The Key to an Ideal Kip: When, Where & for How Long?
Listen to a few performance gurus, making it tempting to believe that dozing is a secret weapon: rather than a quick fix after poor sleep, but a path towards improved recall, a brighter outlook and possibly a faster 5k run time. Elite athletes swear by it – along with concert pianists, mixed martial artists & media moguls. However, if you don't have a dedicated nap-room or a job that allows frequent naps, can there *honestly* enough benefits to a burst of shut-eye to merit the effort? Is there a reliable way to fall asleep fast? Furthermore, can you really guarantee you will arise feeling improved, not worse?
Identifying The Reasons for Napping
“Experts note three main reasons for daytime sleep for many people,” says a professor of sleep and circadian science professor. “The first is termed recovery napping, essentially what you do after experiencing a lack of sleep the night before. The second is pre-emptive sleep, when you are anticipating insufficient sleep in the future, such as if you’re working overnight shifts. Finally, there's “appetitive drive”, which basically is about wanting: you get a moment to nap during the day, and it's enjoyable to indulge.”
The initial step to undertake, therefore, is to think about your nap motivation. “Napping can be genuinely useful when overnight rest gets interrupted due to causes beyond your control – for example, when you are a new parent, or if you are healing after being ill or heavy physical exertion,” says a sleep expert. “Yet when you’re napping as your night sleep seems unreliable or poor, that can be a sign your need for sleep is not as strong as required. In those cases, daytime sleep can turn into a contributing factor, not the solution. Employ naps for brief periods for short-term problems – the priority ought to remain a robust and regular overnight rest.”
The Ideal Nap Duration
This means that napping ought not to be long enough to interfere with your nighttime sleep, and ideally should not occur post-3 p.m. (based on what time you sleep overnight). What duration is wise? Advice differs. In one of the most-cited studies on the subject, experts found that space travelers had a boost of up to 54% in vigilance plus a 34% rise in task performance after a 26-minute nap (to be precise, this involved a six-minute falling asleep phase). “I recommend setting a timer for half an hour or less – most people fall asleep within 10 minutes,” explains a sleep expert. “There is plenty of advice around concerning the optimal amount for sleeping, however, that can lead individuals to become more anxious than anything else – and the worst thing one can do when attempting to nod off is to be anxious.”
Should you decide to nap for a longer period, bypass the period between 45 and 60 minutes that encourages sleep grogginess, that spaced-out feeling upon waking. “Research would say it is preferable to take a lengthier snooze of 60 to 90 minutes than a medium-length one,” explains the professor. “45 minutes is enough time to plunge you into slow-wave sleep and you’re more likely to feel groggy upon awakening – whereas if you take it a little longer to a full sleep cycle, you will probably to be on the end a natural sleep cycle and will probably wake up feeling more refreshed. However, if you're dozing for an hour and a half, it can influence your sleep that night.”
Establishing the Perfect Sleep Space
As for exact methodologies, recommendations vary. Some experts recommend using the same protocol you use to foster a good night’s sleep: a silent space, a supportive surface and as much darkness as possible. Others suggest that one could simply nap on a couch with ambient lighting is available – to prevent that groggy feeling and to maintain your bed as the environment your mind associates with *real* sleep. “Falling asleep is notoriously difficult to command,” explains a specialist. “If you don’t have any sleepiness, it is tougher to lie down and essentially command yourself to go to sleep. There’s got to be a natural inclination there to start the process in the first place. Personally, I can often take a nap in full light and naturally wake up without a timer, however, what assists a lot of people is to look for a moment when they are naturally somewhat sleepy and just gently relax into it.”
It’s worth experimenting, and should you have few options – for instance, when aiming to fit in a quick nap during a commute or in a work pod – there’s nothing wrong to employ a few tools. “Coaching professional sportspeople, I advise that they don’t get used to sleeping in their bed, because they’re going to have|they will
