However, research has shown that a 1-hour nap has many more restorative effects than a 30-minute nap, including a much greater improvement in cognitive functioning. The key to taking a longer nap is to get a sense of how long your sleep cycles are and try to awaken at the end of a sleep cycle.
Naps for adults should be no more than an hour and probably best kept to the 15- to 20-minute range. Anything beyond that – especially considering the time of day – could have consequences. We caught up with sleep medicine specialist Nancy Foldvary-Schaefer, DO, MS, for more insight on how long your nap should be.
According to Michael Breus, a fellow of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and one of upwave's sleep experts, 60-minute naps can help improve memory-related tasks. "Sixty-minute naps improve memory," he says, "though because they can make you groggy, taking a shorter nap is usually a better option."
In general, the best nap length for adults is about 20 minutes and no longer than 30 minutes. Sleeping for 20 minutes allows the napper to get a bit of light sleep to boost alertness without entering into deep sleep. Waking up from deep sleep can cause grogginess and actually worsen sleepiness.
Sleep for no longer than 30 minutes: The ideal nap duration is around 20 minutes and should be no longer than 30 minutes. This helps prevent the body from reaching the deeper stages of sleep, and it keeps a person from waking up feeling groggy.
McGinn adds 10- to 20-minute naps can boost energy and alertness, without the feeling of sleep inertia, while a 90-minute nap boosts memory and creativity, which is ideal if you are studying for a test. “Short naps generally don't affect nighttime sleep quality for most people,” she continues.
What is the optimal length of time for a nap? Naps can be short (15 to 30 minutes) or longer; both short and long naps can increase alertness and be useful. Take into account that sleep becomes deeper the longer you sleep, reaching the deepest level (slow-wave sleep) in about 1 hour.
Limit your nap to 45 minutes or less, if you need to spring into action after dozing. Otherwise, you may drift into slow-wave sleep. Waking from this stage results in sleep inertia, that grogginess and disorientation that can last for half an hour or more. But you might want to take a long nap, at least 90 minutes.
Napping can also boost the immune system and reduce stress. A small study published in February 2015 in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism found short, 30-minute naps had stress relieving and immune benefits for a group of healthy young adult men.
A short nap of 10-20 minutes is precisely enough shut-eye to reap the many restorative benefits of napping. 30 minutes could make you feel too groggy once you're awake. A 90-minute nap is considered best for a longer option.
The 60-minute rule means that you'll keep your baby in the crib for naps for at least 60 minutes from the time that they're placed down, even if they're not asleep.
But in general, the term refers to short naps ranging from about 10 to 30 minutes. A power nap that lasts 20 to 30 minutes is usually ideal. It's long enough to give you all the benefits of sleep without leaving you feeling groggy when you wake up.
Sleeping for 60 minutes includes the deepest type of sleep, slow-wave sleep. Because of this, the one-hour nap is ideal for helping an individual better remember faces, names, and facts. However, a sleep cycle will not be completed in only 60 minutes, so you may not be very alert for some time after waking up.
Your body clock is naturally primed for a break, and it's far enough away from bedtime so as to not interfere with your night sleep. Next, the reason why a brief nap feels best. It takes about 90 minutes for your body (and brain) to go through a complete sleep cycle.
Cote and NASA suggest taking power naps between 10 and 20 minutes long. You'll get the most benefit from a sleep cycle without any of the grogginess associated with longer sleeping periods. You don't need to get through all five sleep stages, just the first two.
Why do I feel worse after taking a nap? That familiar groggy feeling is called "sleep inertia," and it means that your brain wants to keep sleeping and complete a full sleep cycle.
Another way to combat sleepiness while pulling an all-nighter is to take a short nap, also known as a power nap. Ideally, the nap should be 15 to 20 minutes long—long enough to improve alertness but not long enough for a person to enter into deep sleep, which can lead to grogginess.
It's the body's way of recharging and healing. For some people, it's also a great escape. Dreaming is fun, and sleep is a way to get away from problems in the real world. Sleep enthusiasts know that a good snooze is a great cure for things like stress, anxiety, and a bad mood.
Strong scientific evidence shows that our brains benefit from a brief period of actual sleep (a nap), not just a quiet period, to recover from fatigue and to help restore alertness. Both short (15-30 minute) and long (1.5-hour) naps can increase alertness.
The 30-90 rule is a guideline for taking a good nap without feeling groggy afterward. It states that naps should last 30 minutes or less — OR be at least 90 minutes long, in order to improve physical health and cognitive performance.
The 45-Minute Intruder is a term that's used for baby naps that are far too short...often never going much past that 45-minute mark. According to BabyWise, it's usually most noticeable after 8 weeks of age and peaks around six months.