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Hear a few performance gurus, making it tempting to believe that dozing is a superpower: more than a sticking plaster following restless night, but a route towards improved recall, better spirits and maybe quicker running times. Elite athletes are all at it – and so are musicians, UFC champions & media moguls. Yet, when you lack a room for napping or a job that permits daytime sleep, can there *honestly* sufficient advantages to a burst of shut-eye to merit the effort? Does there exist a reliable way to nod off promptly? And can you really guarantee you will get up feeling improved, rather than worse?

Identifying Your Nap Motivation

“We can identify three primary motivations for napping among most adults,” explains an expert sleep science specialist. “Firstly, there's known as recovery napping, essentially what you do after experiencing insufficient sleep the night before. Secondly, there's pre-emptive sleep, where you are preparing for insufficient sleep ahead, such as during on night shifts. The third reason is “appetitive drive”, which basically boils down to wanting: you get an opportunity to nap in the daytime, and it's enjoyable to do it.”

The primary task to do, then, is to examine your nap motivation. “Napping can be genuinely useful when night sleeping is disturbed for reasons beyond your control – such as, for a parent of a newborn, or you’re recovering after being ill or intense exercise,” explains a sleep physiologist. “But if you nap as your night sleep feels fragile or unreliable, that is frequently a signal your sleep drive is not as strong as it should be. In such situations, napping can become part of the issue, not the solution. Use napping as a short-term solution for temporary issues – the focus ought to remain a solid and consistent sleep at night.”

The Perfect Nap Duration

Therefore that naps must not be long enough to affect your overnight rest, and best are not recommended post-3 p.m. (based on what time you go to bed overnight). What duration is wise? Recommendations vary. From a prominent study regarding daytime sleep, researchers at Nasa found that space travelers experienced up to a 54% increase in vigilance and a 34% increase in cognitive performance after a 26-minute nap (technically, this involved a six-minute falling asleep phase). “My advice is setting an alarm for 20-30 minutes – many individuals are asleep quickly,” explains a specialist. “There is plenty of advice around regarding the ideal number of time, yet that often cause people to feel more stressed than anything – and the worst thing you can possibly do when attempting to get to sleep is worry about it.”

Should you decide to take an extended nap, bypass the 45 to 60 minute range that encourages that sluggish feeling, that spaced-out feeling when you awaken. “Research suggests it is preferable to take a longer nap of one to one and a half hours than a medium-length one,” says the sleep scientist. “Three-quarters of an hour is long enough to put you into slow-wave sleep and you’re more likely to feel disoriented when you wake up – whereas if you take it a little longer to an hour or 90 minutes, you’re likely to be on the end a natural sleep cycle and are likely to wake up feeling more refreshed. However, if you're dozing for 90 minutes, it may impact how you sleep in the evening.”

Creating the Perfect Nap Environment

As for exact methodologies, advice differs. Some experts suggest employing similar routines you’d use to encourage restful sleep: a silent space, a comfortable bed and as much darkness as you can manage. Alternatively, experts propose that it's fine to merely snooze on the sofa in the existing light happens to be around – to avoid post-nap grogginess and to “protect” your bed as the place you associate with *real* sleep. “Napping is something really tricky to force,” notes an expert. “Without any sleepiness, it is more challenging to get comfortable and essentially tell yourself to nod off. You need some sleep pressure present to start the process to begin with. Personally, I can often nap in full light and wake up naturally alarm-free, however, what assists most folks is to wait for an instance where they feel naturally somewhat sleepy and then simply ease into sleep.”

Experimentation is key, and when you have few options – such as, if attempting to fit in a quick nap on a train or in a work pod – it's acceptable to employ a few tools. “Coaching footballers, I advise that they not rely on napping in bed, since they’re going to have|they will