For a typical American toddler, naps are a much-despised part of the prescribed daily routine. As we age, though, naps become rarer – yet more desirable – with each new stage of life. napping may be less commonly practiced by adults, [but] napping is a common and valued practice in many other areas of the world Napping can have benefits for energy, cognitive functioning and creativity in the short term. Furthermore, napping can be a short-term solution to help improve alertness when individuals are not getting sufficient sleep at night. But the downside to napping is that it can interfere with sleep at night, and you may feel groggier upon awakening. Schedule permitting, beginning with a brief afternoon nap of 20 minutes or less, several days a week, can be helpful to assess if napping improves mood or functioning or interferes with nocturnal sleep, and to give your body time to develop a napping routine. To protect night sleep, avoid late-day naps or napping for too long. Napping can be a learned behavior. If you do it consistently, your body can anticipate the nap and learn to fall asleep quickly. A trial-and-error approach can help many individuals determine whether napping is a useful behavior for themselves. The challenge with napping is finding the right duration and time of day. Naps can happen anywhere that is safe and comfortable. However, aim for midafternoon: There is naturally circadian dip in alertness, yet there is plenty of time to build up the drive to sleep before bed. You can nap too much if you find that it interferes with your sleep at night. Sleeping too much during the day or too close to nighttime sleep (e.g., napping in the late afternoon or evening) can interfere with your drive to sleep. As a result, you might have difficulty falling asleep, or your sleep may not be as deep.
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Monday, May 19, 2025