It is 2 p.m., and your energy is low. You don’t want to slam another cup of coffee, and you’re not sure you will make it to the 5 o’clock bell. Is it maybe time for a nap?
If you are thinking about taking a quick afternoon snooze, you might be wondering one thing. Are naps good for you?
Let’s get into the benefits and drawbacks of naps and, along with the help of Casper, discuss how to get the best nap possible.
The Benefits Of Naps
There are many upsides to taking a nap. While we know they can make us feel more rested, there are some other great benefits as well:
- Improves your memory. One study found that subjects who took a 45-minute time had an easier time remembering word pairings than those subjects who had not taken a nap (1).
- Helps with your mood. We’ve all felt grumpy because of a lack of sleep. Studies have shown that naps can decrease impulsivity and lessen feelings of frustration (2).
- Makes you more alert. NASA pilots were much 54 percent more alert after taking a daily nap. Their performance also increased by 34 percent (3).
The Drawbacks of Naps
There are so many benefits to naps, but there are some downsides as well. Take these into account if you are considering adding naps to your routine:
- Can make it difficult to fall asleep at night. Especially if you struggle with insomnia, longer naps and naps too late in the day can impact your nighttime sleep.
- Sleep inertia. This is the feeling of grogginess that comes after a long sleep. If you nap too long, you can enter a different a later stage of sleep. If this happens, you might wake up and feel more tired than when you went to sleep.
Are Naps Good For Your Heart?
Studies have shown that people who take short naps could actually decrease their risk of heart disease. During one study, researchers focused on a cohort of 36,000 subjects for many years (4). They found that those subjects who napped occasionally had 12 percent less chance of dying from cardiovascular heart disease. What’s more, those who napped regularly decreased heart disease risk by 37 percent!
However, we must note that these were short naps. Other research has found connections between long daytime naps and an actual increase in heart disease. In one analysis of 21 studies, researchers compared the data of over 307,000 subjects (5). Subjects who took naps longer than 40 minutes had an increased risk of metabolic syndrome. This includes high cholesterol, blood sugar, and blood pressure. These are all associated with heart disease.
Are Naps Good For Your Brain?
Naps have indeed been shown to help with brain function. Perception, memory, and motor skills have all been shown to improve after taking a short nap.
In a 2002 study, researchers found that subjects who took a midday nap were more perceptive during tests following the short rest (6). In addition, during another study, naps improved verbal memory and procedural motor skills more than caffeine or placebo (7)
Also, in a 2010 study, researchers tested how napping could help improve learning. Out of a group of 44 UC Berkeley students, those who napped during the day were able to learn more (8). The researchers hypothesized that naps could help clean out our short-term memory and allow us to store more new information.
Sleep Stages
This is a big thing to consider when you are planning out that perfect nap. You want to make sure that you are staying in the correct sleep stages so that you don’t wake up feeling groggy. Let’s look at the sleep stages one by one.
- Stage 1. This is when you are first falling asleep. You are sleeping very lightly, and it is very easy to wake you up.
- Stage 2. You are sleeping a bit more deeply, but it is still easy to wake you up. This stage lasts until about 20 or 30 minutes.
- Stages 3 and 4. At this point, you are sleeping deeply, and it will be hard to wake you up. This is restorative sleep where your body begins to heal and your immune system is strengthened. Stage 4 ends at around 90 minutes.
- REM Sleep. When you pass into REM Sleep, you are dreaming. Learning and memory solidify during this REM Sleep.
RELATED: Ultimate Guide To Naps
How To Get The Best Nap Possible
Okay, it’s time for that nap. How do you make sure it is the best, most restorative nap? Well, follow these quick tips:
- Make sure your nap isn’t too long. Looking at the sleep stages, you don’t want to pass into Stage 3 or Stage 4. If this happens, you can suffer from sleep inertia and wake up more tired than when you went to sleep. You want to shoot for the 10-30 minute window when it comes to napping.
- Aim for 2-3 p.m. for your nap time. If you work a 9-5 job, this is a great time to catch a nap. Anything later than that and you could be interfering with your nighttime sleep. Just don’t sleep through that afternoon meeting!
- Adjust your nap time if you are a shift worker. If you work overnights or some other non-traditional schedule, you might need to change your nap time. For instance, if you start work at 2 pm, that probably isn’t the best time to take a nap! Consult a nap wheel to find the best nap time for you.
- Sleep lying down. We’ve all caught a nap in a chair. However, this is not the best position for a nap. It is better to lie down, preferably on a mattress.
- Just have good sleep hygiene. Even if it is just a nap, you want to practice basic sleep hygiene. Make sure that you are sleeping in a cool, quiet, and dark place. If that isn’t possible, earplugs and an eye mask may come in handy.
Best Places To Nap
If you are thinking about taking a nap, where is the best place to do it? Your nap space could make the difference between a good and great nap.
- In a chair. If you are at work and ready to take that 2 p.m. siesta, a chair might be your only option. However, this is not the best position for napping. Studies have shown that, while you could get decent rest in a chair, you won’t be as alert as if you had slept lying down (9)
- On a couch. This is a better option than a chair, but it is still not ideal. While you are lying down, you do run the risk of neck strain or other body aches. Personally speaking, as a very tall person, it’s pretty much impossible to find a couch to fit me anyway!
- On a mattress. Napping on a mattress really is your best bet. I personally napped on the Casper mattress quite a few times and found it to be a great mattress for napping. The Casper features a zoned construction which makes it a great fit for multiple sleeping positions. Even as a heavier person, I felt some nice pressure relief when I was on my side. On my back, I felt that firmer center area supporting my lumbar area.
Evening Naps Vs Afternoon Naps – Which Is Better?
As it says above, the time you take your nap can be as important as the duration of the nap. If you are trying to find the best time to take your nap, it probably isn’t going to be in the evening. Napping too late in the day can negatively affect your sleep that night. If you struggle with insomnia or other sleep conditions, an evening nap could just exacerbate the issue.
However, this is not a clear cut rule. For instance, if you are preparing for a night shift or an overnight work schedule, an evening nap could be very important to maintaining alertness throughout the night.
That being said, for most 9-to-5ers, that 2-3 p.m. window is ideal if you want to take a nap.
Overall
Just remember to keep the nap short and don’t take the nap too late in the day. If you keep this in mind, you should be taking a great nap in no time.
References
- Tucker, Matthew A., and William Fishbein. “Enhancement of Declarative Memory Performance Following a Daytime Nap Is Contingent on Strength of Initial Task Acquisition.” Sleep, vol. 31, no. 2, Feb. 2008, pp. 197–203.
- Goldschmied, Jennifer R., et al. “Napping to Modulate Frustration and Impulsivity: A Pilot Study.” Personality and Individual Differences, vol. 86, Nov. 2015, pp. 164–167.
- Rosekind, Mark R., et al. “Alertness Management: Strategic Naps in Operational Settings.” Journal of Sleep Research, vol. 4, Dec. 1995, pp. 62–63
- Naska, Androniki. “Siesta in Healthy Adults and Coronary Mortality in the General Population.” Archives of Internal Medicine, vol. 167, no. 3, 12 Feb. 2007, p. 296.
- Yamada, Tomohide, et al. “Daytime Napping, Daytime Sleepiness and the Risk of Metabolic Diseases: Dose-Response Meta-Analysis.” Endocrine Abstracts, 18 Oct. 2016
- Mednick, SC, et al. “The Restorative Effects of Naps on Perceptual Deterioration,” Nature Neuroscience, 5 July 2002
- Mednick, Sara C., et al. “Comparing the Benefits of Caffeine, Naps and Placebo on Verbal, Motor and Perceptual Memory.” Behavioural Brain Research, vol. 193, no. 1, Nov. 2008, pp. 79–86.
- Mander, Bryce A., et al. “Wake Deterioration and Sleep Restoration of Human Learning.” Current Biology, vol. 21, no. 5, Mar. 2011
- Zhao, Dayong, et al. “Effects of Physical Positions on Sleep Architectures and Post-Nap Functions among Habitual Nappers.” Biological Psychology, vol. 83, no. 3, Mar. 2010, pp. 207–213.
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