Health & Fitness
How Long Should You Nap For The Greatest Brain Benefits?
Our ancient ancestors were napping creatures. We are not genetically hardwired to have only one sleeping and one waking cycle per day.
In 1973, I went to Greece for the summer. Many of the Greeks took a nap after lunch during the hottest part of the day and the shops closed down during this afternoon break. I thought it was strange, but I tried napping out and it was quite a recharging experience.
Some people find that if they take a mid-day nap that they wake up groggy and feel more fatigued than they did before their nap. Why would this happen? According to Dr. Michael Breus, if you take a nap which is about 30 minutes, you could end up in a deep sleep cycle and if you are awaken at that time and don’t wake up naturally, it could be much more difficult for you to wake up.
The Benefits of Napping:
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So what are the most ideal ways to nap? Napping can be seen as a quick reboot or boost for the brain. Think of when your computer is starting to perform slowly and things aren’t responding up to par, after you shut everything down and do a reboot, things are back up to speed. The brain is quite similar. As you nap, even for very short periods of time, benefits can be seen in a number of areas.
A study evaluating the recuperative effects of short and ultra short naps found that napping for 5-10 minutes can create a heightened sense of alertness and increased cognitive ability when comparing to not taking a nap at all.
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Sleep experts suggest that taking a 10-to-20-minute power nap can give you a quick burst of alertness and mental clarity.
The 30 minute nap is not the best idea for most people, since you may be forced to wake up in the middle of a deep sleep cycle and be very groggy, feeling more tired than you did prior to the nap.
According to Dr. Mednick, longer naps of 60 minutes or so are said to be good for increasing cognitive power. Dr. Mednick also states that the 90-minute nap will likely involve a full cycle of sleep, which aids creativity, emotional and procedural memory, such as learning how to ride a bike.
Waking up after REM sleep usually means less grogginess. When I was in Greece, that was about the length of my naps. I wasn’t on a time schedule, so I was able to wake up naturally.