The Key to an Ideal Kip: When, Location & Duration?

Listen to plenty of performance podcasters, making it easy to convince yourself that dozing is a secret weapon: not just a quick fix following restless night, but a route to enhanced cognition, improved mood and perhaps a faster 5k run time. Premier League footballers do it regularly – as do professional piano players, fighters and business leaders. But if you lack a dedicated nap-room or a job that allows frequent naps, is it *truly* worthwhile perks to a burst of shut-eye for it to be worth the effort? Does there exist a reliable way to get to sleep quickly enough? And can you honestly promise you will arise feeling improved, not worse?

Understanding The Nap Motivation

“There are three main reasons for taking a nap in the adult population,” notes an expert circadian rhythm specialist. “The first is what we call make-up sleep, essentially what you do after experiencing poor sleep the previous night. Another is preparatory napping, when you are pre-empting sleep loss in the future, for instance when working graveyard shifts. The third is called “pleasure-based sleep”, which simply boils down to the wish: there is an opportunity to nap during the day, and it feels nice to nap.”

The initial step to do, therefore, is to think about your nap motivation. “Napping can be truly beneficial when nighttime sleep is disturbed for reasons outside your control – for instance, for a new parent, or recovering from illness or heavy physical exertion,” explains a sleep expert. “Yet when you’re napping as your sleep at night seems unreliable or poor, that can be a sign your body's sleep pressure is not at the level it needs to be. In such situations, napping can become part of the issue, rather than the answer. Employ naps as a temporary measure for short-term problems – the focus ought to remain a strong and predictable overnight rest.”

The Optimal Nap Length

Therefore that naps shouldn’t be sufficiently lengthy to disrupt your nighttime sleep, and ideally are not recommended in the late afternoon (based on when you sleep in the evening). What's a reasonable length? Advice differs. From the most referenced research regarding daytime sleep, experts discovered that astronauts had up to a 54% increase in attentiveness and a 34% boost in cognitive performance following a nap of 26 minutes (technically, this involved a six-minute nodding-off period). “I’d suggest setting a timer for 20 to 30 minutes – most people doze off quickly,” explains a sleep expert. “You'll find much recommendations regarding the optimal amount of time, yet that often lead individuals to become more anxious than anything else – and the least helpful action one can do when trying to fall asleep is to stress over it.”

If you’re going to take an extended nap, avoid the 45-60 minute window that promotes sleep inertia, that foggy state upon waking. “Studies would say it's more effective to opt for a longer nap of one to one and a half hours rather than a mid-length nap,” notes the professor. “Three-quarters of an hour is enough time to plunge you into deep sleep and you’re more likely to feel sluggish when you wake up – whereas if you nap for a bit longer to 60 or 90 minutes, you’re likely to be on the end a full cycle and are likely to wake up feeling more refreshed. Though if you're dozing for 90 minutes, it will affect how you sleep later that night.”

Establishing the Right Sleep Space

Regarding specific techniques, suggestions are diverse. A few professionals propose employing comparable habits one would use to encourage a good night’s sleep: a peaceful area, a cozy bed and maximum darkness as you can manage. Others suggest that it's fine to simply nap in a chair with ambient lighting is available – both to discourage post-nap grogginess and to “protect” your bedroom as the environment your brain links with nighttime rest. “Napping is quite challenging to command,” notes an expert. “If you don’t have any drowsiness, it is tougher to lie down and basically instruct yourself to fall asleep. There must be a natural inclination available to bring the sleep on to begin with. For me, it's possible to nap during the day and awaken on my own without a timer, though, what aids many individuals is to anticipate an instance when they are naturally somewhat sleepy and calmly relax into it.”

Experimentation is key, and should your choices are limited – for instance, when aiming to squeeze in a quick nap on a train or in a soundproof office pod – there’s nothing wrong with bringing sleep aids. “In my work with elite athletes, I advise that they not rely on napping in bed, since they’re going to have|they will