If you are deprived of sleep or just want to relax, you may consider napping. Napping has its benefits; however, if you nap at the wrong time of day or for too long, it could boomerang. With our lifestyle, people are becoming more and more sleep deprived. Whilst naps do not essentially make up for insufficient night time sleep, napping for 20 – 30 minutes enhances your mood, attentiveness as well as performance.
Benefits And Side Effects Of Afternoon Naps
Naps offer you various benefits, including:
- Reduced exhaustion
- Relaxation
- Better mood, lifting of spirits.
- Increased alertness, sharpening of your senses.
- Improved performance, more productivity.
- Taking a nap during the day can make up (to some extent) for a night’s sleep that was insufficient and restless. Studies and clinical trials are verifying that taking a nap is quite helpful for those who aren’t getting sufficient sleep at night.
Drawbacks associated with napping include:
- Some people cannot sleep during the day or may find difficulty in sleeping in a place other than their own bed.
- You could experience grogginess and disorientation after waking up from a nap.
- By and large, short naps do not affect night time sleep quality. On the other hand, in case you experience poor sleep quality or sleeplessness at night, napping will worsen your problems.Long naps in the afternoon hamper night time sleep.
- If you are either an insomniac or have episodes of depression, you should steer clear of naps in the afternoon, studies and research say. If you are suffering from insomnia, sleeping during the day can make your sleep at night worse. In case you are depressed, napping during the day will aggravate your symptoms of depression.
- It is very vital to remember that you should not nap for more than 90 minutes. If you do so, you upset your body’s internal rhythm, which will set off results which are not favorable.
You may consider napping in the afternoon, if you:
- Experience new weariness and tiredness or out of the blue sleepiness in the afternoon or evening.
- Are about to experience sleep loss, like – because of a long work shift.
- You wish to make afternoon nap a part of your daily routine.
How To Get The Most Out Of A Power Nap?
- Keep your naps short. Make sure you sleep only for 15 – 30 minutes. If you have a long nap, you are more likely you are to feel groggy when you get up.
- Sleep in the afternoon. The most optimal time for a nap is typically mid afternoon, about 2.00 p.m. This is when you tend to experience post lunch drowsiness or reduced attentiveness. What’s more, naps taken during this time will not interfere with your night time sleep. However, remember that factors such as – your requirement for sleep and your sleep plan will have a role to play in determining the ideal time of day for you to nap.
- Fashion a peaceful environment for yourself, where you won’t be disturbed. You must sleep in a quiet, dark place, having a comfortable room temperature with minimum diversions.