The Key to a Flawless Nap: Timing, Where and for How Long?

Hear enough self-improvement experts, making it easy to believe that dozing is a secret weapon: rather than a band-aid after restless night, but a route to enhanced cognition, a brighter outlook and perhaps a faster 5k run time. Professional footballers swear by it – and so are musicians, mixed martial artists and business leaders. Yet, when you lack a room for napping or a career that allows frequent naps, can there *honestly* enough benefits to a quick nap to merit the effort? Is there a reliable way to fall asleep fast? Furthermore, can you honestly promise you will arise feeling better, not worse?

Identifying Your Drive to Snooze

“Experts note three key drivers for taking a nap for many people,” notes a professor of circadian rhythm researcher. “Firstly, there's termed recovery napping, that is what happens after experiencing insufficient sleep the previous night. Secondly, there's prophylactic napping, where you are anticipating sleep loss in the future, for instance when working graveyard shifts. The third reason is “hedonic napping”, which simply comes down to desire: you get an opportunity to sleep during the day, and it feels nice to indulge.”

The primary task to do, therefore, is to examine why you want to nap. “Daytime sleep can be truly beneficial when overnight rest is disturbed for reasons outside your control – for instance, if you’re a parent of a newborn, or you’re recovering after being ill or heavy physical exertion,” says a sleep physiologist. “But if you take a nap as your nighttime sleep is unstable or unreliable, that’s often a sign your need for sleep is not where it should be. In such situations, napping can become a contributing factor, not the solution. Employ naps as a temporary measure to address immediate needs – the main goal should still be a strong and predictable night’s sleep.”

The Perfect Snooze Time

This means that napping shouldn’t be sufficiently lengthy to interfere with your sleep at night, and ideally shouldn’t take place in the late afternoon (contingent on what time you sleep at night). How long is sensible? Recommendations vary. In one of the most referenced research regarding daytime sleep, space agency scientists noted that astronauts showed improvements of over 50% in attentiveness and a 34% boost in performance post a 26-minute snooze (to be precise, this involved a six-minute long falling asleep phase). “I recommend using an alarm for 20-30 minutes – most people are asleep within 10 minutes,” says a sleep expert. “There is plenty of guidance out there concerning the perfect length for sleeping, however, that can make people feel more stressed than anything – and the least helpful action you can possibly do when attempting to get to sleep is to be anxious.”

Should you decide to take an extended nap, steer clear of the period between 45 and 60 minutes that induces sleep inertia, that foggy state when you awaken. “The science suggests it is preferable to have a lengthier snooze of 60 to 90 minutes rather than a mid-length nap,” explains the expert. “Three-quarters of an hour is sufficient to put you into a deep sleep stage making it more likely to feel groggy upon awakening – whereas if you nap for a bit longer to an hour or 90 minutes, you’re likely to finish a full cycle and are likely to awaken feeling more rejuvenated. However, if you're dozing for a long period, it will affect your sleep later that night.”

Creating the Perfect Snooze Setting

Regarding specific techniques, recommendations vary. A few professionals propose adopting the same protocol you’d use to encourage a good night’s sleep: a peaceful area, a supportive surface and as much darkness as possible. Some advise that you should merely snooze on a couch with ambient lighting is present – to avoid post-nap grogginess and to maintain your bedroom as the place your mind associates with proper sleep. “Falling asleep is something really tricky to command,” notes an expert. “Without the urge to sleep, it becomes harder to get comfortable and practically command yourself to nod off. There’s got to be a natural inclination there to bring the sleep on initially. For me, it's possible to take a nap in broad daylight and wake up naturally without an alarm, though, what aids many individuals is to look for a moment where they feel naturally feeling a bit drowsy and then simply allow sleep to come.”

Experimentation is key, and should options are scarce – for instance, when aiming to squeeze in some shut-eye during a commute or at the office – it's acceptable with bringing some accessories. “In my work with elite athletes, I recommend that they avoid becoming accustomed to sleeping in their bed, since they’re going to have|they will