Are naps good for you, or are they just a guilty pleasure when you’re feeling tired? According to the studies, naps can be beneficial or detrimental depending on why you are taking them and how long your nap lasts.
If you’re sleep deprived, napping during the daytime may be necessary, but it is not an adequate replacement for a good night’s sleep, and if you want to make the most out of your nap, you can use a sound machine clock. This device can help you fall asleep faster and wake up refreshed.
Read on to know if naps are really beneficial for your health and overall sleep.
The Surprising Benefits of Napping for Your Brain
When you’re feeling tired, there’s nothing that compares to the feeling of an afternoon nap. The health benefits of taking an afternoon nap have been scientifically proven. Yes, there is nothing wrong with taking a nap. As a matter of fact, a short nap can boost your physical and mental health. Take a look at its benefits.
1. Stronger cognition
Napping makes you feel more alert. With this, your brain tends to function more efficiently. Studies also show that naps can reduce the adenosine level in your brain. Adenosine is a neurotransmitter that promotes sleep and is crucial in cognition.
2. Enhanced memory
Taking a power nap can also promote memory consolidation, a process where your brain turns information into long-term memory. A nap right after you learn something new seems to help you retain that information.
Other studies concluded that resting in the afternoon can help with perceptual learning, where you are able to differentiate between various stimuli, and episodic memory, where you can recall specific experiences or happenings.
3. Strengthened immunity
Power naps may also help strengthen your immune system. As stated by Dr. Fuksina, lack of sleep increases the release of pro-inflammatory markers and leads to immunodeficiency. In addition to that, counteracting it with napping for a period of several days can improve your immune system and cellular function.
Napping helps reduce the inflammatory cytokine levels and norepinephrine, a substance that helps control immunity.
How Napping Can Boost Your Physical Performance
Several studies have shown that napping during the day, ranging from 10 to 30 minutes, can increase your physical performance and make you more productive throughout the day. Naps have been shown to improve:
- Alertness
- Reaction time
- Psychomotor speed
Taking longer naps for about 20 to 90 minutes allows you to enhance your task performance and confidence, and helps you get through a complete sleep cycle with time in light sleep and deep sleep, which is when human growth hormone is released. You will also get some REM sleep, a sleep cycle that helps boost your memory.
The Science Behind the Perfect Nap Length
The length of naps can vary, and you don’t have to sleep for a certain amount of time for it to be effective. However, it is advisable to limit your nap to 20-30 minutes, as longer naps can leave you feeling sluggish and groggy, a condition called sleep inertia.
Sleep inertia refers to the drowsiness you can experience upon waking from a very long nap, which may significantly impair your cognitive performance throughout the course of a day. Usually, the groggy feeling doesn’t last longer than half an hour. What you can do is set an alarm to help limit your nap time. Stand up and move, and this will signal your body that your nap is over.
Longer naps may be beneficial, but can have a couple of other problems, including:
- Temporary grogginess: If you took a long nap, you may feel groggy immediately after you wake up. Additionally, as stated by Gamaldo, since you are sleeping longer, you may wake up from a deeper stage of sleep, which occurs later in the cycle, and feel light-headed.
- Inability to sleep at night: Individuals who take long naps during the day tend to have insomnia at night. “You might want to limit your napping if you experience insomnia, or if it’s taking you more than 30 minutes to fall asleep at night,” Gamaldo added.
When Naps Can Actually Be Bad for Your Sleep
Napping too much can negatively impact your overall health and can be an indicator of an underlying issue. As mentioned above, sleeping too much can leave you feeling groggy after you get up. Moreover, oversleeping has been linked to an increased chance of conditions, including:
- Obesity
- Heart disease
- Type 2 diabetes
- Early death
If you need a nap every day, these naps may indicate an overall sleep or health issue. If you’re struggling to sleep at night and feeling exhausted during the day or need long naps, talk to your doctor, who can help you create a plan for better sleep.
Practical Tips for Taking a Great Nap
The key to getting the best balance between naps that help and naps that hinder has to do with the length of time and when you’re snoozing during the day. Shorter naps provide you with the best benefits, whereas longer naps can make you feel worse.
If you want to take a nap, here are some tips for a beneficial power nap:
- Keep your naps brief
The recommended nap duration is around 20 minutes and should be no longer than 30 minutes, to prevent you from slipping into deep sleep and keep you from waking up feeling groggy.
- Avoid taking late naps
Taking a nap around the middle of the day or early afternoon may be best. Napping between 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. is suggested so that your nap won’t interfere with your nighttime sleep. Taking naps in the early evening may cause you to feel very alert later in the night, which could disrupt your sleep schedule.
- Find a quiet place to lie down and sleep
Your sleeping environment affects the quality and duration of your nap. Set up your environment as you would for nighttime sleep. Make it as cool, dark, and quiet as possible. You can also wear an eye mask or use a sound machine clock, if these help you.
- Stick to a routine
Studies show that individuals who nap habitually get better sleep at night.
Napping can give your mind and body a short rest. However, considering the duration of your nap is essential. Taking a long nap may leave you feeling sluggish and tired. Also, napping too late in the day may make it difficult for you to sleep at night.
Napping’s Role in a Healthy Lifestyle
Napping, when done in the right way, can reduce sleepiness and balance your hormones naturally. Here’s how napping can give you a healthy lifestyle:
- Improves your cognitive function
- It may be beneficial for your heart health
- Helps reduce your stress and anxiety
- Fights food cravings
- It can help improve your physical performance
When to Talk to a Doctor About Your Sleep Habits
Most people experience occasional sleep troubles, but if poor sleep or constant fatigue becomes part of your daily life, it may be time to seek medical advice. Talk to your doctor if you find yourself relying on long naps every day, struggling to fall or stay asleep at night, or waking up feeling unrefreshed even after a whole night’s rest. Other warning signs include loud snoring, pauses in breathing during sleep, or excessive daytime sleepiness that interferes with work or daily activities. A healthcare professional can help identify possible underlying issues — such as sleep apnea, insomnia, or other health conditions — and guide you toward better sleep habits and treatment options.
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