Should we be napping daily?

Research has shown yes but it depends. Napping two or three times a week as a full-grown adult has benefits to both our mental health and physical health. Odds are that if you’re getting good quality sleep throughout the night, you shouldn’t be needing to take a nap during the day. Life isn’t perfect and neither is our sleeping schedule. Approaching a nap should be seen as a healthy way to relax and rest. Needing a nap every day could be a signal for larger health problems because napping should help us balance our sleep by allowing us to catch up, otherwise oversleeping or depending on sleep could tip the scale.

Benefits of napping:

How long should naps be?

• Ideally 10–20 minutes. If you’re more tired than usual, consider extending your nap to 30 minutes.
• If you’re experiencing mental stress, 45–60 minutes has shown the best results for lowered blood pressure. Therefore, it’s best to nap from pressure-filled situations.
• Need to feel creative? REM sleep (occurs 70–90 minutes after sleeping) activates imagery and dreaming. Therefore a nap to increase creativity won’t be frowned upon. Just try to keep the nap under 2 hours.

When should I nap?

• Mid-afternoon (2 pm — 3 pm) since that’s when humans naturally dip in alertness. Therefore nap later if you’re well-rested or sooner if you are not.
• It’s not uncommon to be sleepy after lunch. Therefore a 10–30 minute nap is recommended by research and health experts.
• Any nap longer than 30 minutes can result in sleep inertia which is waking up to grogginess, disorientation and usually requires the person more time to wake back up and transition back to work.
• If you’re prepping for a long night ahead, its best to nap over attempting to power through with caffeine

You shouldn’t feel bad for taking naps in the afternoon. Personally, I thought naps were an indicator of poor sleeping habits and a result of not receiving enough rest during the night. Unaware of its benefits, I won’t be as hesitant to nap in the future to give my brain the extra boost/rest it deserves.

Sources:https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/ss/slideshow-health-benefits-of-napping

https://www.healthline.com/health-news/is-napping-good-or-bad-for-your-health