Bad news for those of us who enjoy a long afternoon nap (guilty as charged), a new study has uncovered the optimum time to nap for... and it’s suitably shorter than we expected.
In a recent study published in the journal Sleep, scientists from the National University of Singapore (NUS) delved into how our sneaky afternoon naps impact our mood, attentiveness and mental performance.
The 32 young adults who participated in the study took either a 10-minute, 30-minute or 60-minute nap on separate days.
On the plus side, the research found all three nap lengths were better than just staying awake throughout the day and resulted in improved focus and cognitive function.
However, the 30-minute nap had “the best trade-off between practicality and benefit”.
According to the study, we should also incorporate the time it takes us to doze off into our ‘nap time’ allocation.
So basically allowing 40 minutes away from our desks for a 30-minute nap.
The National University of Singapore’s Dr Ruth Leong said: “Mood, subjective sleepiness, cognitive performance were measured at intervals of five, 30, 60 and 240 minutes after waking in order to compare how sustained the respective nap benefits were.
“Compared to staying awake, all nap durations ranging from 10 to 60 minutes had clear benefits.”
The study found that positive mood and alertness lasted up to four hours post-nap regardless of the time napped for, so even if you can only squeeze in 10 mins of snooze time, it’s well worth it.