Napping: Do's and don'ts for healthy adults

If you're sleep deprived or just looking for a way to relax, you might be thinking about taking a nap. Napping at the wrong time of day or napping for too long can backfire though. Understand how to get the most out of a nap.

Napping offers various benefits for healthy adults, including:

• Relaxation.
• Less tiredness.
• More alertness.
• Better mood.
• Improved performance, including quicker reaction time and better memory.

Napping isn't for everyone. Some people have trouble sleeping during the day. Or they have a hard time napping in places other than their own beds.

Napping also can lead to issues such as:

• Feeling groggy right after waking. This is known as sleep inertia. That groggy feeling could make it harder to work and feel alert right after a nap. But it often goes away within about 35 minutes.
• Trouble sleeping at night. For most people, short naps don't tend to affect sleep quality overnight. But if you have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep at night, napping might make these problems worse. Long or frequent naps might interfere with nighttime sleep.

Some research also links naps longer than an hour a day with higher risks of conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes and heart disease.

Think about making time for a short nap if you:

• Start to feel tired or sleepy during the day.
• Are about to lose some sleep — for example, due to a long work shift.
• Want to make planned naps part of your daily routine.

Talk with your healthcare professional if you feel the need to nap more than usual. It's extra important to have this talk if you feel sleepy or tired after you wake up in the morning. You might be getting poor sleep at night due to a certain medicine, sleep disorder or another health condition.

To get the most out of a nap, try these tips:

• Keep naps short. A 20- to 30-minute nap is ideal. Try not to snooze more than 30 minutes on a regular basis. The longer you nap, the more likely you are to feel groggy afterward.
• Take naps in the early afternoon. Napping after 3 p.m. can make it harder for you to sleep soundly at night. Factors such as your need for sleep, sleeping schedule, age and medicine use also can play roles in figuring out the best time of day to nap.
• Create a restful space. Nap in a quiet, dark place with a comfortable room temperature. Limit distractions such as TVs, computers, phones and other devices.

After you nap, give yourself time to wake up before you get back to your activities. This is key if you need to do a task that requires a quick or sharp response.