Though if you nap for an hour and a half, it may impact how you sleep in the evening.”
Finding an Ideal Sleep Space
When it comes to exact methodologies, suggestions are diverse. A few professionals suggest employing similar routines you’d use to foster a good night’s sleep: a quiet room, a supportive surface and maximum darkness as you can manage. Some advise that one could merely snooze in a chair in whatever light is available – to prevent that groggy feeling and to preserve your bedroom as the place your mind associates with nighttime rest. “Napping is something really tricky to force,” says an expert. “If you don’t have the urge to sleep, it is tougher to recline and practically command yourself to go to sleep. You need a natural inclination present to bring the sleep on to begin with. I can usually nap during the day and awaken on my own without an alarm, but what helps most folks is to wait for a time where they feel naturally slightly tired and then simply ease into sleep.”
Experimentation is key, and should you have few options – such as, if you’re trying to fit in 40 winks during a commute or at the office – it's acceptable with bringing sleep aids. “When I’m working with footballers, I recommend that they don’t get used to napping in bed, because they’re going to have|they will
