8.8 Are Naps Effective?

You may have heard different opinions on napping and whether or not they are helpful. Although naps can’t substitute a good night’s sleep, they can help ensure that your body gets sufficient rest in a 24-hour period. Timing is important if you want to get the most from your naps. Naps can be problematic if they take place just a few hours before planned bedtime or if they last too long because it can make it difficult to wake up fully after the nap or fall asleep later when you are hoping for a longer sleep session. As far as when to nap, research is so far inconclusive, though the hours of 7 pm to 9 pm have been deemed the forbidden zone for napping by some researchers (Lavie & Weler, 1989). Some studies have shown immediate improvements in alertness or performance after even a 10-minute nap and slightly delayed alertness and performance benefits of 20- and 30-minute naps (Tietzel & Lack, 2002a; Tietzel & Lack, 2002b), but additional research also seems to indicate that a nap cannot make up for sleep deprivation. After extended periods of wakefulness, only an extended period of sleep will help someone return to baseline functioning (Dinges et al., 1987). Further, when it comes to your everyday nap, the Institute of Medicine’s Committee on Sleep Medicine (2006) recommends naps of no longer than two hours. In fact, naps longer than 30 minutes can lead to sleep inertia, which is characterized by confusion, grogginess, and reduced ability to think. Among college students, it has been shown that students who take longer naps during the daytime are more likely to report awakenings during the night and poorer overall sleep quality (Tsai and Li, 2004).

Expert Perspective: Are Naps Effective and How Should I Nap?

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