The secret to a perfect nap: when, where and for how long? | Sleep
LListen to enough productivity podcasters, and it’s easy to convince yourself that napping is a superpower: not just a sticky band-aid after a bad night’s sleep, but a shortcut to better memory, better mood, and possibly a faster 5K run. Premier League footballers are all there, as are professional pianists, UFC champions and Arianna Huffington. But if you don’t have a dedicated nap room or a job that encourages regular napping, is there Really enough benefit to make a burst of sleep worth it? Is there a reliable way to fall asleep relatively quickly? And can you really guarantee that you’ll wake up better, not worse?
“There are three main reasons why most adults nap,” says Clare Anderson, professor of sleep and circadian rhythm science at the University of Birmingham. “The first is what we call compensatory napping, which is what you do when you didn’t get enough sleep the night before. The second is prophylactic napping, where you anticipate a lack of sleep, for example if you work nights. The third is called ‘appetite drive,’ which basically boils down to desire: you have the opportunity to sleep during the day, and it feels good to do so.”
So the first thing to do is to think about your motivation for naps. “Naps can be really helpful when nighttime sleep is disrupted for reasons beyond your control – for example, if you’re a new parent, or if you’re recovering from an illness or strenuous exercise,” says Stephanie Romiszewski, sleep physiologist and author of Think Less, Sleep More. “But if you’re napping because your nighttime sleep feels shaky or unreliable, that’s often a sign that your sleepiness isn’t where it should be. In these cases, naps can become part of the problem, not the solution. Use napping as a short-term solution for short-term problems—the priority should always be a solid, predictable night of sleep.”
This means that naps shouldn’t be long enough to disrupt your nighttime sleep, and ideally shouldn’t occur after around 3 p.m. (depending on what time you go to bed at night). What is a reasonable duration? Recommendations vary. In one of the most cited studies on the subject, NASA found that astronauts experienced an increase in alertness of up to 54 percent and an increase in performance of 34 percent after a 26-minute nap (technically, this included a six-minute fall asleep period). “I suggest setting an alarm for 20 to 30 minutes – most people fall asleep within 10 minutes,” says sleep expert James Wilson. “There’s a lot of advice out there about the ideal number of minutes to sleep, but this tends to worry people more than anything else – and the worst thing you can do when you’re trying to fall asleep is worry about it.”
If you want to sleep longer, avoid the 45 to 60 minute window which promotes sleep inertia, that feeling of space when you wake up. “Science would say that it’s better to take a longer nap, 60 to 90 minutes, than an average-length nap,” says Anderson. “Forty-five minutes is enough to put you into a deep sleep and you’re more likely to feel groggy when you wake up, whereas if you take it a little longer, up to 60 or 90 minutes, you’ll likely be at the end of a sleep cycle and likely wake up more refreshed. However, if you sleep for 90 minutes, it will affect how you sleep that night.”
As for exact methodologies, recommendations vary. Some experts suggest using the same protocol you would use to promote a good night’s sleep: a quiet bedroom, a comfortable bed, and as much darkness as possible. Others suggest you should just fall asleep on the couch, regardless of the ambient light — both to discourage sleep inertia and to “protect” your bedroom as a place your mind associates with. real sleep. “Sleep is something that is very difficult to force,” says sleep coach Tracy Hannigan. “If you don’t feel sleepy, it’s harder to lie down and fall asleep. You have to have some motivation to fall asleep first. I can usually take a nap in broad daylight and wake up naturally without an alarm, but what helps a lot of people is waiting for a time when they naturally feel a little sleepy and winding down slowly.”
It’s worth experimenting, and if your choices are limited — say, if you’re trying to wink 40 times on a train or in a soundproof office — there’s nothing wrong with bringing a few accessories. “When I work with football players, I recommend that they don’t get used to napping in bed, because they’re going to have to learn to sleep a lot on the move, whether that’s in hotel rooms or in the team trainer,” says Wilson. “But what we do in this case is bring an eye mask and headphones, and listen to something relaxing. The mask is a useful tool, because over time your body learns to make the association and say, ‘Oh, OK, we’re taking a nap now.'”
Other rituals, from deep breathing to donning Archers, work the same way: If you only do them when you’re ready to sleep, your nervous system should quickly make the associations. However, if you choose music, Wilson says it should be something you enjoy, not something you think should promote sleep. “I meet a surprising number of people who think they should listen to the sounds of whales or Enya or something,” he says. “But if that’s not your thing, you’re going to be too bored to actually fall asleep.” It should be noted that sleeping is a skill that might improve with practice. An interesting study of elite athletes suggests that they have high levels of what scientists call “sleepiness,” meaning they are good at drifting into the land of nodding. It’s possible (although not mentioned in the study) that this ability to cut themselves off from the outside world is also what makes them good at their chosen sport: if you can take a penalty while a crowd boos at you, why wouldn’t you be able to wink 40 times at a noisy coach?
As for getting up after a nap, this should be normal and natural: if you wake up more groggy than when you started, it’s a clear sign that you overslept. If you really want to supercharge the whole process, then the productivity bro-approved “caffeine nap” really works: “Caffeine takes about 20 minutes to enter your system, so having an espresso before you lie down can improve your alertness when you wake up,” says Anderson. Remember to avoid caffeine after 3 p.m. so that it doesn’t affect your night’s sleep.
Is there an argument for enforcing a nap even if you’re already getting enough sleep, keeping up with everything during the day, and not feeling particularly tired? One of the best-known studies on “deliberate practice,” for example, found that many top musicians reported taking daily naps, while some studies report that about 50 percent of athletes regularly nap during the day. But maybe that means you only really need to take a nap if you’re putting a strain on your body, your brain, or both. “The general rule for athletes is to sleep nine or 10 hours rather than seven to nine hours,” says Wilson. “I don’t really like to put numbers on these things, but part of the equation for anyone who does a lot is that they probably just need more sleep in general.”
Meanwhile, if you’re at your lowest in the early afternoon, it’s worth remembering that this is simply part of your body’s natural rhythms rather than a sign that you need to head to the conference room with a pillow. “It’s probably not because you ate a big lunch, but rather because of your natural circadian rhythms,” explains Anderson. “There is certainly some evidence that napping is associated with improved alertness, reduced fatigue, etc., but you don’t need it every day to benefit. It’s something to use as and when you need it.”
In other words, if you have time to take a nap, you enjoy doing it, and it seems to leave you more awake than groggy, it’s worth doing it. If you feel good without it, you won’t miss anything. “If you wake up refreshed, work well, and stay alert throughout the day, a nap won’t transform your performance because there’s not much to fix,” Romiszewski says. “Treat naps as occasional support when life requires it, not as a daily strategy. A solid sleep foundation built on consistent mornings – a regular wake-up time followed by exposure to light, movement and realistic expectations – will always beat the perfect nap routine.”
