Afternoon naps - any negative effects?

Hi elmolovesu, I'm retired and always try to get a nap every day . When I was younger and working it wasn't able to do it, but now I can! I usually take mine around 2 in the afternoon, and they are short naps . They don't bother my sleep at night if I keep them real short . Here in Mexico alot of people take a afternoon siesta . I think they are very good for you.

i have very bas sleeping habits. have had all my life. i do take naps . sometimes i wake up at 3 or 4 o'clock. when i do that i usually lie back down in the mornings, i just sleep when i can. naps are good especially when u are working & leading a busy life like i'm sure u do.

In my experience, if I take a late afternoon nap, it will mean one thing only. Difficulty trying to sleep at night. And I'm not really used to taking afternoon naps because I wake up much more tired. Sometimes, my head feels a little heavy after an hour of napping. This makes doing my household chores a little tougher because my concentration is poor and I can't make myself get organized on what things to do.

I try not to take naps just because if I do then i don't sleep well that night. Then it is a vicious circle because I am so tired in the morning and all I can do is think about napping.

I have the same problem, if I take a nap, I never to get to sleep. Saturday if was so nasty out, we stayed home and I decided to crawl under the covers, well I could not get to sleep Saturday night. Then of course when I finally did fall asleep I did not want to get up. With a 7 year old that wakes up early that is very hard.

afternoon naps really helps the body relax. so whenever you sleep in the afternoon and find it difficult to sleep at night is because you have relaxed the muscles and cells have to be energized... it is normal and should not be a problem, just make sure when u you take your nap you wake up before 5pm.. in that case you can sleep at night... i hope this helps you

yes if you take an afternoon, nap, you won't be able to sleep good, I know that always happens to me. and a lot of Older people, they take a nap, and then they can't sleep at night.

hi elmolovesu...yeah..usually i do take naps ..but for 30 to one hour only..it refreshes me actually after doing so..but if i sleep long enough then for sure ...i cant sleep immediately during the night...

I do take naps sometimes on weekends. I stay up a little later too and the naps don't really seem to affect me. But then by the time the weekend rolls around, I'm usually dealing with some sleep deprivation.

Hi, elmolovesu! I took a nap this afternoon. All this month, I have been getting up to get my oldest son ready for school in the mornings. And I needed this simple nap! Even when I take a nap, I still am tried the next morning. It does not matter. My body has gotten so worned out of waking up so early in the mornings. I guess my sleeping schedule does not change that much. If anything, I feel a little refreshed after my nap. And then when it comes to sleeping later that morning, I will sleep, but I will still be very tired when I have to get up in the mornings.

I don't hardly ever take afternoon naps, I would have to be extremely tired and not had much sleep to nap during the day. I just can't seem to be able to sleep during the daytime like that, now if I've had hard day, and I didn't get much sleep the night before, it will catch up with me, and I'll nap, but hardly ever.

i cant take short naps so taking a nap for me ruins my whole day and routine so i rather skip them

I never had any problem taking afternoon naps. I guess it's my talent to fall asleep wherever whenever :D Just as long as I can find a comfortable place to lay my head. Have you tried shortening your afternoon nap to less than an hour and then stretching after? That usually works well for most people who aren't used to taking naps :) Thanks for the response on my discussion!

Hi elmolovesu, I have to take a nap everyday. Mainly because of my IBS-D symptoms. I get enormously bloated (looking like I am 8 months pregnant). This causes severe back pain and Ive found if I lay down for 2 or 3 hours the bloating goes away. Plus, I am always so tired. I never used to need a nap only once I became sick with my numerous digestive conditions. I suffer daily from the bloating and back pain. I keep praying someday I will get rid of this. It dosen't really effect my bedtime. I can go to sleep with no problem. But I am not the average person. Most people don't have these ailments.

A short and quick nap in the afternoon, especially around 2pm is said to be good for health. However, whenever I take a nap, it would not be 30 minutes but 3 hours. I just simply cannot take a 10mins nap. I try to "replace" my sleep by trying to sleep early the next few nights.

At weekends when I don't work during the afternoons it is so easy for me to fall asleep before I realize what has happened. I don't really like doing this, because I never feel too good when I wake up again and my mind is too active then when I go to bed at night. Some people though say that they love to take their "siesta", but I try to avoid it.. - Derek

hey...afternoon naps should short like 30min or so..thats the best thing..i have tried having long and short naps and found short naps to be effective..!! this wont disrupt ur night sleeping hours too..!! try doing this.. happy mylotting...

I am a sunday afternoon napper..and I find it really refreshing..it helps me to be much more energetic.....but as you told the real problem is I won't be able to sleep at 10 which is my sleeping time all the other days..but I have found a solution....read a very boring text book in bed...or listen to some soft music..u will automatically fall into good sleep..remember do that while in bed..my dad told lying down and doing stuff like this is bad for health but i don't care as far as i get good sleep..

Many people feel a mid-afternoon slump in mood and alertness, especially after a poor night of sleep. Many believe that this slump is caused by eating a heavy lunch. However, in reality, this occurs because we were meant to have a mid-afternoon nap. Several lines of evidence, including the universal tendency of toddlers and the elderly to nap in the afternoon and the afternoon nap of siesta cultures, have led sleep researchers to the same conclusion: nature intended that we take a nap in the middle of the day. This biological readiness to fall asleep in the mid-afternoon coincides with a slight drop in body temperature and occurs regardless of whether we eat lunch. It is present even in good sleepers who are well rested. Sleep researchers have also discovered that the afternoon dip in mood and alertness is associated with poorer performance, particularly after a night of sleep loss, and a simultaneous increase in sleepiness-related accidents. In fact, deaths from all causes show a secondary peak in the afternoon after a nocturnal peak, presumably from sleepiness-related accidents Other evidence for a biological propensity for a mid-afternoon nap includes: sleepiness increases in the mid-afternoon; the afternoon nap is the last to be given up by children; older adults revert to afternoon naps; and, adult naps are almost always taken in the afternoon; A mid-day nap is an integral part of the daily routine of many cultures, particularly those near the equator. This suggests that napping may have been part of an evolutionary mechanism to get us out of the hot midday sun. However, because the urge for a nap is appreciably weaker than the need to sleep at night, it can be suppressed (or masked by caffeine) but at the cost of increased sleepiness and reduced mood and performance. Also, because naps conflict with work schedules, they are becoming less common in industrialized societies (with the exception of college students and the elderly, who have more regular opportunities to nap). Unfortunately, this decline in napping may be causing poorer afternoon alertness and performance. Research on napping suggests that an afternoon nap as short as ten minutes can enhance alertness, mood, and mental performance, especially after a night of poor sleep. Several studies also suggest that polyphasic sleep in the form of 30 minute naps taken regularly (every 4 hours) is the only way to reduce nocturnal sleep below 5-6 hours and still maintain performance. Studies on solo yacht racers indicate that winner's average about five hours of sleep in the form of brief naps throughout the 24 hour day. In one study, subjects were allowed 20 minutes of rest/nap every 6 hours during a 64 hour work period. Results suggested that baseline levels of cognitive functions were maintained. If you have an opportunity for an afternoon nap, particularly after a poor night of sleep, take one; you will feel more alert and energetic afterwards. Following a mid-afternoon nap, performance may temporarily deteriorate due to grogginess. However, once sleep inertia dissipates (usually 5-20 minutes), mood, energy, and subjective alertness improve beyond baseline; in sleep-deprived individuals, objective alertness and performance also improve. In non-sleep deprived individuals, improvements in performance have also been documented when measured 1.5 to 12 hours after a nap, particularly when naps are scheduled in preparation for all-night work shift. Naps should be limited to 45 minutes and avoided after 4:00 p.m.;otherwise, one may enter deep sleep, which may cause grogginess for a period of time after the nap and reduce the pressure for sleep that night. Interestingly, there is no evidence that nap benefits are tied to a specific sleep stage. Also, there is evidence that simply resting in the mid-afternoon can improve mood. Sleep itself may not be the crucial factor in the positive effects of afternoon naps on improving mood; what may be important is an afternoon period of relaxation common to both resting and napping. In summary, napping is normal and beneficial in terms of reducing sleepiness and increasing performance. Optimum human performance appears best served by at least biphasic sleep and perhaps polyphasic sleep. source:http://www.talkaboutsleep.com/sleep-disorders/archives/insomnia_drjacobs_benefits_of_naps.htm

I work from eight to five so if I were to take a nap afterwards I would never get to sleep ha. If I didn't work then I would definitely take a nap if I was tired and go to sleep later. It is good to listen to your body. I messed mine up on sleeping pills and no doze pills once and was barely making it through life. It is good to follow your body's signals as much as possible. I try to now after I slept right through my boyfriend's birthday last year. Thats was kind of a wake up call