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How napping affects sleep
All other things being equal, what is better: an afternoon nap or getting more sleep at night? There is no correct answer of course, but the addition of 30-45 minutes in nighttime sleep does not significantly affect measures of vigilance and daytime sleepiness the next afternoon.
Mid-day naps do improve performance on the psychomotor vigilance test. They make people less sleepy in the afternoon. Caffeinated beverages also help us over the mid-afternoon hump more than extra sleep at night, too.
The timing of the nap affects your sleep architecture. Morning naps and afternoon naps differ, with people tending to drift off faster in the afternoon for longer naps with more slow-wave deep sleep than morning naps.
Naps over 30 minutes usually bring post-nap inertia, though. If the sleeper goes into Stage 3, slow-wave sleep, it will be harder to wake up. The cognitive benefits of the longer naps last longer, too.
However, developing a habit of regularly taking long naps is associated with higher mortality rates, especially among the older population.
Mid-day naps do improve performance on the psychomotor vigilance test. They make people less sleepy in the afternoon. Caffeinated beverages also help us over the mid-afternoon hump more than extra sleep at night, too.
The timing of the nap affects your sleep architecture. Morning naps and afternoon naps differ, with people tending to drift off faster in the afternoon for longer naps with more slow-wave deep sleep than morning naps.
Naps over 30 minutes usually bring post-nap inertia, though. If the sleeper goes into Stage 3, slow-wave sleep, it will be harder to wake up. The cognitive benefits of the longer naps last longer, too.
However, developing a habit of regularly taking long naps is associated with higher mortality rates, especially among the older population.