Nap duration for optimal refreshment without grogginess disclosed by specialist
Nap like a champ with these expert tips from Dr. Hana Patel and Andres Moran:
How long should a nap be?
The perfect nap duration varies for everyone, depending on sleep habits and needs. The sweet spot for a quick-hit boost in alertness and energy is usually around 20 minutes. But when you're particularly sleep-deprived, longer naps like a 90-minute power snooze can offer more restorative benefits, though they carry a higher risk of disrupted nighttime sleep.
Perks of a 20-minute nap
These brief catnaps during your circadian rhythm's natural dip offer several advantages for alertness, mood, and cognitive function. According to Andres Moran, they facilitate memory consolidation, cellular repair processes, and neurotransmitter regulation. In essence, your brain gets a chance to clear metabolic waste and consolidate information from the day.
Advantages of a 90-minute nap
Longer naps of 90 minutes can be useful if you've been really hitting the wall, but Moran advises caution as they heighten the risk of grogginess and sleep disruption. While napping can't replace a quality night's rest, a 90-minute nap completes a full sleep cycle, helping you make up for sleep debt, especially when you're struggling to get enough restorative sleep at night. Waking up at the 90-minute mark can also minimize sleep inertia, a side effect of being abruptly jolted awake during sleep.
Nap or sleep: what's the difference?
Sleep and naps may seem similar, but their essential sleep stages make all the difference. Sleep is a longer, restorative period at night that includes four stages: three non-rapid eye-movement (NREM) stages and one rapid eye-movement (REM) stage. During quick naps between 10 to 20 minutes, you only enter the first two NREM stages, which are the lightest stage of sleep and help with memory consolidation and cellular repair.
Top tips for the perfect nap:
Nap between 1 pm and 3 pm
Moran recommends napping from 1 pm to 3 pm, and Dr. Patel concurs. This time window falls during your body's natural circadian rhythm dip, so napping later can disrupt nighttime sleep. A nap during this period can help you power through the afternoon slump and tackle your tasks with increased energy and focus. Remember to nap at least six to eight hours before bedtime to ensure a good sleep drive at night.
Keep it short and avoid hitting snooze
Both experts warn against overreliance on napping as an alternative to good sleep. Short naps are best for maintaining nighttime sleep routines. Set an alarm to keep your nap length limited—around 20 minutes for maximum alertness—and avoid hitting the snooze button to prevent entering a deeper sleep phase and disrupting your natural sleep cycle.
Have a post-nap plan
Just as morning sunlight clears up the sleepy hormone melatonin and boosts alertness, exposure to bright light and fresh air post-nap can help balance your alertness hormones. This simple post-nap plan can also shake off any grogginess and help you get the energy boost you sought during your nap.
In the context of health-and-wellness and lifestyle, longer naps like a 90-minute power snooze can provide more restorative benefits, even though they might increase the risk of disrupted nighttime sleep (Nap or sleep: what's the difference?). On the other hand, brief naps during the natural circadian rhythm dip around 20 minutes can facilitate memory consolidation, cellular repair processes, and neurotransmitter regulation, improving alertness, mood, and cognitive function (Perks of a 20-minute nap). It's essential to consider nutrition, alongside fitness-and-exercise and sleep, for overall health and wellness, as a balanced diet can contribute to better sleep quality (Nutrition and sleep connection).
