Everyone loves a good nap, but what is the healthy amount of time to nap?
Napping can offer many benefits, such as relaxation, reduced fatigue, increased alertness, improved mood, and improved performance. However napping at the wrong time of the day or for too long can backfire on a person.
Napping isn’t for everyone, some people just simply cannot sleep during the day. Napping also has negative effects such as sleep inertia and problems sleeping at night. Sleep inertia is the feeling when you wake up groggy and disoriented after a nap.
You might want to consider taking a nap if you experience a new fatigue or unexpected sleepiness, you know you are going to experience sleep loss, or you want to make planned naps part of your daily routine.
Napping with your legs elevated can help many health factors. Some include helping improve blood circulation, minimize chronic back pain and sciatica symptoms, reduces edema in the legs and feet, lessen risk of swollen feet and tired leg pain, alleviate symptoms of varicose veins and lymphedema, and prevent DVT.
The best way to take a nap and get the most out of your naps is to follow these important tips. Keep your naps short, aim to keep your naps around 10 to 20 minutes long. Take naps in the early afternoon because napping after 3pm can interfere with your regular nighttime sleep schedule. Make sure when you are napping that you have a restful environment, have a quiet and dark place with very few distractions.
After napping, give yourself time to wake up before resuming to your day.
