The Formula for a Perfect Nap: When, Where and for How Long?

Hear enough productivity experts, and it’s easy to convince yourself that a nap is a powerful tool: not just a quick fix after restless night, but a shortcut to a better memory, better spirits and perhaps improved athletic performance. Professional footballers do it regularly – along with professional piano players, fighters & business leaders. But if you don't have a dedicated nap-room or employment that permits daytime sleep, is it *truly* enough benefits to a short sleep for it to be worth the kerfuffle? Is there a reliable way to get to sleep quickly enough? Furthermore, can you truly ensure you’ll wake up feeling refreshed, not worse?

Understanding Your Reasons for Napping

“Experts note three primary motivations for taking a nap in the adult population,” explains a leading circadian rhythm researcher. “One is known as make-up sleep, which is what happens following poor sleep overnight. The second is prophylactic napping, when you are anticipating a sleep deficit in the future, for instance during graveyard shifts. The third is called “appetitive drive”, which essentially boils down to wanting: you have a moment to doze in the afternoon, and it's enjoyable to nap.”

The first thing to consider, so, is to examine why you want to nap. “Napping can be really helpful when night sleeping gets interrupted for reasons you cannot change – such as, if you’re a new parent, or you’re recovering after being ill or strenuous activity,” states a sleep physiologist. “Yet when you’re napping since your nighttime sleep is unstable or poor, that’s often an indicator your body's sleep pressure is not as strong as it should be. In such situations, napping can become part of the issue, not the solution. Utilize daytime sleep as a short-term solution for temporary issues – the main goal must always be a strong and predictable overnight rest.”

The Perfect Snooze Time

This means that naps must not be long enough to affect your nighttime sleep, and ideally shouldn’t take place post-3 p.m. (contingent on what time you sleep in the evening). What's a reasonable length? Recommendations vary. In one of the most referenced research on the subject, researchers at Nasa found that crew members had up to a 54% increase in vigilance and a 34% increase in performance post a 26-minute snooze (technically, this involved a six-minute long falling asleep phase). “I recommend setting an alarm for half an hour or less – most people doze off in under ten minutes,” says a sleep expert. “There is plenty of recommendations about the perfect length for sleeping, yet that often lead individuals to become more stressed than anything – and the least helpful action you can do when attempting to fall asleep is worry about it.”

If you plan to nap for a longer period, steer clear of the period between 45 and 60 minutes that induces sleep grogginess, that spaced-out feeling upon waking. “The science indicates it is preferable to have a lengthier snooze of one to one and a half hours rather than a mid-length nap,” says the expert. “45 minutes is sufficient to plunge you into slow-wave sleep making it more likely to feel sluggish upon awakening – however, if you extend it slightly longer to a full sleep cycle, it's likely you'll to be completing a natural sleep cycle and will probably wake up feeling more alert. Though if you nap for 90 minutes, it will affect the quality of your sleep later that night.”

Finding the Perfect Sleep Space

Regarding exact methodologies, recommendations vary. Certain specialists recommend adopting similar routines you’d use to encourage quality nighttime sleep: a peaceful area, a supportive surface and as much darkness as you can manage. Others suggest that one could simply nap in a chair in whatever light is present – to prevent sleep inertia and to preserve your bedroom as the place your mind associates with nighttime rest. “Falling asleep is quite challenging to force,” explains a specialist. “Without any sleepiness, it is more challenging to recline and basically command yourself to go to sleep. You need some drive present to bring the sleep on initially. I can usually take a nap during the day and naturally wake up alarm-free, but what helps most folks is to wait for a moment when they are naturally slightly tired and calmly relax into it.”

Experimentation is key, and should you have few options – such as, when aiming to grab some shut-eye during a commute or at the office – there’s nothing wrong to employ some accessories. “Coaching footballers, I suggest that they don’t get used to sleeping in their bed, because they’re going to have|they will