Naps can be rejuvenating, especially when you’re experiencing an afternoon slump, according to Wendy Troxel, Ph.D., psychologist and sleep specialist.
There’s a reason for that slump. According to Troxel, our natural circadian rhythms, which control when we feel most awake, experience a dip around 2 to 4 p.m. “It’s the time when most people start to feel sleepy,” she says.
Taking a short nap around then can boost cognitive function1 and help you feel more energized throughout the rest of the day. Naps can also restore alertness and help you weather feelings of tiredness as the day goes on, according to Janet Kennedy, Ph.D., clinical psychologist and founder of NYC Sleep Doctor.
Studies of the effects of napping on athletes have shown that naps improved their physical performances, reaction times, attention, and short-term memory2. Longer naps of around 90 minutes were found to be especially helpful to some athletes3. (However, sleep researchers warn that long naps can have some potential negative effects on your overall sleep health.)
“A short nap can really do a lot for a person’s attention, focus, alertness, and even learning and memory,” Kennedy says.
Hence why Ellen Vora, M.D., holistic psychiatrist, said in an Instagram video recently that she believes naps should be destigmatized.
“Culturally, we’re due for a destigmatizing process around napping, in terms of thinking about it as lazy,” Vora said. “We used to think, ‘Ah, I’ll sleep when I’m dead. Sleep is for the weak. It’s for the lazy.” But in the U.S., she continued, we’re starting to accept that sleep can be a “secret weapon” instead of a waste of time.
