Sleep · Protocol 7 of 15
Nap smart, not long
1In 30 seconds
If you need a nap, keep it to about 20 minutes and never longer than 90 minutes. A short nap sharpens focus without leaving you groggy. Skip naps altogether if you struggle to fall asleep at night.
2Picture it
3Why do it
- 1
A 15 to 20 minute nap can lift your concentration, mood and energy for the rest of the day.
- 2
Naps help your brain learn, so you can take in new information better after one.
- 3
A longer nap of up to 90 minutes can help you process a hard emotional day.
4How to do it
- Nap only if you feel you need to. If you struggle to drop off at night, skip naps and use the rest method in step 6 instead.
- For an energy and focus boost, set an alarm for 15 to 20 minutes. A 5 to 10 minute nap gives a smaller lift that fades sooner. You may hit snooze once for 5 minutes, but not twice.
- After an upsetting event, such as a loss or an argument, you can nap longer, but keep it under 90 minutes. Expect to feel groggy if you wake at around 45 minutes.
- If you are short on sleep, a 30, 60 or 90 minute nap is fine, but never go beyond 90 minutes or you may split your night-time sleep.
- Avoid napping so late that it pushes back your bedtime. Check whether you can still fall asleep easily at your usual time.
- For rest without sleep, lie down with your feet raised on pillows or a chair, close your eyes and rest for 10 to 15 minutes, without your phone.
5Make it work in India
- The post-lunch slump after a big plate of rice or biryani is common. Try a smaller portion of rice or rotis with more dal, sabzi and curd, then walk for 10 minutes after eating.
- At work, a quiet conference room, a break room or resting your head on your desk for 15 minutes can work well. Set a phone alarm and keep it face down.
- In many families, elders enjoy a long afternoon nap. If they then lie awake at night, suggest keeping it to about 20 minutes and getting more morning daylight instead.
6The long read: the science1 min read · tap to open
Sleepiness builds through the day for a simple reason. Every cell in your body burns a fuel called ATP. As it does, a by-product called adenosine slowly gathers in the brain. The more you think and move, the more adenosine piles up, and the stronger your pressure to sleep becomes. This is called sleep drive. Sleep clears adenosine away.
A nap clears some adenosine too. That is great when you are tired, but it is a problem if you already struggle to fall asleep at night. A 45 to 90 minute nap can wipe out enough sleep pressure to leave you lying awake later. So people with insomnia are usually better off without naps.
Short naps are the sweet spot. Within about 20 minutes you reach a light stage of sleep called N2. Here your brain produces bursts of activity called sleep spindles, which help store what you have learned and get you ready to learn more. In one study, people who napped for 90 minutes after learning held up much better later in the day than those who did not, by about 25 percent.
Longer naps of around 90 minutes include REM sleep, which helps with emotions. In another study, nappers rated faces as less angry and more happy by late afternoon than non-nappers did.
Grogginess after a nap, called sleep inertia, comes from waking during deep sleep. Keeping the nap to about 20 minutes avoids that, which is why the classic power nap works so well.
Good evidence Human studies show short naps improve alertness, learning and mood, but the best length varies, and results in older adults are mixed.
Questions people ask
I do not feel tired in the day. Should I nap anyway?
No. If you get through the day fine without one, there is no need to force a nap.
Can naps help my insomnia?
Usually not. Naps reduce the sleep pressure you need at night, so people with insomnia should generally resist them and see a sleep doctor if problems continue.
7Be careful
Never nap in a parked car with the engine and AC running in a closed space. If you feel the urge to nap every day despite a full night in bed, or you nod off while driving, see a doctor, as this can signal a sleep disorder.
8Try it for 7 days
Tap a day each time you napped 20 minutes or less.
From the book: “Nap (Correctly) to Offset Minor Sleep Deficits” (Sleep Protocol 7). Evidence rating and India notes are our own.