How Long Should The Perfect Nap Last?

My wake call comes at 3am each weekday, it’s not a normal thing. Waking up in the middle of the night is not something that you ever get used to doing.  

There are some perks to waking up before the roosters, one of which is normally I’m off from work around 1pm.  And to be honest, there are a lot of days when I get home, I take a nap.  

Again, trying to be honest, I normally get about an hour, sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less, but there’s often a mid-afternoon nap in my schedule. 

I know that a lot of people would like to be able to get a nap in the afternoon, but their schedules don’t have the opening for that. Or does it? 

I saw an article on yahoo.com yesterday that claimed to have figured out the perfect length for a nap. The theory comes from NASA. Yes, that NASA. 

The data comes from research that NASA has conducted on cockpit crews that were on long-haul missions. The study says that roughly 26 minutes is that perfect time for a recharging snooze.  

The reason for that amount of time is that you likely won’t get into deeper stages of sleep, and you are more likely to be in the lighter stages of sleep which should leave you refreshed enough to make it through the rest of the day. 

One researcher says that even ten minutes could be enough to help you feel awake without the grogginess that comes from the deeper periods of sleep. 

I decided to put this theory to the test yesterday, when I took about a 25-minute nap a little later in the afternoon. I’ve got to admit, I felt refreshed but was still a little tired, but had enough energy to make it through the rest of the day before bedtime.  

So, if you think you don’t have time for a nap, look at your schedule again, and remember that taking around 20 minutes to rest could help you be fresher for whatever you have to tackle later in the day.