Should I nap Today?

Since starting classes I have found that I nap almost everyday. I come home from my early morning classes and jump right back into be and wake up just before my afternoon classes. I have found that napping seems to be a staple of the college student life and many people I’ve met here at Penn State indulge in a nap quite frequently. Also, it seems that most animals nap many times throughout the day, humans being the odd ones out. My question is, is napping good for us? If so how much is too much? And what are the different benefits of napping?

Napping is my favorite part of my day and I spend roughly three hours in and out of sleep during my scheduled napping time, and although on and off sleep isn’t too restful and probably isn’t the healthiest way to nap I still find it beneficial. According to the National Sleep Foundation, shorter naps through out the day are good for you. They increase performance abilities and give you the energy boost to continue throughout your day. NASA did an experiment where it allowed astronauts and military pilots to nap for 40 minutes and both their alertness and performance levels were greatly improved. Also, napping brings piece of mind and allows for relaxation and a break from the daily stresses that life throws upon us. If you take a good restful nap it can properly prepare you to face the rest of your day refreshed and awake.

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Although, as with any topic there are also some negative sides to taking a nap. It has been found that longer naps can lead to drowsiness and some disorientation, something I can definitely attest to. When you nap for longer you force yourself to awaken during a deeper sleep which can cause this inertia. Also, Sleeping for long periods during the day can interrupt your regular sleep schedule and make sleeping at night, and sleeping well, more difficult.

Personally I seem to experience the negative sides of napping regardless of whether I actually nap, and the benefits far outweigh them. Honestly, the idea that I can come home and nap is the only thing that gets me up to those 8:00am classes every morning. The escape provided by a nap is something I love and plan to continue, especially now that I know of its benefits.

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10 thoughts on “Should I nap Today?

  1. dcd5251

    I think that I need to nap more. When I was younger I could never actually fall asleep. I would lay there to make my parents happy and pretend to be asleep. Of the times that I take that quick 30 minute rest, it boosts me right back up. When I take a hour or more nap, I find it harder to get myself going. I really need to motivate myself to do that hard essay after that nice long nap. Since coming to Penn State, I noticed how everyone naps for extreme amounts of time in between classes. Here are strategies for napping

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  2. Elizabeth Anne Galante

    No matter where I am or what time of day it is I can fall asleep no matter where I am or what time of day it is. Although the feeling of coming home from a long day of class and hopping right back in my bed feels like the most amazing feeling, that feeling slowly goes away as soon as I wake up and feel drowsier than I did before I even took my nap. It’s not considered normal for me to not come home and not take a three-hour nap everyday LOL. After reading about the benefits of taking smaller time periods of naps I will definitely consider doing that this way I can prevent feeling so drowsy and being up so late every night. Below is an article about the pros and cons of napping that I felt was interesting to share with you.,,20445820,00.html

  3. sbm5465

    I have never been one of those people who is able to nap for less than 30 minutes without waking up and feeling worse. For me, a nap anywhere between 1 and 2 hours is usually what does the trick and gets me feeling refreshed and well rested. In your blog, you said that the NASA experiment worked well when they gave people 40 minutes of nap time. Perhaps I should consider cutting down on my nap time. This article argues that the best amount of time to nap is half of that, about 20 minutes. I’m not sure if that will ever work for me personally, but I might try and experiment with shorter naps.

  4. cas6568

    Naps are a great way to reboot. But, I think that it’s best to get a good night’s sleep. In the article below, you’ll learn that naps won’t nearly give you the same amount of energy that naps do.
    I used to be HUGE on naps, and but I would get very little sleep at night. This would lead me to taking little 30 minute naps in class, which was something I wanted to avoid. People typically don’t go to sleep at reasonable hours because they have poor time management skills, so they sleep less at night, and nap more during the day. I think that people need to work on their time management skills, and if they improve that, then they’ll probably do their work to the best of their ability (and they won’t plagerize!), and they’ll generally feel more energized because they’ll be able to sleep more at night.

  5. Candace Burke

    I nap everyday too. I was wondering if in your research you found any information about why sometimes you can wake up feeling more tired than when you went to bed.

  6. Andie Lynn Sullivan

    Last year, I would do the same thing and nap basically every day. I would take 3 hour naps after my 8 am and wake up still feeling tired. This year, I have not had enough time to take a nap of this length of time so I started taking very very short ones. One day I actually closed my eyes and slept for 4 minutes. Surprisingly, I felt somewhat better just being able to relax for a short amount of time. This article talks about the benefits and drawbacks of napping.

  7. Melissa Lee

    Naps are my absolute favorite. They are beneficial at some points because i seem to have received a boost of energy. But sometimes I also feel groggy after waking up from a nap. This article highlights the perfect nap lengths. It advises to sleep for 10-20 minutes or 90 minutes. The reason behind this is so you do not wake up in the middle of a cycle of sleep. But is it really feasible to take a nap for 10-20 minutes?

  8. Amira A. Oloufa

    I love naps too. But my problem with napping is a need a long nap otherwise, I don’t feel any better and I actually feel worse and unrested. I read an article of the benefits to power napping ( but I cannot get it down. A 15 minute nap isn’t enough for me to feel better, I’d much rather a 3 hour nap instead. I felt the negative effects though, but I feel it is worth the nap, and I have no trouble getting back to sleep at night.

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