Many of us get about an hour to an hour-and-a-half less sleep a night than we need. Waking from this stage results in sleep inertia, that grogginess and disorientation that can last for half an hour or more.īut you might want to take a long nap, at least 90 minutes. Otherwise, you may drift into slow-wave sleep. Limit your nap to 45 minutes or less, if you need to spring into action after dozing. Naps of up to 45 minutes may also include rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, which enhances creative thinking and boosts sensory processing. Caffeine requires 20 or 30 minutes to take effect, so it will kick in just as you're waking. To boost alertness on waking, you can drink a cup of coffee before you nap. During sleep, your brain's electrical activity goes through a five-phase cycle.Ī short afternoon catnap of 20 minutes yields mostly Stage 2 sleep, which enhances alertness and concentration, elevates mood, and sharpens motor skills. In designing the optimal nap you need to grasp its potential components. Jennifer Ackerman is the author of Sex Sleep Eat Drink Dream: A Day in the Life of Your Body But to understand how you can nap best, you need to understand your body.
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Naps make you brainier, healthier, safer. And last year, a British study suggested that just knowing a nap was coming was enough to lower blood pressure. A 2008 study in Düsseldorf showed that the onset of sleep may trigger active memory processes that remain effective even if sleep is limited to only a few minutes. Getting even the briefest nap is better than nothing.