Sleep medicine physician Christopher Winter, MD, recommends a 20 to 25 minute daytime nap, according to Shape magazine.
So what’s the ideal length for a nap? Winter recommends limiting daytime sleep to 20 to 25 minutes and scheduling it for earlier in the day, before 1 p.m. “At that time it adds to the previous night’s sleep rather than subtracting from the sleep you’re going to get that night,” he says. And the 20 to 25-minute threshold prevents you from getting into the deeper stages of sleep, which can leave you feeling groggy instead of energized when you wake. “Think about naps more like a snack than a meal,” he says.
