Sometimes all I want to do after a long day is crawl in bed & take a nap. It feels so good, right? It is good! Studies in adults show that sleep may heighten certain mental functions such as memory, reasoning, & problem-solving, according to the National Institute of Health (NIH). It sounds like a great idea in theory. But why do I feel more tired after a nap? Has that ever happened to you? I wake up from a nap all groggy & out of it. Well, there's a reason! A few reasons. Here are some tips & tricks to get the most out of your nap.
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Keep it brief - Keep that nappy nap short, my friend. Ideally, you're looking to do a 20 to 30 minute nap. "Even just napping for a few minutes has benefits. Longer naps can lead to grogginess," according to Harvard Health Publications (HHP).
Keep it dark & quiet - Have you ever tried taking a nap in the scorching heat? Good luck. It's difficult to get to sleep when you're sweating & wriggling around. People tend to get to sleep faster when they reduce the amount of light & noise around them (HHP).
Keep naps for the (early) afternoon - The best time for your to take a nap is in the early afternoon -- 2 to 3 p.m. When you take your nap earlier it's less likely to interfere with your nighttime sleep, according to the MayoClinic. If you're off work at 6 p.m. & want to get a lil shut eye, you may find it hard to get to sleep come actual bedtime.
Keep yourself relaxed - If you're all stressed out, you probably won't get a very restful sleep. If you relax or do something to help you decompress, it may make it easier for you to pass out, according to NIH's National Institute of Neurological Disorders & Stroke (NINDS).
Obviously, this is not intended to be medical advice, but merely to answer common questions. Any other concerns or questions should be brought up with your doctor. Do you like to take naps? Have you ever felt more tired after a nap & wondered why? When was the last time you took one? Preschool or recently...? :]
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Thanks for posting this, I'm just not sleeping at the moment - up at 2am then not able to fall back till 5am then I have to be up at 6.00, not sure what it is! wish i could just get some rest, will try a nap this weekend and see if that helps me :) xx
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Hopefully you can sleep better. Another thing to note is to not use electronics before bed. The light stimulates brain activity! :]
DeleteThis used to happen to me sometimes! The biggest things that helped were cutting out caffeine after noon, the electronics advice, not drinking water within a couple hours of bed time, and waking myself up at the same time every morning, every day. Hope you feel better!
DeleteLove this, I love naps they make me feel so much more awake :) xx
ReplyDeleteMe too...if it's short. :p
DeleteThanks for your advices.. We need to relax!
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Eva e Valentina the anarCHIC
Yes. We all do. :D
Deletethanks for the tips dear!
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DeleteThanks for the tips! I love power naps =).
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Power naps are heaven sent! :D
Deleteaw yeah, I never take naps. I would always wake up feeling unbelievably tired and quite awful!
ReplyDeleteValentina
Valentina Duracinsky Blog
Yeah, that always happened to me so I researched it to see why! :]
DeleteSome great tips! I find having naps hard, so I'll take these on board :) x
ReplyDelete2pm. Check. Dark & quiet. Check. 20 min nap. Check. :]
Deletei do love a good power nap! always makes me happy
ReplyDeletefrom helen at thelovecatsinc.com
So good. :]
DeleteLovely advice! When I have a nap I always end up feeling really ill :( I guess I will try some of these tips!
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LOVE naps and love these tips! I'm so bad at putting myself to bed and mostly I just need a nap in the afternoon to keep me going til the early hours that I insist on keeping. Idiot.
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Love, love me a power nap!! I never knew what caused those sometimes super groggy bouts though - now I know :) Thank you for posting!
ReplyDeleteI love a good nap, but I feel like I'm desperate for a LOT of sleep. I do feel groggy after long naps, but sadly when you barely sleep every night a longer naps is a better option. SIGH. Stuck in a groggy world.
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I am such a napper! I have what I call a Nanna Nap nearly every day haha!
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The naps at 2pm is good advice, but who can do that if they have a job? lol
ReplyDeleteThese are some brilliant tipps, thank you so much for sharing! I usually make the mistake to completely give in to sleep once I've fallen asleep. It usually takes me 30-45mins if I nap in the daytime to even fall asleep. Haven't found out the best way to power-nap really. Hope you're well and we'll speak soon xx
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