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Tune into plenty of self-improvement experts, and you'll be simple to believe that dozing is a secret weapon: rather than a quick fix following poor sleep, but a shortcut to enhanced cognition, improved mood and perhaps a faster 5k run time. Premier League athletes are all at it – as do concert pianists, fighters & high-profile executives. However, if you lack a room for napping or a career that allows daytime sleep, can there *honestly* enough benefits to a short sleep for it to be worth the kerfuffle? Can you find a surefire technique to nod off promptly? Furthermore, can you really guarantee you will get up feeling better, instead of groggy?

Identifying The Reasons for Napping

“We can identify three main reasons for taking a nap in the adult population,” says an expert sleep science researcher. “The first is what we call recovery napping, that is what happens after experiencing poor sleep overnight. Another is prophylactic napping, when you are anticipating a sleep deficit ahead, for instance during overnight shifts. Finally, there's “appetitive drive”, which essentially is about wanting: you have an opportunity to sleep in the afternoon, and it's enjoyable to indulge.”

The first thing to do, therefore, is consider why you want to nap. “Daytime sleep can be truly beneficial when overnight rest is disturbed because of factors outside your control – such as, if you’re caring for an infant, or if you are healing after being ill or strenuous activity,” says a sleep specialist. “Yet when you’re napping because your nighttime sleep feels fragile or unreliable, that can be a sign your need for sleep is not where it needs to be. Under those circumstances, napping can become a contributing factor, not the solution. Utilize daytime sleep as a short-term solution for short-term problems – the focus should still be a robust and regular overnight rest.”

The Ideal Nap Length

This means that napping must not be too extended to interfere with your sleep at night, and best should not occur post-3 p.m. (contingent on when you go to bed overnight). What duration is wise? Recommendations vary. From a prominent study about napping, researchers at Nasa discovered that space travelers experienced improvements of over 50% in vigilance and a 34% boost in task performance post a 26-minute snooze (to be precise, this involved an initial six-minute falling asleep phase). “My advice is setting an alarm for half an hour or less – most people are asleep in under ten minutes,” says a sleep coach. “There is plenty of guidance out there regarding the perfect length of minutes, but that tends to cause people to feel more worried than anything else – and the most counterproductive thing one can do while aiming to fall asleep is worry about it.”

Should you decide to sleep for longer, bypass the 45 to 60 minute range that encourages sleep inertia, that foggy state upon waking. “Studies suggests it's more effective to take a longer nap of 60 to 90 minutes rather than a mid-length nap,” notes the sleep scientist. “Three-quarters of an hour is long enough to plunge you into deep sleep making it more likely to feel groggy when you wake up – whereas if you extend it a little longer to 60 or 90 minutes, you will probably to finish of a sleep cycle and are likely to get up feeling more rejuvenated. But if you're dozing for a long period, it may impact the quality of your sleep in the evening.”

Establishing the Perfect Sleep Space

When it comes to specific techniques, advice differs. Some experts recommend adopting similar routines you use to encourage restful sleep: a quiet room, a supportive surface and minimal light as is feasible. Alternatively, experts propose that one could merely snooze on the sofa in whatever light is available – to prevent sleep inertia and to preserve your bed as the space your mind associates with proper sleep. “Falling asleep is notoriously difficult to will,” notes a specialist. “If you don’t have any drowsiness, it is more challenging to lie down and basically tell yourself to nod off. You need a natural inclination there to start the process initially. Personally, I can often take a nap during the day and wake up naturally without an alarm, though, what aids a lot of people is to look for a time that they’re naturally feeling a bit drowsy and just gently ease into sleep.”

Experimentation is key, and if you have few options – for example, if you’re trying to squeeze in some shut-eye while traveling or in a soundproof office pod – there’s nothing wrong with bringing some accessories. “In my work with elite athletes, I advise that they avoid becoming accustomed to their own bed for naps, as they’re going to have|they will