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Hear a few self-improvement gurus, and you'll be tempting to think that a nap is a powerful tool: not just a band-aid following restless night, but a shortcut towards a better memory, improved mood and perhaps improved athletic performance. Elite athletes are all at it – along with musicians, mixed martial artists and media moguls. However, if you haven’t got a dedicated nap-room or a career that encourages regular snoozing, are there *really* enough benefits to a burst of shut-eye to merit the effort? Is there a dependable method to nod off promptly? Plus, is it possible to honestly promise you will get up feeling improved, not worse?

Exploring The Reasons for Napping

“We can identify three main reasons for taking a nap in the adult population,” says a professor of sleep and circadian science researcher. “One is termed compensatory napping, essentially what happens following insufficient sleep the night before. The second is pre-emptive sleep, where you are anticipating a sleep deficit coming up, such as when working overnight shifts. The third is called “hedonic napping”, which essentially comes down to desire: there is a moment to doze in the daytime, and it's enjoyable to indulge.”

The first thing to do, therefore, is to think about your nap motivation. “Naps can be truly beneficial when nighttime sleep gets interrupted for reasons outside your control – such as, if you’re caring for an infant, or you’re recovering from sickness or strenuous activity,” says a sleep physiologist. “Yet when you take a nap because your nighttime sleep is unstable or unreliable, that’s often a sign your sleep drive is not where it should be. Under those circumstances, daytime sleep can turn into part of the problem, rather than the answer. Employ naps as a short-term solution for short-term problems – the focus must always be a solid and consistent overnight rest.”

The Ideal Nap Length

This implies that naps ought not to be too extended to affect your nighttime sleep, and best shouldn’t take place in the late afternoon (depending on what time you retire at night). What's a reasonable length? Recommendations vary. In one of the most referenced research on the subject, researchers at Nasa found that space travelers experienced a boost of up to 54% in alertness plus a 34% rise in performance post a 26-minute snooze (in detail, this counted an initial six-minute nodding-off period). “My advice is setting an alarm for 20 to 30 minutes – the majority doze off quickly,” explains a sleep coach. “There’s a lot of advice around about the optimal amount of time, but that tends to make people feel more stressed above all – and the worst thing one can do when trying to nod off is to be anxious.”

Should you decide to sleep for longer, steer clear of the 45 to 60 minute range that encourages that sluggish feeling, that foggy state when you awaken. “Studies indicates it is preferable to opt for a lengthier snooze of 60 to 90 minutes than a medium-length one,” says the expert. “Forty-five minutes is sufficient to plunge you into deep sleep making it more likely to feel groggy when you get up – however, if you take it a little longer to 60 or 90 minutes, it's likely you'll to finish a full cycle and should get up feeling more rejuvenated. But if you nap for an hour and a half, it may impact the quality of your sleep in the evening.”

Creating an Ideal Sleep Space

Regarding exact methodologies, recommendations vary. Certain specialists propose adopting comparable habits one would use to encourage restful sleep: a quiet room, a cozy bed and maximum darkness as you can manage. Alternatively, experts propose that you should simply nap in a chair with ambient lighting is present – both to discourage that groggy feeling and to “protect” your bedroom as the space your mind associates with nighttime rest. “Napping is quite challenging to will,” explains a sleep coach. “Without any sleepiness, it becomes harder to lie down and basically tell yourself to nod off. There must be some drive available to start the process in the first place. Personally, I can often snooze in full light and wake up naturally without an alarm, though, what aids many individuals is to anticipate an instance when they are naturally feeling a bit drowsy and then simply ease into sleep.”

It’s worth experimenting, and if your choices are limited – for instance, if you’re trying to squeeze in some shut-eye while traveling or in a soundproof office pod – there’s nothing wrong to use a few tools. “In my work with elite athletes, I advise that they not rely on napping in bed, because they’re going to have|they will