Stop Waking Up Tired After Naps

At times, nothing feels better than laying down to nap in the middle of the day. I'd lay down, set my alarm for 30-60 minutes, then get back to my day.

Naps and I had a love-hate relationship. I loved taking them, but hated being groggy for the rest of the day. That's just how it was, though. Nothing could be done about the grogginess, right?

I was wrong.

It should've been done long before then, but a while back I decided to do some research. It didn't take long to figure out my mistakes.

As mentioned earlier, 30-60 minute naps were making me wake up legargic. Turns out, that's about the worst length of nap you can have.

Napping Effectively

10-20 Minutes - When napping for less than 20 minutes, you should only enter the first and lightest stage of sleep. 10-20 minutes is great for a quick refresh and you should wake up feeling alert almost immediately. It will vary for each individual, though. Continue reading below to learn about my personal experience.

90 Minutes - If you have the time, sleeping exactly 90 minutes should allow you to get through a full sleep cycle. You should wake up in a light stage of sleep and be fully awake and feeling refreshed within minutes.

Why Not Nap 30-60 minutes? - If you sleep 30-60 minutes, you will likely wake up from a deeper sleep. Waking up from these sleep stages is going to make you feel tired. Contrary to what may seem like common sense, a 20 minute nap will make you feel more rested than 60 minutes.

My Experience

If you're like me, you don't have 90 minutes to spend napping during the day. You might have 30 minutes for a quick rest, so 10-20 minutes is your best option.

20 Minute Nap - After learning this, I started off by setting my alarm for 20 minutes. I woke up feeling better than usual (compared to a 30-60 minute nap), but still pretty tired.

10 Minute Nap - Next, I tried the other end of the recommended range. After 10 minutes I woke up immediately alert.

19 Minutes - Still feeling a little tired after waking up. I'll continue trying other time frames.

I went on to try sleeping 11 minutes, 12, 13 and every other length of time within the 10-20 minute range.

It turns out, I can take naps up to 17 minutes long and wake up feeling great! Sleep any longer than 17 minutes, and I usually wake up feeling at least a little tired. Now, whenever I nap, I set my alarm for 17 minutes. If short on time, but in need of a refresh, I can sleep any time period less than 17 minutes and wake up feeling more alert.

You'll have to experiment to find out what works best for you, but I'd recommend starting with 17 minutes.

All images are either my own or taken from Pexels and require no attribution.