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I wonder why it is, that some people can take a nap and feel refreshed. If I do it, I wake up WAY more tired than before going to sleep and will be groggy for a

I wonder why it is, that some people can take a nap and feel refreshed. If I do it, I wake up WAY more tired than before going to sleep and will be groggy for a while. I am guessing it must have something to do with how fast you can fall asleep and enter deep sleep.

dest 8y ago
The nap should be short, e.g. 30 min max.
- thecatspaw 8y ago
  is that after falling asleep or including that time? Im asking because I cant fall asleep in 30minutes
  - fouc 8y ago
    Generally 25 minutes of actual sleep. If it takes you longer than 15 minutes to fall asleep, you might need to look at cutting caffeine or other stimulants out of your diet completely. Exercise will also help. Usually helps if you're feeling a strong sleep inertia signal (i.e. desire to sleep) compared to just feeling fatigued.
    - thecatspaw 8y ago
      > look at cutting [] other stimulants That wont work unfortunately, I am prescribed some. However I had issues falling asleep before the prescription as well
    - seba_dos1 8y ago
      I don't need caffeine or other stimulants for it to take me way more than 15 minutes...
r_singh 8y ago
I can wake up refreshed or more tired depending on how long I napped for. If I decide to take a 45min nap, I usually can't get myself to wake up before 90mins, and if I have to, I'm super tired like you said. A refreshing short nap that works, is 20 min max, I usually set the timer at 18mins.
fouc 8y ago
A couple things to know: The brain cycles through the various stages of sleep, on average 90 minutes long (it varies from person to person, could be closer to 75 or 105 minutes). If you wake up in the middle of the cycle, when you're in DEEP sleep, you'll feel very tired and be tired for a long time after. I find with a long nap past 30 minutes, it's just more common for people to end up waking up in the middle of their sleep cycle. NASA did a sleep study that found out that 24-25 minutes of actual sleep was the sweet spot for taking a nap. So basically you could set an alarm for your estimated time to fall asleep + 25 minutes. Or you could do a "coffee nap", you drink a cup of coffee and then immediately go to sleep. It takes about 30 minutes for the caffeine to hit your bloodstream. That way you'll wake up naturally.

dest 8y ago

The nap should be short, e.g. 30 min max.

thecatspaw 8y ago
is that after falling asleep or including that time? Im asking because I cant fall asleep in 30minutes
- fouc 8y ago
  Generally 25 minutes of actual sleep. If it takes you longer than 15 minutes to fall asleep, you might need to look at cutting caffeine or other stimulants out of your diet completely. Exercise will also help. Usually helps if you're feeling a strong sleep inertia signal (i.e. desire to sleep) compared to just feeling fatigued.
  - thecatspaw 8y ago
    > look at cutting [] other stimulants That wont work unfortunately, I am prescribed some. However I had issues falling asleep before the prescription as well
  - seba_dos1 8y ago
    I don't need caffeine or other stimulants for it to take me way more than 15 minutes...

r_singh 8y ago

I can wake up refreshed or more tired depending on how long I napped for. If I decide to take a 45min nap, I usually can't get myself to wake up before 90mins, and if I have to, I'm super tired like you said. A refreshing short nap that works, is 20 min max, I usually set the timer at 18mins.

fouc 8y ago

A couple things to know: The brain cycles through the various stages of sleep, on average 90 minutes long (it varies from person to person, could be closer to 75 or 105 minutes). If you wake up in the middle of the cycle, when you're in DEEP sleep, you'll feel very tired and be tired for a long time after. I find with a long nap past 30 minutes, it's just more common for people to end up waking up in the middle of their sleep cycle. NASA did a sleep study that found out that 24-25 minutes of actual sleep was the sweet spot for taking a nap. So basically you could set an alarm for your estimated time to fall asleep + 25 minutes. Or you could do a "coffee nap", you drink a cup of coffee and then immediately go to sleep. It takes about 30 minutes for the caffeine to hit your bloodstream. That way you'll wake up naturally.