Are naps a good thing? If so, what are the benefits? Leonardo da Vinci (1492-1519), the renowned artist and inventor, was a well-known napper. Purportedly, he slept only twenty minutes at a time every four hours.
Most of us couldn’t tolerate such a sleep schedule, but modern science has found that well-timed naps can offer a variety of health benefits, including improving alertness and memory, boosting mood, and even lowering blood pressure.
Napping is a popular topic that has spurred lots of online advice about how to get the most out of it. For example, DaVinci’s sleeping method is now known as polyphasic, in which an individual snoozes three or more times in 24 hours.
Another option called the Navy Sleep Nap went viral in 2019. This technique was reputed to take only 8-12 minutes and result in restful sleep.
The napping trend has even affected the workplace, with some companies providing nap rooms and some airports even offering sleep pods for weary travelers.
While online pundits have shared their visions of the perfect nap, health experts recommend:
There are many potential benefits of napping:
If you had a rough night sleeping, taking a nap can help mitigate some of the side effects of minor sleep deprivation. For individuals 55 and over, taking naps can certainly help to recover from nightly trips to the restroom or a generally restless night. Although a nap can't completely replace lost nighttime sleep, it can help alleviate the effects of a poor night's rest.
A short nap can restore alertness when you're feeling sleepy during the day. That's especially valuable before driving, exercising, or engaging in activities that require concentration. However, needing a nap every day because you're exhausted may signal that you're not getting enough quality nighttime sleep.
Like da Vinci, American inventor Thomas Edison was an atypical sleeper. He prided himself on sleeping no more than four hours nightly, but he would nap during the day and sometimes used a technique of sitting in a chair while grasping a metal ball in each hand. When he dozed off, the balls would clatter to the floor, waking him up. He reported that this short nap spurred his creativity and problem-solving ability.
Although Edison’s claim sounds far-fetched, a 2021 study confirmed the idea when it was found that subjects who woke after a few minutes of sleep were more likely to solve a math problem compared to those who did not nap.
Nap proponents say that a daytime snooze helps “recharge the batteries”. It turns out that this is backed by scientific evidence. Research has shown that a nap can improve attention, reaction time, decision-making, and mental performance.
During certain stages of sleep, the brain produces bursts of activity called sleep spindles. These brief brain waves help strengthen new memories and connect new information with things you already know. Researchers believe this is one reason naps can improve learning and memory. (The term “spindles” comes from the shape of the brain wave as measured on an electroencephalogram (EEG) recording.)
A short nap can reduce stress by lowering levels of mental fatigue and helping regulate mood. Many people wake feeling calmer, more patient, and better able to cope with everyday challenges.
Healthcare experts have long known that blood pressure naturally “dips” during nighttime sleep by 10-20%. This is because relaxation during sleep helps reduce activity in the sympathetic ("fight-or-flight") nervous system, allowing blood pressure to fall. More recent studies indicate that the same mechanism happens during a short nap.
With the combination of findings regarding lower blood pressure and stress reduction, researchers suggest that naps may contribute to overall cardiac health.
It shouldn't be ignored that while napping has many great advantages, it can also create some problems. Consider the following drawbacks before your next nap:
While taking a nap when tired can be a good idea, taking an excessively long nap or a nap at the wrong time of day can often lead to feeling groggy or sluggish. This sluggishness is also referred to as "sleep inertia".
Getting the best sleep at night can often come from building a continuous or consistent routine. If you nap too long during the day or nap too late in the afternoon, there’s the potential to reduce your natural sleep drive and throw off your sleep schedule, including making it harder to fall asleep at night and waking for long periods.
People with insomnia should be especially careful with naps because daytime sleep can make nighttime sleep even more difficult.
While occasional naps are perfectly normal, suddenly needing multiple naps or long naps every day may indicate an underlying issue such as:
If daytime sleepiness and too much napping become persistent even if you’re sleeping all night, consult your healthcare provider.
A nap is one of life’s smaller pleasures, but it works best when it stays in its proper place. It should refresh the day, not steal from the night. If you wake up feeling clearer, calmer, or more ready for what comes next, your nap probably did its job. If you find yourself needing long naps every day just to get through the afternoon, your body may be asking for a closer look at your nighttime sleep or overall health. Either way, there is no shame in closing your eyes for a while. Sometimes the smartest thing you can do is stop fighting the tiredness and let your body take the hint.
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