How Long Should You Nap for More Energy? Sleep Experts Weigh In

From eatingwell.com

Keep it short and sweet 

KEY POINTS

• Short naps of 10 to 30 minutes may boost energy without causing grogginess.
• Frequent daytime naps may signal poor sleep or an underlying health issue.
• Morning light, exercise, balanced meals and hydration can support daytime energy.

Some days, 2 p.m. rolls around, and you’re struggling to keep your eyes open. We’ve all been there. If you have the opportunity to close your eyes and drift off for a little while midday, sleep experts say a nap can help restore your energy and alertness for the rest of the day.

But an afternoon nap doesn’t make up for lost night-time sleep. “A good nap isn’t supposed to replace night-time sleep; it’s a strategic recharge,” says Michael J. Breus, Ph.D., DABSM. “Think of it as plugging your phone in for 20 minutes, not trying to recharge the entire battery.”

In other words, you don’t want your nap to accidentally turn into several hours of sleep. Napping too long can leave you feeling groggy when you wake up and may interfere with sleep later that night. Ahead, three sleep experts share how long to nap for more energy, along with other strategies to help you feel more energized throughout the day.

How Long Should You Nap?

There isn’t one perfect nap length for everyone. In fact, each expert we spoke with recommends a slightly different range.

“The sweet spot for most people is about 20 to 30 minutes, ideally during the natural afternoon dip between roughly 1 and 3 p.m.,” Breus says. “Longer naps can provide additional recovery, but they also increase the chance of waking up groggy.”

Breus is an especially big fan of a power nap: “Keep it short, about 20 to 25 minutes.”

Shelby Harris, Psy.D., DBSM, recommends an even shorter window. “A nap of about 10 to 20 minutes is usually ideal,” she says. “This length allows you to feel refreshed without entering deep sleep, so you wake up easily and avoid grogginess.”

Madhat Arnouk, M.D., recommends a somewhat longer window of 30 to 60 minutes. However, he cautions against letting naps stretch too long, especially naps that occur in the late afternoon or early evening. Doing so can push bedtime later, shorten night-time sleep or disrupt your normal circadian rhythm.

Once you go beyond 30 minutes, you may be more likely to wake during a deeper stage of sleep, which can lead to sleep inertia, or the groggy, disoriented feeling you may experience after waking. Breus notes that this can sometimes take up to an hour to wear off.

Research supports these nap lengths, showing that naps ranging from 10 to 60 minutes may help improve mood and alleviate sleepiness. Ultimately, the ideal length may vary from person to person. But if your goal is a quick energy boost without post-nap grogginess, keeping your nap on the shorter side may be your best bet.

Things to Keep in Mind Before Napping

Credit:

Getty Images. EatingWell design

Our sleep experts are all proponents of a good nap, but they recommend checking in with yourself to identify why you need one and how frequently you’re napping. The answers to these questions may offer clues about your night-time sleep or overall health. 

“Occasional naps are normal, but if you find yourself relying on naps just to get through the day, it’s worth taking a look at your sleep hygiene and overall routine,” Harris says. Here are a few expert-recommended considerations.

If You Need a Nap Every Day, Look at Your Night-time Sleep

There’s a difference between choosing to nap because you enjoy it and may benefit from a little boost and needing one just to make it through the day.

“Napping can be a very effective way to reduce fatigue and restore alertness when it’s done correctly and under the right circumstances,” Breus says. “But needing a nap every day can sometimes be a clue that something else is going on.”

He recommends asking yourself an important question: Am I napping because I want to, or because I have to?

If you consistently wake up feeling unrested despite getting adequate sleep, your sleep environment or nighttime habits may be worth a closer look, Arnouk says. For instance, maybe your bedroom is too warm, you’re watching TV late or falling asleep with it on, a pet wakes you in the middle of the night or you’re drinking alcohol too close to bedtime. All of these factors can interfere with the quality or duration of your sleep.

Persistent Fatigue May Point to a Medical Condition

If you’re feeling exhausted despite consistently getting enough sleep, consider talking with your health care provider. Persistent fatigue can have many causes beyond insufficient sleep. Depending on your symptoms and health history, your provider may recommend blood work or other testing to help figure out what’s going on.

Some potential contributors to persistent fatigue or daytime sleepiness include:

• Nutrient deficiencies (e.g., vitamin D, vitamin B12, iron)
• Endocrine and metabolic issues (e.g., hypothyroidism, type 2 diabetes)
• Cardiovascular and pulmonary issues (e.g., heart disease, COPD)
• Inflammatory conditions (e.g., inflammatory bowel disease, arthritis)
• Infectious diseases (e.g., Lyme disease)
• Sleep disorders (e.g., sleep apnoea, narcolepsy)
• Mental health conditions (e.g., depression, anxiety)

“Persistent fatigue still often needs sleep, mood and medical context alongside blood work, because blood tests alone do not explain most fatigue presentations,” Breus says. In other words, blood work may provide useful clues, but it’s only one piece of the puzzle. 

“Do not ignore fatigue and chronic sleepiness,” Arnouk says, noting that several treatable medical conditions can contribute to these symptoms.

Other Tips for More Energy

A nap isn’t the only way to address an afternoon slump. These expert-recommended habits can help support steadier energy throughout the day:

• Get Morning Light. Natural light in the morning helps regulate your circadian rhythm, supporting daytime alertness and better sleep at night, Harris says.
• Move Your Body. Regular exercise can improve energy and sleep quality over time. Even a quick walk or movement break may help when you’re feeling sluggish.
• Eat Balanced Meals and Stay Hydrated. Skipping meals, blood sugar swings and dehydration can all contribute to fatigue or dips in energy.
• Be Strategic with Your Caffeine Consumption. Caffeine can boost alertness, but Breus recommends using it earlier in the day rather than relying on it as an all-day substitute for sleep.
• Reduce Alcohol Intake, Especially Close to Bedtime. “Alcohol can help you fall asleep initially but tends to fragment sleep later in the night, leading to less-restorative rest,” Harris says.

Our Expert Take

Sleep experts and research suggest that naps ranging from 10 to 60 minutes may help boost energy, though a shorter power nap may be less likely to leave you feeling groggy. Napping every day isn’t necessarily a problem, but needing a nap just to get through the day could signal that you’re not getting enough quality sleep at night. Persistent fatigue may also point to a nutrient deficiency, sleep disorder or other underlying health condition. Asking yourself why you’re napping can be a helpful first step in determining whether your nap habits may warrant a closer look by a health care professional.

https://www.eatingwell.com/how-long-should-you-nap-for-more-energy-sleep-experts-weigh-in-12114400

From counting sheep to forty winks: three tips to get your kids back on a healthy sleep schedule

From news.ubc.ca

UBC paediatric neurologist Dr. James Lee explains why your kids need a good night’s sleep — and how to help them get it 

The start of the school year brings a new pencil case, fresh sneakers — and early mornings. If your kids are struggling to get quality sleep before the start of the school day, you’re not alone: one in four children in Canada are not getting enough sleep. That can have health effects that go beyond daytime drowsiness, says UBC paediatric neurologist Dr. James Lee.

We spoke with Dr. Lee, clinical assistant professor in the department of paediatrics at UBC and sleep medicine specialist at BC Children’s Hospital, about why healthy sleep is so important for children and how families can ease them back into the new school year feeling rested.

What are three ways to transition kids back into a school sleep routine?

Transition gradually. Focus on shifting wake-up times earlier first, rather than bedtime. Going to bed earlier doesn’t necessarily lead to waking earlier and can even cause difficulty falling asleep or insomnia. Instead, gradually wake up earlier each morning in the days before school starts and keep a consistent sleep-wake schedule, even on weekends.

Get exposure to bright light in the morning, which helps move the circadian rhythm earlier and naturally makes it easier to wake up. In the evening, avoid caffeine sources, such as chocolate and pop, and avoid screens for at least one hour before bedtime.

Screens emit high-frequency blue light that suppresses our brain’s melatonin secretion and production. Melatonin is the hormone that tells our bodies when it’s time to go to sleep, so when it’s suppressed, it makes it harder to fall asleep. Also, engaging or stimulating content on the screen can keep the mind active, making it harder to settle down.

How much sleep do children and teenagers need?

The Canadian Paediatric Society recommends nine to 12 hours per day for ages 6 to 12, and eight to 10 hours for teenagers — although many teens fall short due to factors including smartphones and academic pressures. While these guidelines provide a general benchmark, it’s important to remember that every child is different. What matters most for any individual child is whether they seem well-rested and are functioning well during the day.

How do sleep patterns change as children age?

Total sleep time gradually decreases from infancy through adolescence, and naps typically disappear by the preschool years.

A key shift for school-age children and teens is in their circadian rhythm — the internal body clock that governs sleep and wake times. As children enter adolescence, they naturally want to stay up later and wake up later. As a result, teens tend to be more alert and cognitively effective later in the morning.

How does sleep affect children’s health and development?

Sleep supports learning, concentration, memory consolidation, mood and behaviour regulation and executive functioning — so it’s especially critical for children who are constantly absorbing new information. It also plays a role in healthy physical growth and blood sugar regulation. Lack of sleep or fragmented sleep also has long-term health impacts, such as an increased risk of diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, stroke and dementia later in life. Sleep deprivation can also lead to an increased risk of accidents and injury.

What should parents do if their child has trouble sleeping?

Insomnia can stem from poor sleep hygiene, anxiety, restlessness or a medical issue. Start by identifying possible causes, such as screen use, caffeine, medications, anxiety or other medical issues that are causing discomfort or pain.

One condition that is often overlooked – but is fairly common – is restless legs syndrome, which causes an uncontrollable urge to move when trying to lie still. Obstructive sleep apnoea, which causes difficulty breathing at night, is another common, but underrecognized, condition. Listen for snoring, pauses in breathing or gasping.

If your child is having sleep difficulties, keeping a sleep diary over several weeks can help you and your doctor identify the cause.

When should parents seek medical advice?

See a doctor if your child sleeps too little or too much without a clear reason, or shows symptoms like snoring or restlessness. Excessive daytime sleepiness is uncommon in younger children and may signal an underlying issue. Daytime problems with concentration, attention, dysregulation or excessive irritability — combined with night-time sleep concerns — are also good reasons to seek medical attention.

https://news.ubc.ca/2026/09/three-tips-to-get-your-kids-back-on-a-healthy-sleep-schedule/

Here's how to catch up on sleep, the right way

From bbc.co.uk

By Amanda Ruggeri

Just two hours of extra sleep can help reverse the damage from a bad night. But early nights and lie-ins should be wielded with caution 

We've all been there: waking up, bleary-eyed after a bad night, feeling exhausted. "It's fine," we tell ourselves. "I'll catch up at the weekend."

For some of us, this experience is a one-off. For others, it's a way of life. One survey of nearly 8,000 US adults found that nearly half regularly slept in on the weekends. Perhaps unsurprisingly, teenagers seem to have the biggest weekend lie-ins of any age group.

A bit of extra sleep can be especially tempting for those of us who don't get enough during the week. Adults are generally advised to aim for around seven to nine hours, while it's thought that most adolescents need between eight and ten. But that's not always possible.

Which leads to the million-dollar question: if you aren't sleeping enough during the week, should you sleep in on the weekend? And if you do, can this blunt the effects of short sleep?

(Image credit: BBC Serenity Strull/ Getty Images)

The risk of a lie-in

To understand why sleeping in might have downsides, it helps to look at the two main processes regulating sleep.

The first, the sleep homeostat, is like a "sleep tank". The longer we're awake, the more it fills with sleep pressure – and the more we feel like we need to lie down and snooze. The second, our circadian rhythm, gets adjusted every day by our exposure to light and dark, temperature changes, even when we eat or move. These work together to make us feel sleepy, ideally at an appropriate time each night. (Learn more about how regulating your rhythm can aid your sleep in my newsletter course, How to Sleep Better, launching on 21 September 2026.)

Catching up on sleep can knock both our sleep homeostat and our body clock off. This is true whether you go to bed earlier, or sleep in. Because extra morning sleep reduces our sleep pressure later in the day, we might not feel tired until later that evening. And because we're not just sleeping at a different time, but doing everything else at a different time – including getting light exposure – it can affect our circadian rhythm too.

The result? We might sleep in Sunday morning and fall asleep later on Sunday night, so that when our alarm goes off at 06:00 on Monday, we haven't slept enough – starting the cycle all over again. "It's like shifting time zones every single week," says Melynda Casement, sleep psychologist and director of the University of Oregon Sleep Lab.

However, though catch-up sleep should be used cautiously, it's not always a bad idea. Here's when it might be helpful to get some extra rest.

The benefits of recovery sleep

How short sleep impacts our health and cognition is still being untangled. But in carefully controlled sleep restriction experiments, it's become clear that an especially rough night impacts our physiology. And at least some of these consequences can be blunted, if not reversed, with catch-up sleep.

In one study, for example, people who got only two hours' sleep for a single night showed higher counts of two types of white blood cells, potentially indicating a physiological stress response. Some participants were then granted an eight-hour sleep the following night. But even after this, their white blood cell counts hadn't fully bounced back. However, participants who were allowed to sleep for up to 10 hours on the second day had levels which had nearly returned back to the baseline.

Another experiment studied what happened when 11 men who normally slept for eight hours each night were limited to four. Six nights of short sleep were enough to impair their glucose clearance and insulin responses. If sustained long-term, these physiological changes can raise the risk of type two diabetes. But after six more nights of a 12-hour sleep opportunity, their measures had returned to baseline levels.

Other experiments have found that catch-up sleep following an all-nighter can restore our cognitive performance.

None of that means that a weekend lie-in (or early night) counteracts every effect of sleep debt, especially when short sleep persists over weeks or months. Vigilant attention (our ability to stay focused and respond quickly) and spatial orientation seem to be particularly vulnerable. In these cases, even weekend catch-up sleep can't fully reverse the effects of short weekday sleep.

Then there's also naps. These can also be beneficial for people running short. But they're usually studied separately from overnight catch-up sleep. (Read more from the BBC about why power naps might be good for our health.)

Catching up on sleep, saving lives

But these studies were conducted in artificial laboratory conditions. What happens when people catch up on sleep in the real world?

For one Swedish study, researchers followed more than 40,000 adults over 13 years. They found that adults under 65 years old who regularly slept for six to seven hours a night had the lowest risk of death. In comparison, those who slept five hours or less had a 65% greater mortality risk. For adults over 65, there was no association between short sleep and mortality risk – a result, the researchers suggest, of our sleep needs decreasing as we age.

But there was a twist. A decent weekend sleep appeared to erase the additional risk for the five-hour-or-less sleepers. If the short sleepers caught up then, statistically they had no higher risk of death than the people who slept a healthy amount during the week.

There is growing evidence that, for most of us, there seems to be a "sweet spot" of around one to two hours' extra sleep

Even when short sleep's health impacts aren't reversed by catch-up sleep, they're often ameliorated. One study of almost 2,800 Korean adults, for example, found that habitually short sleepers were about 73% more likely to have high blood pressure. But each hour of weekend catch-up sleep was linked to about 17% less risk.

Other studies have found that short weekday sleepers who sleep in on weekends have a lower risk of dementia. They also have decreased risk of metabolic syndrome, a cluster of symptoms that raise your risk of type 2 diabetes or cardiovascular disease.

Not all studies have found a benefit of weekend catch-up sleep. One large UK-based study found no link between catch-up sleep and mortality or cardiovascular disease. But it didn't find a greater risk of sleeping in, either.

Put together, these findings help explain why some scientists argue that waking up at the same time every day, no matter what, may backfire.

"Some people even go so far as saying, put on your alarm clock, even on weekends, so that you're regular," says Till Roenneberg, professor emeritus of chronobiology at LMU Munich's Institute for Medical Psychology, Germany. He disagrees. "Of course you have to catch up on sleep," he says. "Sleep is one of the most important functions in our lives."

The exception is people who have insomnia. The usual treatment for this condition recommends that people avoid both earlier bedtimes and lie-ins. This is true even after a rough night, as it can throw off their rhythms and make sleep even harder to attain.

A realistic sweet spot

The next question is how much catch-up sleep you should have to maximise the benefits and minimise the downsides.

There is growing evidence that, for most of us, there seems to be a "sweet spot" of around one to two hours' extra sleep.

Studies in the US and Korea have found this amount is associated with the lowest risk of depression. It's also been linked to lower inflammation in adults who are habitual short sleepers. Researchers have found a similar pattern for younger people, including a lower risk of anxiety and depression.

So, a little lie-in can sometimes be a good idea. But it probably won’t justify waking up at lunchtime.

* Amanda Ruggeri is a journalist who explores the science, psychology and history of the ideas we take for granted. She writes the six-part How to Sleep Better newsletter course, and her upcoming book, The Sleep Myth, will be published in summer 2027. 

* All content within this article is provided for general information only, and should not be treated as a substitute for the medical advice of health care professionals.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/future/article/20260911-should-you-try-to-catch-up-on-sleep-at-the-weekend

The Sleep Issue You Shouldn't Ignore If You Care About Longevity

From health.yahoo.com

The Unexpected Link Between Insomnia Treatment & Biological Aging

You can be exhausted all day and still lie awake the moment your head hits the pillow. Night after night, chronic insomnia can leave you foggy, frustrated, and wondering whether your body has forgotten how to sleep.

A recent study asked whether insomnia affects more than energy and focus. Could treating it also change the pace of biological aging?

About the study

Researchers analysed data from a randomized controlled trial involving 92 adults ages 60 and older.

About half received cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBT-I), which targets the thoughts and habits that keep insomnia going. The rest received sleep education therapy (SET), focused on sleep habits and biology without the same behavioural techniques.

The researchers measured biological aging, or how quickly the body appears to be aging based on biological markers. They used three tools at the start of the study and again about two years later: DunedinPACE, GrimAge, and PhenoAge.

That question matters because chronic insomnia has been linked to cardiovascular problems, cognitive changes, and frailty. The researchers wanted to know whether treating insomnia could affect one part of the aging process.

CBT-I was linked to slower aging on one measure

After about two years, the CBT-I group showed a significantly slower pace of biological aging on DunedinPACE than the sleep education group.

CBT-I also worked better against insomnia itself. About one-third of participants reached full remission, meaning they no longer met the study's criteria for chronic insomnia. Only 13% of the sleep education group did.

The results were not consistent across all three aging measures. GrimAge and PhenoAge showed no statistically significant difference between the groups.

One showed a similar trend, but chance could not be ruled out.

So, the study offers an encouraging signal, not proof that treating insomnia will help people live longer or slow aging in every biological sense.

What it could mean for longevity

Because participants were assigned to different treatments, the researchers could examine whether improving insomnia was linked to changes in biological aging over time, rather than simply observing that poor sleep and poor health occur together.

Still, the study was small, and the aging analysis was exploratory. Larger studies must confirm the finding and determine whether changes in biological aging lead to better healthspan or a longer life.

The practical message is simpler: chronic insomnia deserves treatment, even without the longevity angle.

If insomnia has become your norm

If poor sleep is affecting your days, take practical steps to address it rather than simply accepting it as part of aging.

• Schedule an appointment with your doctor or a sleep specialist. Ask whether your symptoms could be related to chronic insomnia, sleep apnoea, restless legs syndrome, medication side effects, pain, depression, anxiety, or another treatable condition.

• Ask specifically about CBT-I. It is the first-line treatment for chronic insomnia and can help change the thoughts, routines, and behaviours that keep sleep problems going. It may be available in person, through telehealth, or with a clinician-guided digital program.

• Keep a sleep diary for one to two weeks. Record when you go to bed, how long it takes to fall asleep, night-time awakenings, your wake time, naps, caffeine, alcohol, exercise, and how rested you feel. This can help your clinician identify patterns.

• Keep a consistent wake time. Getting up at roughly the same time every day helps reinforce your body's sleep-wake rhythm, even after a poor night.

• Use your bed mainly for sleep. If you are awake and frustrated for a prolonged period, get up and do something quiet in dim light. Return to bed when you feel sleepy.

• Protect the conditions that support sleep. Keep your bedroom cool, dark, and quiet, and limit bright screens and stimulating activities close to bedtime.

• Review substances that can disrupt sleep. Caffeine, nicotine, alcohol, and some medications can make it harder to sleep or stay asleep, and common over-the-counter sleep aids come with their own trade-offs. Ask a clinician before changing any prescribed medication.

• Support your broader health. Regular daytime movement, time outdoors, a balanced diet, social connection, and management of blood pressure and other chronic conditions can all contribute to better overall health.

Better sleep can support your mood, thinking, and physical health. You do not need a biological aging test to know that treating persistent insomnia is worthwhile.

The takeaway

CBT-I may slow biological aging, but current evidence is early and limited to one of three aging measures.

For now, it remains a proven treatment for chronic insomnia, with a possible longevity benefit researchers are still investigating.

https://health.yahoo.com/wellness/sleep/articles/sleep-issue-shouldnt-ignore-care-093600126.html