🔗 Share this article

Hear a few productivity podcasters, making it tempting to think that dozing is a powerful tool: not just a sticking plaster after poor sleep, but a route to improved recall, a brighter outlook and possibly a faster 5k run time. Professional soccer players are all at it – and so are professional piano players, UFC champions and media moguls. Yet, when you lack a special sleep space or a career that encourages daytime sleep, is it *truly* enough benefits to a burst of shut-eye for it to be worth the hassle? Is there a dependable method to fall asleep fast? Furthermore, can you really guarantee you will get up feeling improved, instead of groggy?

Understanding Your Nap Motivation

“We can identify three main reasons for taking a nap for many people,” says an expert sleep science professor. “One is known as make-up sleep, which is what happens when you’ve had a lack of sleep the night before. Secondly, there's pre-emptive sleep, which involves preparing for a sleep deficit ahead, for example if you’re working graveyard shifts. Finally, there's “pleasure-based sleep”, which simply is about the wish: you get a chance to doze during the day, and it feels nice to indulge.”

The initial step to do, then, is to examine your nap motivation. “Daytime sleep can be truly beneficial when nighttime sleep is disturbed for reasons you cannot change – such as, if you’re caring for an infant, or you’re recovering after being ill or intense exercise,” says a sleep physiologist. “But if you’re napping as your night sleep is unstable or poor, that is frequently a signal your sleep drive is not at the level required. In those cases, daytime sleep can turn into a contributing factor, instead of the fix. Employ naps as a temporary measure to address immediate needs – the focus should still be a solid and consistent sleep at night.”

The Perfect Nap Length

This implies that daytime sleep ought not to be too extended to interfere with your overnight rest, and best are not recommended in the late afternoon (depending on what time you go to bed at night). What duration is wise? Guidelines are mixed. Among the most referenced research on the subject, researchers at Nasa noted that crew members experienced up to a 54% increase in alertness and a 34% boost in task performance post a 26-minute snooze (in detail, this involved a six-minute long sleep onset time). “I’d suggest setting an alarm for 20-30 minutes – the majority doze off in under ten minutes,” explains a sleep expert. “You'll find much recommendations about the optimal amount for sleeping, but that tends to make people feel more stressed above all – and the least helpful action one can do when attempting to fall asleep is worry about it.”

If you’re going to nap for a longer period, steer clear of the 45 to 60 minute range that encourages sleep grogginess, that spaced-out feeling when you awaken. “Research suggests it’s better to take a longer nap of one to one and a half hours compared to a medium-length nap,” explains the expert. “45 minutes is enough time to plunge you into slow-wave sleep and it is more probable to feel disoriented when you get up – while if you extend it a bit longer to a full sleep cycle, it's likely you'll to be on the end a full cycle and should get up feeling more rejuvenated. Though if you’re sleeping for an hour and a half, it will affect the quality of your sleep in the evening.”

Finding an Ideal Sleep Space

As for specific techniques, suggestions are diverse. Certain specialists suggest adopting similar routines you’d use to foster a good night’s sleep: a peaceful area, a comfortable bed and maximum darkness as you can manage. Others suggest that one could just doze on a couch in whatever light happens to be around – to prevent post-nap grogginess and to “protect” your bed as the environment your mind associates with nighttime rest. “Sleep is quite challenging to command,” explains a sleep coach. “Lacking any drowsiness, it is tougher to lie down and practically tell yourself to fall asleep. There must be a natural inclination available to bring the sleep on in the first place. For me, it's possible to snooze during the day and awaken on my own alarm-free, though, what aids most folks is to wait for an instance that they’re naturally somewhat sleepy and calmly ease into sleep.”

It’s worth experimenting, and should you have few options – such as, when aiming to grab some shut-eye while traveling or in a soundproof office pod – there’s nothing wrong to use some accessories. “In my work with footballers, I advise that they not rely on their own bed for naps, because they’re going to have|they will