The short answer: yes, a short nap is good for most people. A nap of about 10 to 20 minutes, taken in the early afternoon, can lift alertness for a couple of hours without hurting your night’s sleep. Longer naps bring more grogginess, and studies link habitual daily naps of an hour or more to diabetes and other problems. If you have insomnia, it’s usually best to skip naps.
Napping is a tool. It works best when it’s short, early and occasional. If you’re napping because you’re tired all the time, the nap is treating a symptom, and our guide to why you’re always tired is the place to look for the cause.
Is napping good for you?
Napping is good for you when it’s short, because a brief nap boosts alertness and mood without cutting into night sleep. A NIOSH training module from the CDC says a nap of under 20 minutes can raise alertness for a couple of hours with little grogginess, and won’t disrupt sleep that night because it leaves your build-up of sleep pressure largely in place.
A 2006 study in the journal Sleep tested this directly. Twenty-four healthy adults slept about 5 hours, then took a nap at 3 p.m. A 10-minute nap gave immediate gains in alertness, energy, mood and thinking that lasted up to about 2.5 hours. A 5-minute nap did little.
There may be heart benefits too, though the evidence is thinner. In a Swiss study of 3,462 adults followed for about 5 years, people who napped once or twice a week had about half the risk of heart events such as heart attack or stroke, compared with people who never napped. Napping 6 or 7 days a week showed no lower risk.
How long should a nap be?
A nap should be about 10 to 20 minutes for most adults who want a boost without grogginess. The CDC’s NIOSH module recommends under 20 minutes for people on a daytime schedule, with an alarm set for 15 to 30 minutes to allow time to fall asleep. Here’s what each length tends to do:
| Nap length | What sources describe | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 5 minutes | Few benefits compared with no nap | Brooks and Lack, Sleep, 2006 |
| 10 minutes | Felt more alert right away; benefits lasted up to about 2.5 hours. Best overall in the study. | Brooks and Lack, 2006 |
| 20 minutes | Benefits showed up about 35 minutes after waking and lasted about 2 hours. You wake before deep sleep, so grogginess is mild. | Brooks and Lack, 2006; CDC NIOSH |
| 30 minutes | A spell of grogginess and poorer performance right after waking, then benefits lasting up to about 2.5 hours | Brooks and Lack, 2006 |
| About 60 minutes | Sleep reaches its deepest stage in about an hour. Waking from it can leave you working noticeably worse for a while. | CDC NIOSH |
| About 90 minutes | Roughly one full sleep cycle, so you’re more likely to wake from light sleep. Grogginess tends to clear within 15 to 30 minutes. | CDC NIOSH; NHLBI |
The NHLBI says a full sleep cycle runs about 80 to 100 minutes. A 90-minute nap can make sense for a shift worker before a night shift. For most people on a normal schedule, it’s too long, because it eats into the sleep pressure you need at bedtime.
What is the best time to take a nap?
The best time to take a nap is early to mid afternoon, around 2 to 4 p.m., when the body has a natural dip in alertness. The CDC’s NIOSH module names that window as a secondary time of high sleep pressure. It also says falling asleep is harder around 11 a.m. to noon, and in the 1 to 3 hours before your usual bedtime.
The Sleep Foundation suggests napping at least 8 hours before bedtime, which for most people means before 3 p.m. The National Institute on Aging advises avoiding naps in the late afternoon or evening. So if you go to bed at 11, aim to be up from any nap by about 3.
Why do naps make you more tired?
Naps can make you more tired because of sleep inertia, a short spell of grogginess after waking from deeper sleep. The CDC’s NIOSH module describes it as slower reactions, weaker short-term memory and slower thinking. It usually lasts under 30 minutes, but can stretch to an hour, and researchers have seen it last 2 hours.
Two things make it worse: a longer nap that reaches deep sleep, and being very short on sleep, which lets your brain drop into deep sleep faster. Give yourself time to come round before driving.
Is it bad to nap every day?
A short daily nap isn’t known to be bad for you, but long daily naps have been linked to health problems in several studies. These studies show links, not proof. Long napping may be an early sign of something else going on, such as poor night sleep or an illness, rather than the cause.
| Study | What it reported |
|---|---|
| Yamada, Scientific Reports, 2016 (meta-analysis, 288,883 people) | Naps of 60 minutes or more a day were linked to 46% higher odds of type 2 diabetes. Naps under 60 minutes were not, and risk didn’t rise with naps up to about 40 minutes. |
| Li, Alzheimer’s & Dementia, 2023 (1,401 people, up to 14 years) | Longer and more frequent naps were linked to a higher risk of Alzheimer’s dementia. The link ran both ways: more napping came before worse thinking, and worse thinking came before more napping. |
| Häusler, Heart, 2019 (3,462 people, about 5 years) | Daily napping looked linked to more heart events at first, but the link disappeared once other risk factors were taken into account. Nap length showed no link. |
So if a long afternoon nap has become a daily need, treat it as information. Ask what’s happening at night. Excessive daytime sleepiness on its own had twice the odds of diabetes in the Yamada analysis, which is one more reason to get it checked. If blood sugar is on your mind, see the signs of diabetes.
Who should avoid napping?
People with insomnia should usually avoid napping, because daytime sleep can make it harder to fall asleep at night. MedlinePlus advises people with insomnia not to nap during the day or in the evening. The NHS lists finding it hard to nap even when you’re tired as one sign of insomnia itself.
The Sleep Foundation adds that relying on naps instead of steady night sleep can feed fragmented sleep. If nights are your problem, put the effort there first. Hot flashes and night waking have their own answers in menopause and sleep.
How do you take a good nap?
To take a good nap, keep it short, keep it early and set an alarm. These steps come from the CDC’s NIOSH module and the Sleep Foundation:
- Pick your window: early afternoon, at least 8 hours before bed.
- Find a quiet, dark, cool spot. An eye mask or earplugs help at work.
- Set an alarm for 15 to 30 minutes so you get around 10 to 20 minutes of actual sleep.
- Get up when it rings. Hitting snooze risks slipping into deeper sleep.
- Stand, stretch or walk for a few minutes to shake off grogginess.
- Wait before driving or doing anything risky if you still feel foggy.
If you’re napping to make up for short nights, it helps to know your real number. Our guide to how much sleep you need has the hours by age and a simple way to find your own.
When should you see a doctor about daytime sleepiness?
See a doctor if you fall asleep during the day without meaning to, or if you need long naps even after a full night’s sleep. The NHLBI says nearly 40% of adults fall asleep during the day without meaning to at least once a month, and that it can be a sign of a sleep problem. Get checked if:
- You nod off at unwanted times, such as while talking or in traffic. The Sleep Foundation says this differs from napping and can point to a condition such as narcolepsy.
- Someone has told you that you snore loudly or stop breathing in your sleep
- Napping more comes with low mood, loss of interest or changes in appetite, which can signal depression or anxiety
- You’ve started napping much more than you used to, or your memory seems to be slipping
- You think a medicine is making you sleepy. Don’t stop or change it on your own; ask your doctor.
Also worth reading: leg cramps at night and what magnesium glycinate can and can’t do for sleep.
Your next step
Next time the afternoon slump hits, set an alarm for 20 minutes and lie down before 3 p.m. Note how you feel an hour later. And because a steady lunch makes the slump easier to ride out, the meal plan below has those already worked out.
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Quick questions
Is it bad to nap every day?
A short daily nap of 10 to 20 minutes isn’t known to be harmful. Long daily naps are another matter. A 2016 meta-analysis linked naps of 60 minutes or more a day to higher odds of type 2 diabetes, while shorter naps showed no link. If you need a long nap daily, it’s worth asking why.
Is a 2-hour nap bad?
A 2-hour nap is longer than most experts suggest for adults. You’ll likely pass through deep sleep, wake groggy and find it harder to fall asleep that night. Studies also link habitual long naps to diabetes and other problems. If you regularly need naps that long, talk to your doctor about your night sleep.
Is it bad to nap after eating?
Napping after lunch isn’t bad, and it fits the body’s natural afternoon dip in alertness, which the Sleep Foundation says is tied to your body clock more than the meal itself. Keep it to about 20 minutes and finish before about 3 p.m. so it doesn’t push back your bedtime.
Does napping cause dementia?
Napping hasn’t been shown to cause dementia. A 2023 study of 1,401 people found longer and more frequent naps were linked to a higher risk of Alzheimer’s dementia, but the link ran both ways, so napping may be an early sign rather than a cause. Tell a doctor about a big change in napping.
Does napping help with sleep debt?
A nap can ease the sleepiness that comes with sleep debt for a few hours. In a 2006 study, a 10-minute nap after a short night improved alertness for up to about 2.5 hours. It doesn’t replace night sleep, so the lasting fix is getting enough sleep most nights.
How long should a nap be to feel refreshed?
A nap of about 10 to 20 minutes is the best bet for feeling refreshed. You wake before deep sleep, so there’s little grogginess. The CDC’s NIOSH module suggests setting an alarm for 15 to 30 minutes to allow time to drift off. A 90-minute nap can also work, but it’s often too long for daytime schedules.
This article is general information, not medical advice. Regular, heavy daytime sleepiness can be a sign of a sleep disorder or another health problem, so see a doctor if you’re falling asleep when you don’t mean to. Don’t stop or change any medicine on your own; ask your doctor if you think one is making you sleepy.
Sources
- CDC NIOSH. Training for Nurses on Shift Work and Long Work Hours, Module 7: Nap Duration
- CDC NIOSH. Module 7: Nap Times
- CDC NIOSH. Module 7: Sleep Inertia
- Brooks A, Lack L. A brief afternoon nap following nocturnal sleep restriction: which nap duration is most recuperative? Sleep, 2006
- Häusler N, et al. Association of napping with incident cardiovascular events in a prospective cohort study. Heart, 2019
- Yamada T, et al. J-curve relation between daytime nap duration and type 2 diabetes or metabolic syndrome: a dose-response meta-analysis. Scientific Reports, 2016
- Li P, et al. Daytime napping and Alzheimer's dementia: A potential bidirectional relationship. Alzheimer's & Dementia, 2023
- NHLBI. Sleep Phases and Stages
- NHLBI. What Are Sleep Deprivation and Deficiency?
- National Institute on Aging. Sleep and Older Adults
- MedlinePlus. Changing your sleep habits
- NHS. Insomnia
- Sleep Foundation. Napping: Benefits and Tips