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Tune into plenty of productivity podcasters, and it’s tempting to convince yourself that a nap is a superpower: not just a band-aid after restless night, but a route towards improved recall, a brighter outlook and possibly a faster 5k run time. Professional soccer players are all at it – and so are concert pianists, UFC champions & media moguls. But if you don't have a room for napping or a job that permits regular snoozing, can there *honestly* worthwhile perks to a quick nap to justify the kerfuffle? Can you find a surefire technique to nod off promptly? Furthermore, can you truly ensure you will get up feeling better, rather than worse?

Exploring The Reasons for Napping

“There are three primary motivations for napping among most adults,” says a professor of circadian rhythm researcher. “The first is what we call recovery napping, which is what happens when you’ve had insufficient sleep overnight. Secondly, there's pre-emptive sleep, where you are pre-empting insufficient sleep ahead, such as during graveyard shifts. The third reason is “pleasure-based sleep”, which essentially boils down to the wish: you have a moment to sleep in the daytime, and it feels nice to indulge.”

The initial step to undertake, so, is to examine why you want to nap. “Naps can be really helpful when overnight rest gets interrupted because of factors outside your control – for instance, if you’re a new parent, or if you are healing from sickness or intense exercise,” states a sleep specialist. “However, if you take a nap since your nighttime sleep seems unreliable or unreliable, that can be a sign your sleep drive is not where it should be. In those cases, naps can become part of the problem, not the solution. Employ naps as a temporary measure for temporary issues – the focus ought to remain a solid and consistent sleep at night.”

The Perfect Snooze Time

This implies that naps shouldn’t be too extended to interfere with your sleep at night, and preferably shouldn’t take place after about 3pm (depending on the time you retire in the evening). What duration is wise? Recommendations vary. In one of the most-cited studies regarding daytime sleep, researchers at Nasa discovered that astronauts experienced improvements of over 50% in alertness and a 34% boost in task performance after a 26-minute nap (in detail, this counted a six-minute sleep onset time). “I’d suggest setting a timer for 20 to 30 minutes – the majority doze off quickly,” notes a specialist. “There is plenty of advice around concerning the perfect length of minutes, however, that can make people feel more stressed than anything else – and the most counterproductive thing one can do when attempting to fall asleep is to be anxious.”

Should you decide to sleep for longer, bypass the period between 45 and 60 minutes that encourages that sluggish feeling, that disoriented sensation when you awaken. “Studies suggests it is preferable to take an extended nap lasting 60-90 minutes than a medium-length one,” notes the professor. “45 minutes is enough time to plunge you into slow-wave sleep making it more likely to feel disoriented when you wake up – however, if you nap for slightly longer to a full sleep cycle, you’re likely to be completing a full cycle and should get up feeling more rejuvenated. Though if you nap for 90 minutes, it can influence how you sleep later that night.”

Finding the Right Nap Environment

Regarding precise methods, recommendations vary. A few professionals recommend adopting comparable habits one would use to encourage restful sleep: a silent space, a supportive surface and maximum darkness as you can manage. Alternatively, experts propose that you should merely snooze on the sofa in the existing light is available – both to discourage sleep inertia and to preserve your sleeping quarters as the place your mind associates with nighttime rest. “Sleep is something really tricky to will,” says a specialist. “If you don’t have the urge to sleep, it is more challenging to get comfortable and basically instruct yourself to fall asleep. There must be some sleep pressure available to start the process in the first place. I can usually snooze in full light and wake up naturally without a timer, but what helps many individuals is to look for a time where they feel naturally feeling a bit drowsy and just gently allow sleep to come.”

It’s worth experimenting, and should options are scarce – for instance, if attempting to squeeze in 40 winks while traveling or in a work pod – it's acceptable with bringing sleep aids. “When I’m working with elite athletes, I recommend that they don’t get used to their own bed for naps, since they’re going to have|they will