The Secret for an Ideal Kip: Timing, Where & for How Long?
Tune into a few self-improvement podcasters, and it’s simple to believe that napping is a powerful tool: rather than a sticking plaster following poor sleep, but a shortcut to a better memory, improved mood and possibly improved athletic performance. Premier League soccer players swear by it – and so are musicians, UFC champions & business leaders. However, if you lack a special sleep space or a job that allows regular snoozing, are there *really* enough benefits to a burst of shut-eye to merit the hassle? Does there exist a surefire technique to nod off promptly? And can you honestly promise you will get up feeling improved, rather than worse?
Identifying Your Reasons for Napping
“There are three main reasons for taking a nap in the adult population,” says an expert circadian rhythm professor. “The first is what we call compensatory napping, that is what you do following a lack of sleep the previous night. Secondly, there's prophylactic napping, where you are preparing for sleep loss in the future, such as if you’re working on night shifts. The third reason is “hedonic napping”, which essentially boils down to the wish: you get an opportunity to sleep in the daytime, and it feels nice to indulge.”
The initial step to undertake, so, is to think about your reason for napping. “Naps can be genuinely useful when night sleeping gets interrupted for reasons outside your control – such as, if you’re a parent of a newborn, or recovering from illness or heavy physical exertion,” states a sleep expert. “However, if you’re napping because your nighttime sleep is unstable or broken, that is frequently a sign your sleep drive is not at the level it should be. In those cases, napping can become part of the issue, rather than the answer. Employ naps as a short-term solution for short-term problems – the priority must always be a strong and predictable overnight rest.”
The Perfect Snooze Time
Therefore that naps must not be too extended to interfere with your overnight rest, and preferably shouldn’t take place post-3 p.m. (based on what time you sleep in the evening). What duration is wise? Recommendations vary. In one of the most-cited studies about napping, researchers at Nasa noted that space travelers showed a boost of up to 54% in attentiveness and a 34% boost in cognitive performance after a 26-minute nap (technically, this included an initial six-minute falling asleep phase). “I’d suggest setting an alarm for 20 to 30 minutes – most people are asleep quickly,” says a sleep coach. “There’s a lot of advice around regarding the perfect length of minutes, but that tends to cause people to feel more anxious than anything else – and the least helpful action you can possibly do while aiming to fall asleep is worry about it.”
If you plan to take an extended nap, steer clear of the 45 to 60 minute range that induces that sluggish feeling, that disoriented sensation when you wake. “Research would say it's more effective to take an extended nap of 60 to 90 minutes compared to a medium-length nap,” notes the professor. “45 minutes is enough time to send you into slow-wave sleep making it more likely to feel sluggish when you get up – while if you extend it a bit longer to 60 or 90 minutes, you will probably to finish a natural sleep cycle and will probably get up feeling more rejuvenated. However, if you're dozing for an hour and a half, it may impact how you sleep in the evening.”
Establishing an Ideal Sleep Space
As for specific techniques, recommendations vary. Some experts suggest adopting similar routines you’d use to foster restful sleep: a quiet room, a cozy bed and minimal light as possible. Others suggest that you should just doze on the sofa with ambient lighting is present – both to discourage that groggy feeling and to “protect” your bedroom as the place your brain links with proper sleep. “Falling asleep is something really tricky to force,” explains a sleep coach. “If you don’t have the urge to sleep, it is more challenging to recline and basically instruct yourself to nod off. There’s got to be some drive present to bring the sleep on to begin with. For me, it's possible to nap in full light and wake up naturally without a timer, but what helps a lot of people is to look for a time that they’re naturally feeling a bit drowsy and just gently allow sleep to come.”
Trying different approaches is valuable, and when your choices are limited – for example, if you’re trying to fit in a quick nap while traveling or in a work pod – there’s nothing wrong to use some accessories. “When I’m working with footballers, I suggest that they avoid becoming accustomed to their own bed for naps, as they’re going to have|they will
