22 Facts About Naps

After a long stressful day, what better way to recharge than a nap? There's no better feeling than napping a bit before getting back to work. But there's more to napping than you might think. Here are 22 facts about napping.

Before we begin, we'd like to express our gratitude to each and every one of you for watching this video and supporting our community. Even though you should be taking naps right now, with your help, we're able to make psychology more accessible to everyone. Now onto the facts:

1. It doesn't mean what you think

If you know you have to pull an all-nighter, try a prophylactic nap. Typically, these naps last for about 90 minutes. It's a short nap in advance of expected sleep deprivation that will help you stay alert for up to 10 hours afterwards.

2. You can't avoid that down period after lunch

By not eating, human bodies naturally go through two phases of deep tiredness: between 2 to 4:00 AM and between 1 to 3:00 PM. Skipping lunch won't help this period of diminished alertness and coordination.

3. Pick the right time

After lunch in the early afternoon, your body naturally gets tired. This is the best time to take a brief nap, as it's early enough to not mess with your nighttime sleep.

4. Our naps are great

A 90-minute nap improves alertness for 10 hours. Although with naps over 45 minutes, you risk what's known as sleep inertia - that groggy feeling that may last for 15 to 30 minutes.

5. But short naps are the best

For healthy young adults, naps as short as 20 to 30 minutes can help mood, alertness, and performance. Drink coffee first. The way this works is that you drink a cup of coffee right before taking your 20-minute or half-hour nap, which is precisely how long caffeine takes to kick in. That way, when you wake up, you're not only refreshed but ready to go.

6. The NASA nap

A little group called NASA discovered that just a 26-minute nap increases performance by 34% and alertness by 54%. Pilots take advantage of NASA naps while planes are on autopilot.

7. Can't sleep

Don't stress. Even if you can't fall asleep for naps, just laying down and resting has benefits. Studies have found resting results in lowered blood pressure, which even some college kids have to worry about if they are genetically predisposed to high blood pressure.

8. Napping may save your life

A multi-year Greek study found napping at least three times per week for at least 30 minutes resulted in a 37% lower death rate due to heart problems.

9. More nap benefits for the brain

Not only will napping improve your alertness, it will also help your decision making, creativity, and sensory perception.

10. But wait, there's more

Studies have found napping raises your stamina by 11%, increases ability to stay asleep all night by 12%, and lowers the time required to fall asleep by 14%.

11. The ultimate nap

According to Doctor Sarah Mednik, the best nap occurs when REM sleep is in proportion to slow-wave sleep. Use her patented "take a nap" nap wheel to calculate what time of day you can take a nap to the max.

12. Fight the Freshman 15

Research shows that women who sleep five hours at night are 22% more likely to experience major weight gain than those sleeping seven hours. A two-hour nap isn't feasible for many, but napping is a good way to make up for at least some last night's sleep.

13. If it was good enough for them

Presidents JFK and Bill Clinton used to nap every day to help ease the heavy burden of ruling the free world. Of course, they also had other relaxation methods, but we won't get to those.

14. Do like the Romans do

In ancient Rome, everyone, including children, would be treated to a two to three-hour nap after lunch. No doubt this is the reason the Roman Empire lasted over 1,000 years.

15. Don't wait too long

The latest you want to wake up from a nap is five hours before bedtime. Otherwise, you risk not being able to fall asleep at night.

16. Sugar is not a good substitute for a nap

When we are tired, we instinctively reach for foods with a high glycemic index. But after the initial energy wears off, we're left more tired than we were before. Consider pairing proteins with carbs or fat for longer-lasting energy.

17. A good way to catch up

If it takes you less than five minutes to fall asleep at night, you are sleep-deprived. If you can never seem to get to bed earlier at night, a midday nap is a great way to catch up on sleep.

18. Underclassmen need more sleep

Freshmen and sophomores who are still in their teens need up to 10 hours of sleep to feel rested, so odds are they are sleep-deprived.

19. You'll have to leave the party sooner

After one school week of not getting enough sleep, three alcoholic drinks will affect you the same way six would when you are fully rested.

20. Don't drive drowsy

Don't be afraid to take advantage of an emergency nap on the side of the road in your car, as many as 100,000 traffic fatalities are caused by sleepy people behind the wheel.

21. The Einstein Method

If you are concerned about sleeping too long, do what Albert Einstein regularly did: hold a pencil while you're drifting off so when you fall asleep, the pencil dropping will wake you up. So, we don't guarantee you will wake up with a 180 IQ.

22. Missing sleep is worse at your age

For people ages 18 to 24, sleep deprivation impairs performance more significantly than in other age brackets.

How do you like your naps? Let us know in the comments below.