The Positives and Negatives of Napping

Feel an afternoon yawn coming on? Put down the coffee and make room for a little shut-eye.

Ever get that sleepy feeling in the late afternoon, where you just start yawning? Your body may be clamoring for a nap.

For many people, a late-afternoon snooze can be beneficial, said Steven M. Scharf, MD, a professor of medicine at the University of Maryland Medical School in Baltimore, explaining that the body operates on a 24-hour clock regulating sleepiness and wakefulness.

Ask most any night-shift worker, and they’ll tell you the early morning hours, from 3 a.m. to 5 a.m., are among the hardest to stay awake. “That’s biologic,” Dr. Scharf said, “and it corresponds to dips in our body temperature and hormone levels.”


How Long Can I Nap?




As Scharf explained it, there’s a tremendous biological variability in people’s need for sleep. One person may not need a nap at all, while another might do great after 15 minutes, and someone else may find it hard to get through the evening without a 45-minute nap.

What If You Can’t Nap?

Not everyone who needs a nap can get one, and lifestyle plays a big role in that, Scharf said. In some cultures, napping is a regular (and healthy) part of everyone’s day. There’s the afternoon siesta in Mexico, and people in Mediterranean countries traditionally close shops and offices in the afternoon hours for a large meal and nap, reopening at 4 or 5 p.m.



Nothing Wrong With Nodding Off


Another option is for people to strive for an extra half-hour or so of sleep at night. Or, if you get home from work early enough, he said, “There’s nothing wrong with dropping off.”

By Jennifer Anderson – Medically reviewed by Pat F. Bass III, MD, MPH