The Benefits of Napping & How to Fit It In

Napping is a brief period of sleep or rest during the day, usually in the early afternoon. Nighttime sleep gives your body time to cycle through several full sleep cycles. A nap is meant to be a shorter rest.

A good nap complements nighttime sleep rather than replacing it. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society recommend that the average adult sleep 7 or more hours a night on a regular basis, and the AASM's 2021 position statement links chronic short sleep with poorer physical and mental health.

For more on why sleep matters for energy, weight management and recovery, see our full guide to the importance of sleep.

Research suggests short daytime naps can help alertness, thinking and mood. The effects are real and mostly modest. Here's what the studies found, with their size and limits.

Boosts energy & alertness

The most noticeable benefit of a nap is feeling more awake afterward. A brief nap reduces daytime sleepiness and helps you focus through the afternoon, especially after a poor night, an early start or the classic post-lunch slump.

A systematic review and meta-analysis of 11 studies and 381 working-age adults found that cognitive performance improved after a daytime nap, with the biggest gain in alertness. One caveat: the average nap in those studies was about 55 minutes, longer than the naps recommended here, and the benefit showed up mainly in the 2 hours after waking. Research on afternoon naps also suggests that timing and length matter, with short naps giving benefits while lowering the chance of waking groggy.

May support memory & learning

A short nap may also help your brain process and keep new information.

A 2022 systematic review and meta-analysis pooled 54 studies and found afternoon naps gave small to moderate benefits across cognitive tests, including memory, vigilance and processing speed. The benefit held across ages and nap lengths.

A nap won't replace studying, practice or a full night of sleep. But if you're learning something new or getting through a mentally demanding day, a short nap can give your brain a useful reset.

Can improve mood

A short nap may leave you calmer, more patient and less irritable.

In a 2023 study of 32 young adults who were short on sleep, naps of 10, 30 and 60 minutes all improved mood and reduced sleepiness for up to 4 hours afterward. Only the 30-minute nap improved memory, and the 30- and 60-minute naps caused sleep inertia, the heavy, foggy feeling of waking from deeper sleep, though it faded within 30 minutes. The authors concluded a 30-minute nap gave the best trade-off. It was a small lab study, so treat it as a strong signal rather than proof.

Even resting quietly for 20 minutes can ease mental overload. You don't always have to fall into deep sleep to benefit from a midday pause.

May help after a poor night of sleep

A short nap can help after a night of poor or short sleep. It may reduce sleepiness, lift your mood and help you function through the day.

Still, treat it as short-term support. If poor sleep happens regularly, improving your nighttime sleep is the priority. A nap is a reset button, not a replacement for steady, restorative sleep.

May support creativity & problem solving

Have you ever stepped away from a problem and come back with a better idea? Rest may give your brain room to reorganize information and make new connections.

Creativity is harder to measure than alertness or reaction time, so the evidence here is thinner. Many people still find a short nap sends them back to writing, planning or problem solving with a clearer head. A nap won't do the work for you, but it may help you approach it with more clarity.

Napping as part of a healthy routine

Napping isn't automatically good or bad. The effect depends on the person, the reason for the nap, its length and its timing.

Two large 2024 meta-analyses of cohort studies make the length point clearly. In 21 studies of 371,306 people, naps under an hour showed no link to death or heart disease, while naps of an hour or more were linked to a 22% higher risk of death and a 37% higher risk of cardiovascular disease. In 44 studies of more than 1.8 million people, naps of 30 minutes or longer were linked to higher risks of death, heart disease and metabolic disease, while naps under 30 minutes were not.

These are observational studies, so they don't prove long naps cause poor health. Long or frequent naps may instead be a sign of poor nighttime sleep, sleep apnea, chronic stress, medication effects or another underlying issue.

The practical takeaway is simple: keep naps short, use them as a recovery tool, and don't rely on long daytime sleep in place of good nighttime rest.

Not all naps feel the same. Length strongly shapes how you feel afterward.

If you regularly need 90-minute naps, look at your nighttime sleep. And if you're new to napping, start at 10 to 20 minutes and adjust from there.

For most adults, the best time to nap is early afternoon, often between 1 and 3 p.m. It fits the dip in alertness many people feel after lunch and leaves enough time before bed. Mayo Clinic notes that napping after 3 p.m. can make it harder to sleep soundly at night.

Avoid late-afternoon and evening naps, especially if you already have trouble falling asleep. A nap should make your day more balanced, not your night harder.

What you eat affects your energy, your sleepiness and how well you rest.

Very large or heavy meals can leave you sluggish, while skipping meals can bring low energy, cravings and trouble focusing. Balanced meals with protein, fiber-rich carbohydrates and healthy fats support steadier energy through the day.

That part is easier said than done on a busy day, which is where planning helps. Clean Eatz Kitchen meal plans are chef-cooked, portion-controlled meals that heat in a few minutes, so a balanced lunch doesn't depend on having time to shop and cook. Each meal's calories, protein, carbs and fat are on our Nutrition Info page, and there's no subscription.

When your meals are more consistent, your energy often is too, and that makes your afternoon routine, including a short nap if you need one, work better.

Napping helps many people, but not everyone. You may want to limit or skip naps if any of these apply.

You have trouble sleeping at night

If you have insomnia, naps can reduce the sleep pressure that helps you fall asleep at bedtime.

If you do nap, keep it short and early. If even short naps make your nights worse, skipping them may be the better choice.

You feel worse after napping

Some people are more sensitive to sleep inertia. If you wake up groggy, heavy or foggy, try a shorter nap of 10 to 15 minutes. If that still doesn't help, napping may not be your best strategy.

You need long naps every day

If you regularly need long naps to function, something else may be going on. Poor sleep quality, sleep apnea, chronic stress, medication effects, depression, nutritional gaps and some medical conditions can all cause excessive daytime sleepiness.

You work shifts or keep an irregular schedule

Shift workers may need to nap at different times to manage sleep debt and stay safe. Timing then depends on your work hours, your commute and when you can actually sleep. A personalized sleep plan will help more than general nap advice.

Napping can be a useful way to recharge your body and mind when you do it on purpose. Short naps, around 10 to 30 minutes, can improve alertness, mood and thinking without disrupting your night.

The approach is simple: nap early, keep it short, set an alarm, and notice how you feel afterward.

A nap should support your sleep routine, not replace it. If you're constantly exhausted or need long naps every day, your body may be asking for more support, starting with better nighttime sleep, balanced meals, stress management and, when needed, professional help.

So yes, take the nap. Just make it a smart one.

This content is for educational purposes only and doesn't replace personalized professional advice.