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Tune into plenty of self-improvement experts, making it easy to believe that napping is a superpower: rather than a quick fix following a bad night’s sleep, but a shortcut to a better memory, a brighter outlook and possibly a faster 5k run time. Professional footballers do it regularly – along with concert pianists, fighters & media moguls. However, if you don't have a dedicated nap-room or a job that permits frequent naps, are there *really* enough benefits to a quick nap for it to be worth the hassle? Is there a reliable way to get to sleep quickly enough? And can you honestly promise you will arise feeling improved, instead of groggy?

Understanding Your Drive to Snooze

“We can identify three key drivers for napping among most adults,” says an expert sleep science researcher. “Firstly, there's what we call compensatory napping, that is what happens following insufficient sleep the previous night. Secondly, there's preparatory napping, which involves preparing for insufficient sleep in the future, for example when working overnight shifts. Finally, there's “appetitive drive”, which basically comes down to desire: you get a moment to nap in the afternoon, and it's enjoyable to indulge.”

The first thing to consider, therefore, is to think about your nap motivation. “Daytime sleep can be really helpful when night sleeping is being disrupted because of factors you cannot change – for instance, for caring for an infant, or you’re recovering after being ill or strenuous activity,” states a sleep expert. “Yet when you take a nap since your sleep at night is unstable or unreliable, that’s often a signal your sleep drive is not where it needs to be. In those cases, daytime sleep can turn into part of the problem, rather than the answer. Employ naps for brief periods for short-term problems – the main goal ought to remain a strong and predictable night’s sleep.”

The Perfect Snooze Time

Therefore that naps ought not to be too extended to interfere with your sleep at night, and ideally should not occur in the late afternoon (depending on what time you sleep at night). What's a reasonable length? Advice differs. Among the most-cited studies about napping, researchers at Nasa discovered that astronauts had a boost of up to 54% in vigilance plus a 34% rise in cognitive performance following a nap of 26 minutes (to be precise, this involved a six-minute long nodding-off period). “I recommend using an alarm for half an hour or less – many individuals doze off quickly,” says a sleep expert. “There is plenty of recommendations concerning the perfect length for sleeping, however, that can lead individuals to become more stressed above all – and the worst thing you can possibly do while aiming to get to sleep is worry about it.”

If you’re going to take an extended nap, bypass the period between 45 and 60 minutes that encourages sleep inertia, that foggy state upon waking. “Research indicates it’s better to opt for an extended nap of 60 to 90 minutes rather than a mid-length nap,” explains the expert. “Forty-five minutes is enough time to send you into slow-wave sleep making it more likely to feel disoriented upon awakening – whereas if you extend it a bit longer to a full sleep cycle, you’re likely to be on the end of a sleep cycle and will probably awaken feeling more rejuvenated. However, if you nap for 90 minutes, it may impact the quality of your sleep that night.”

Finding the Right Sleep Space

As for precise methods, suggestions are diverse. Some experts propose adopting similar routines one would use to encourage quality nighttime sleep: a quiet room, a supportive surface and minimal light as you can manage. Others suggest that it's fine to simply nap on a couch with ambient lighting is available – both to discourage post-nap grogginess and to maintain your bed as the environment your mind associates with nighttime rest. “Napping is notoriously difficult to force,” explains a sleep coach. “Lacking any drowsiness, it becomes harder to recline and practically tell yourself to nod off. There’s got to be a natural inclination available to initiate sleep to begin with. Personally, I can often nap in full light and wake up naturally alarm-free, however, what assists many individuals is to look for an instance that they’re naturally somewhat sleepy and just gently relax into it.”

Experimentation is key, and if your choices are limited – for example, if attempting to squeeze in 40 winks on a train or in a work pod – it's acceptable to employ some accessories. “When I’m working with footballers, I suggest that they not rely on napping in bed, since they’re going to have|they will