Napping: Benefits and Tips

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A nap is a short period of sleep that usually occurs during the day. For many adults, naps can help to tát maintain alertness or overcome daytime fatigue.

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Nap needs and the benefits of napping can vary among individuals. Knowing the facts about napping can help determine whether to tát take naps, and tips for better naps can enable healthier napping habits.

Naps can deliver a number of benefits. Brief naps can be restorative and reduce fatigue during the day. After a night of insufficient sleep, a nap may counteract daytime drowsiness . Naps can be particularly beneficial for shift workers who struggle to tát get enough sleep and have to tát be alert at irregular times.

A short daytime snooze may also boost workplace performance . A nap can improve cognitive functions such as memory, logical reasoning, and the ability to tát complete complex tasks.

Some studies have found that physical performance can also improve after napping . Athletes may experience improved endurance, reaction times, and cognitive performance if they take a daytime nap.

Napping may provide other health benefits. One observational study found that napping one or two times a week was associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular problems , such as heart attack, stroke, or heart disease. However, more research is needed to tát understand the complex ways that the frequency and duration of naps affect heart health.

Napping may also reduce the impacts of insufficient sleep. For example, a small trial found evidence that naps relieved stress and supported the immune system in people whose sleep was limited the night before.

Additionally, naps may contribute to tát the well-being of specific groups of people. For instance, a study of people diagnosed with intracranial aneurysms found that regularly napping was associated with a lowered risk of a rupture of the aneurysm.

What Are the Drawbacks of Napping?

Although there are a variety of benefits to tát napping, naps may have drawbacks for certain people. For example, for older adults, napping during the day is associated with self-reported sleep problems such as waking up frequently during the night.

Napping may have other negative health impacts. One study in Đài Loan Trung Quốc found that napping for more than thở 90 minutes was associated with high blood pressure in middle-aged and older women. Another study of older Chinese people found that taking naps longer than thở 30 minutes was correlated with a higher frequency of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease .

An analysis of multiple studies found that napping for more than thở 60 minutes a day was associated with an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes . Another large study of people living in France found napping to tát be more common in people living with anxiety or depression, obesity, high blood pressure, and type 1 and type 2 diabetes.

To date, it is not clear how exactly naps affect health. Much remains unknown about the relationship between naps and nighttime sleep, and how the frequency or length of naps influences well-being for different people.

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Whether at night or during the day, sleep unfolds in a series of stages that làm đẹp a sleep cycle.

Stage 1: Stage 1 is the lightest and briefest stage of sleep, lasting only one to tát seven minutes.
Stage 2: Stage 2 follows stage 1 and lasts about 10 to tát 25 minutes. During stage 2 sleep, the muscles relax, and body toàn thân functions slow. However, sleep in this stage is still relatively light.
Stage 3: Stage 3 is a deeper, more restorative stage of sleep, and it can be difficult to tát wake up while in this stage. Stage 3 usually lasts between đôi mươi and 40 minutes.
Rapid eye movement (REM): During REM sleep, the body’s muscles are temporarily paralyzed, and the eyes move quickly under closed eyelids. Dreaming tends to tát take place during REM sleep.

When sleep periods last several hours, the body toàn thân cycles through these stages several times. During a nap, though, there is not enough time to tát go through multiple sleep cycles.

In fact, during a short nap, a person may not be asleep long enough to tát spend much, if any, time in stage 3 or REM sleep. This can actually make it easier to tát wake up refreshed from a quick nap.

Longer naps, such as those lasting more than thở 30 minutes, can cause the sleeper to tát enter deep sleep, and deep sleep may start even sooner in people who are sleep deprived. Grogginess often results from being woken up during deep sleep.

To get the full benefits from nap time, it is important to tát consider where, when, and how long to tát nap. These and other factors can influence how a person will feel after waking up from a nap.

How Long Should a Nap Be?

In general, the best nap length for adults is about đôi mươi minutes and no longer than thở 30 minutes. Sleeping for đôi mươi minutes allows the napper to tát get a bit of light sleep to tát boost alertness without entering into deep sleep. Waking up from deep sleep can cause grogginess and actually worsen sleepiness.

In some cases, a longer nap of around an hour and a half may also be beneficial. This length of time allows the body toàn thân to tát cycle through the stages of sleep and avoids interrupting deep sleep. This type of longer nap may be especially helpful for emergency workers and shift workers who are trying to tát avoid fatigue.

Napping may be too much if it interferes with sleep at night. Sometimes a nap of 90 minutes or so sánh can be refreshing, but it may be problematic if it happens too late in the day. Dependency on naps, rather than thở consistent nighttime sleep, can contribute to tát fragmented sleep or sleep disorders such as insomnia.

However, naps may not affect everyone in the same way. Some research suggests that napping affects nighttime sleep primarily in older adults rather than thở young and middle-aged adults.

When to tát Take a Nap

Experts typically recommend that adults take naps eight or more hours before bedtime. For most people, that means napping before 3 p.m. Napping too late in the day may contribute to tát nighttime sleep problems.

For some people, naps may feel natural or even necessary after lunchtime. This is sometimes known as the post-lunch dip. While eating lunch may play a role in afternoon sleepiness, the post-lunch dip is linked to tát circadian rhythm. Circadian rhythm is the body’s internal clock that follows a 24-hour cycle. Within this cycle are two peak periods for sleepiness. The greatest peak is during the night, and the second one falls in the early afternoon.

Where to tát Take a Nap

A good sleep environment is cool, quiet, and dark. Having a comfortable nap setting can help prevent unwanted interruptions or awakenings.

For people who work from trang chủ, a bedroom is likely a good place for a short snooze since it is already phối up to tát promote sleep. Adding blackout curtains or a white noise machine to tát block out distractions may help both at night and during daytime naps.

In an office setting, accessories such as earplugs or an eye mask can reduce disruptions during nap time. When possible, naps should be taken in a space where interruptions are unlikely to tát occur. Some offices may even have nap pods or other quiet areas for relaxation or a short period of restorative sleep.

Benefits of napping include reduced sleepiness, better memory, improved learning, and balanced mood.

Remember to tát Set an Alarm

Before dozing off during nap time, phối an alarm for the desired nap length, which should generally be around đôi mươi minutes.

When the alarm goes off, tự not hit snooze to tát keep sleeping since this can risk entering deeper sleep. Setting a second alarm to tát go off shortly after the first one may help to tát avoid napping for too long.

Try to tát get up as soon as the alarm sounds and then stretch or walk around to tát shake off any post-nap sleepiness.

Consider Caffeine Naps

People taking a nap to tát get a boost of energy may benefit from drinking caffeine before napping. The brain and body toàn thân feel the impact of caffeine about 30 minutes after it is consumed, so sánh having caffeine right before a short nap may increase alertness after waking up.

Frequently Asked Questions About Naps

How Much Napping Is Too Much?

In many cases, napping longer than thở đôi mươi to tát 30 minutes can result in grogginess and diminished performance after waking up. In other words, napping too long can undermine the purpose of the nap.

For any individual, it is important to tát reflect on daily energy levels and sleep patterns, including nighttime sleep and the duration and frequency of naps. If fatigue or daytime sleepiness are negatively affecting work or other obligations on a regular basis, it may indicate a need to tát change sleep habits.

What Is the Best Time of Day to tát Nap?

For most people, the best time to tát take a nap is either just before or during the post-lunch dip. The post-lunch dip is the period of decreased alertness and productivity often experienced after a midday meal.

As a result, a brief snooze around 12:30 p.m. or around 2 p.m. may reduce afternoon sleepiness. Napping around this time may also help prevent a nap from interfering with nighttime sleep.

What Is the Difference Between Naps for Children and Adults?

Both children and adults may take naps, but there are usually differences in their nap habits. Newborns, infants, and toddlers require more sleep than thở adults, and it is common for them to tát have sleep periods during the day that supplement the sleep they get at night.

Babies may take one or more naps per day that can range between 30 minutes and 2 hours, depending on their age. Toddlers tend to tát take only one nap each day. Similar to tát adults, toddlers’ nap times should occur well before bedtime.

Also lượt thích adults, children’s nap environments should be không lấy phí of noise, excess light, or other distractions. Over time, children may reduce the time they spend napping or stop napping altogether.

What Is a Siesta?

Siesta is a Spanish word for a daily nap, typically taken after lunch. Some people may use the words siesta and nap interchangeably.

Historically, the Spanish work day was divided by a two-hour break for lunch and rest, so sánh time was phối aside for a siesta. Today a majority of people living in Spain tự not have a block of time in their schedule for a siesta.

Should I Change My Napping Habits?

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Your current napping habits may not fit perfectly with expert recommendations, but that does not necessarily mean the way that you nap is wrong. You should only change your napping habits if you are having problems with your nightly sleep or your energy level and concentration during the day.

If your napping patterns allow you to tát effectively perform in your personal and work life and tự not inhibit your nighttime sleep, you may not need to tát change the timing of your nap or nap length.

If you are not a regular napper, change may not be necessary. If you are able to tát function well each day without a nap, then napping may not be something you need to tát incorporate into your daily schedule.

How Do I Start Napping?

Developing a napping habit that works takes time. You may have to tát experiment with the timing, duration, and location of your nap.

If you are in the process of figuring out the right approach to tát napping, consider keeping a nap diary. You can record your sleepiness or fatigue levels before and after your nap, as well as where, when, and how long you napped. These recordings can help you track what type of nap is most effective for you.

When Should I Talk to tát a Doctor?

If you are struggling to tát get enough sleep at night and are regularly compensating with naps, consult your health care provider. Your doctor can help kiểm tra for potential sleep disorders contributing to tát poor sleep and identify strategies for improving your sleep hygiene.

Excessively napping can also be a symptom of a mental health disorder such as anxiety or depression. Liên hệ your doctor if you are experiencing other related symptoms, such as low mood, change in weight or eating habits, or a lack of interest in activities that you would normally enjoy.

Falling asleep unexpectedly or at unwanted times is different from napping and may be a sign of an underlying condition, such as excessive daytime sleepiness or narcolepsy. If you find that you are unable to tát stay awake during normal daytime hours, talk with your health care provider.

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Jay Summer

Written By

Jay Summer, Staff Writer

Jay Summer is a health nội dung writer and editor. She holds a B.S. in psychology and master's degrees in writing and public policy.

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Medically Reviewed by

Dr. Abhinav Singh, Sleep Medicine Physician MD

Dr. Singh is the Medical Director of the Indiana Sleep Center. His research and clinical practice focuses on the entire myriad of sleep disorders.

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