The Secret for a Perfect Snooze: When, Location and Duration?

Listen to enough self-improvement experts, making it tempting to think that dozing is a secret weapon: more than a band-aid after restless night, but a route to a better memory, a brighter outlook and maybe quicker running times. Premier League athletes are all at it – as do professional piano players, fighters and media moguls. But if you lack a dedicated nap-room or employment that allows daytime sleep, are there *really* sufficient advantages to a burst of shut-eye to merit the kerfuffle? Does there exist a surefire technique to get to sleep quickly enough? Furthermore, can you honestly promise you’ll wake up feeling refreshed, rather than worse?

Identifying The Drive to Snooze

“We can identify three main reasons for taking a nap in the adult population,” says an expert circadian rhythm researcher. “The first is termed recovery napping, essentially the action you take when you’ve had insufficient sleep the night before. Secondly, there's pre-emptive sleep, when you are anticipating sleep loss coming up, for example during overnight shifts. The third is called “hedonic napping”, which basically boils down to wanting: you have a moment to doze during the day, and it feels nice to indulge.”

The initial step to undertake, so, is to think about your reason for napping. “Napping can be genuinely useful when nighttime sleep is being disrupted due to causes outside your control – for instance, if you’re a parent of a newborn, or you’re recovering after being ill or intense exercise,” explains a sleep physiologist. “However, if you’re napping because your sleep at night seems unreliable or unreliable, that can be a sign your sleep drive is not as strong as it should be. In those cases, naps can become part of the issue, not the solution. Use napping as a short-term solution for temporary issues – the main goal must always be a robust and regular overnight rest.”

The Optimal Nap Length

This implies that daytime sleep ought not to be long enough to affect your sleep at night, and best shouldn’t take place in the late afternoon (depending on when you go to bed at night). What's a reasonable length? Guidelines are mixed. From the most referenced research about napping, space agency scientists noted that crew members showed improvements of over 50% in alertness plus a 34% rise in performance after a 26-minute nap (in detail, this counted a six-minute nodding-off period). “I’d suggest using an alarm for 20-30 minutes – many individuals doze off quickly,” says a sleep expert. “There’s a lot of recommendations regarding the ideal number for sleeping, but that tends to make people feel more anxious than anything – and the least helpful action you can possibly do when trying to get to sleep is to stress over it.”

If you’re going to nap for a longer period, bypass the 45-60 minute window that induces that sluggish feeling, that spaced-out feeling upon waking. “Studies would say it’s better to take a lengthier snooze of 60 to 90 minutes compared to a medium-length nap,” explains the professor. “Three-quarters of an hour is sufficient to send you into slow-wave sleep making it more likely to feel groggy upon awakening – however, if you extend it slightly 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 rejuvenated. Though if you're dozing for an hour and a half, it can influence your sleep in the evening.”

Finding the Right Nap Environment

When it comes to specific techniques, recommendations vary. Some experts suggest using comparable habits one would use to foster a good night’s sleep: a peaceful area, a cozy bed and maximum darkness as is feasible. Others suggest that one could simply nap on a couch in the existing light is present – both to discourage post-nap grogginess and to maintain your sleeping quarters as the space your mind associates with *real* sleep. “Falling asleep is something really tricky to will,” notes an expert. “Without any sleepiness, it is tougher to get comfortable and essentially tell yourself to fall asleep. There’s got to be some drive there to start the process to begin with. I can usually nap in full light and naturally wake up alarm-free, but what helps a lot of people is to anticipate a time when they are naturally feeling a bit drowsy and just gently ease into sleep.”

Experimentation is key, and when options are scarce – such as, if attempting to grab 40 winks while traveling or in a soundproof office pod – it's acceptable to use a few tools. “In my work with professional sportspeople, I advise that they not rely on their own bed for naps, as they’re going to have|they will