Day dreams
NAPPING CAN LEAVE YOU RESTED AND ENERGISED, AND WITH A FEW IDEAS FOR GETTING COMFY AND DRIFTING OFF, YOU’LL SOON BE DOING IT IN YOUR SLEEP
Curl up on the sofa, burrow beneath a duvet or simply shut your eyes in a comfy armchair – it’s nap time. A short sleep in the day, particularly in the dregs of winter when our energy levels are low, is a cosy, caring treat, both soothing and restorative. You could call this the original mini-break – a chance to duck out of life, feel nurtured and emerge rested and rejuvenated.
Most creatures nap during the day, as any dog owner knows, but humans are unique in being monophasic sleepers, with our days divided into two periods: sleep and wakefulness. In most cultures, this pattern has dominated life since the industrial revolution, so much so that napping has acquired an image problem. Being ‘caught napping’ implies a lack of dynamism, and successful people often brag about how little sleep they need. The message is stark: you snooze, you lose.
Happily, this macho stance on napping is beginning to crumble as we understand more about the value of sleep to our mental and physical health. Many large corporations are waking up ( pun intended) to the positive effects of napping during the day on staff’s productivity. Google, and others, have installed sleep pods in their offices.
The best naps certainly leave you energised and alert, but they’re also, quite simply, enjoyable. Snuggling down, letting go and drifting into sleep and dreams while the world around you powers on can feel delightfully indulgent. That’s why napping can make a valuable addition to our wellbeing tool kit; it’s a quick fix that feels good, does good and costs nothing.
REASONS TO SNOOZE
Some people claim they can’t nap, yet no one is immune to the post-lunch slump, when our concentration drops off and our eyes long to close. That’s because this physiological drop in alertness in the afternoon is genetically hard-wired into all of us, but we’ve learned to ignore it in the service of our busy lives, often with the aid of stimulants such as caffeine and sugar.
In pre-industrialised cultures not touched by electricity, sleeping biphasically – in two bursts – was far more common, with a longer sleep at night of six or seven hours, and a chunky nap in the afternoon which, in hot countries, conveniently bypassed the hottest part of the day. The monophasic sleep system that’s now all
“Approach a nap as you would a session of mindfulness, only this time you’re allowed to drift off”
pervasive, with our rest confined to one big sleep at night, may not actually be what our bodies were designed to do. Resist the nap and we resist our biology.
If we allow ourselves to nap, though, we reap huge gains. Naps increase alertness and creativity, lower stress and improve motor skills and memory. “Naps can give, in terms of learning and memory, almost as much benefit as a whole night of sleep,” says Matthew Walker, neuroscientist and author of Why We Sleep: The New
Science of Sleep and Dreams (Penguin).
Naps of around 90 minutes deliver the biggest benefits, providing enough time for our brains to complete a full sleep cycle with both REM sleep, in which we dream, and non-REM sleep. But even a short nap of 15 to 20 minutes will reset our system, delivering a shot of alertness and brightening our mood.
HIT THE SACK
The trick is to reconnect with that human need for an afternoon sleep. It’s lurking there, in our biology, after all, but often we’re too in thrall to the cult of busy-ness to nap, seeing it as time wasted. If you’re not a natural napper, approach a nap as you would a session of mindfulness, only this time you’re allowed to drift off. Find a comfortable spot where you can close your eyes and focus on your breathing. Count your breath and guide your mind back to this simple activity each time it scurries off. Open yourself to the possibility of sleep and remind yourself of the boost to your energy and alertness you’ll get from this short break.
Over time you can work out what kind of nap suits you best. Experiment and explore – napping is typically more hobby than habit, since most of us work. Many seasoned nappers enjoy daytime dozing that’s different to how they sleep at night, opting for an armchair over a bed, curtains open rather than drawn. Some people can nap with noise, others require a quiet spot, an eye mask or earplugs. Feeling warm will help you drift off and stay asleep, so a blanket is essential, while the addition of a cat or dog, curled against your legs, is optional.
Reluctant daytime sleepers cite grogginess, or ‘sleep inertia’ as it’s officially called, as a reason to avoid napping, but experimenting with nap durations will help you figure out which length of sleep suits you best: the perky power nap – the espresso of the napping world – or a restorative 90-minute slumber. With practice, you’ll begin to wake naturally after sleeping for the optimal amount. Ideally, avoid setting an alarm to rouse you from your nap, as this sudden aural assault is damaging for your cardiovascular system, producing a spike in heart-rate and stress chemicals.