Napping: how long to nap for real benefits
Sleep
Key points
- The best balance is 10 to 20 minutes.
- In an experiment, a 10-minute nap after short sleep gave the fastest boost in alertness and performance.
- Naps longer than 30 minutes more often cause sleep inertia, the groggy feeling after waking.
- Naps do not replace enough nighttime sleep.
Why nap
The circadian rhythm includes a natural dip in alertness in the early afternoon. A short nap can restore attention and mood, especially after a short night.
What the research shows
Nap length. In a laboratory study, healthy adults whose nighttime sleep had been restricted took naps of 5, 10, 20 or 30 minutes. The 10-minute nap produced immediate improvements in alertness and performance that lasted up to about 2.5 hours. The 20- and 30-minute naps also helped, but only after a period of grogginess (Brooks & Lack, 2006).
Review. A review of napping research concluded that short naps benefit alertness and performance in healthy adults, and that longer naps are more likely to cause sleep inertia, particularly when they include deep sleep (Milner & Cote, 2009).
How to nap well
- Keep it to 10 to 20 minutes; set an alarm.
- Nap in the early afternoon, before about 3 p.m.
- Lie down somewhere quiet and dark, or use an eye mask.
- If you need a long nap every day, look at your nighttime sleep first: adults need 7 or more hours (Watson et al., 2015).
Who should skip naps
- people with insomnia;
- people whose naps make it hard to fall asleep at night.
Frequently asked questions
Is a nap bad for insomnia?
People with insomnia are usually advised to avoid naps, because they reduce sleep pressure at night.
What is a coffee nap?
Drinking a cup of coffee right before a 15- to 20-minute nap, so the caffeine kicks in as you wake. Some studies suggest it boosts alertness, but avoid it late in the day.
Sources
- Brooks et al. (2006). A Brief Afternoon Nap Following Nocturnal Sleep Restriction: Which Nap Duration is Most Recuperative?. Sleep 29(6):831-840. doi:10.1093/sleep/29.6.831
- MILNER et al. (2009). Benefits of napping in healthy adults: impact of nap length, time of day, age, and experience with napping. Journal of Sleep Research 18(2):272-281. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2869.2008.00718.x
- Watson et al. (2015). Recommended Amount of Sleep for a Healthy Adult: A Joint Consensus Statement of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and Sleep Research Society. SLEEP. doi:10.5665/sleep.4716
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