Nap strategically to avoid disrupting nighttime sleep

Limit daytime naps to 20-30 minutes before 3 PM. This lets you recharge alertness without reducing the sleep pressure you need to fall asleep easily at night.

Why It Works

Naps longer than 30 minutes push you into deeper sleep stages, causing sleep inertia — the groggy, disoriented feeling that can persist for up to an hour after waking. Napping after 3 PM depletes your homeostatic sleep drive, the natural pressure to sleep that builds throughout the day, making it harder to fall asleep at your regular bedtime.

Tips

• Set an alarm so you do not accidentally oversleep a nap
• A brief "coffee nap" — drinking coffee immediately before a 20-minute nap — can boost alertness, since caffeine takes about 20 minutes to kick in
• If you feel excessively sleepy during the day despite getting 7-9 hours at night, review your overall sleep hygiene before assuming you need more naps