Taking a nap when tired can really change your day and give you the energy to make it through. Napping has benefits and negatives varying on your age and the time (both of day and length) of the rest. A nap is considered any short amount of sleep taken during the day, whether it be 20 minutes or two hours. The varyation of time can drastically affect the sleeper however. In general, sleep specialists suggest a 10-20 minute nap is best as it can help remove excessive sleepiness, relax the body and mind, as well as give fewer negative consequences when compared to longer rests. The National Sleep Foundation suggests 30 minutes is the longest you should be napping for. The younger the individual, the less likely they are to have negative sideeffects of a longer nap. The sideeffects are usually limited to 24 hours after the nap and include grogginess, difficulty concentrating, and interrupted sleep when you finally settle down for the night. The grogginess, confusion, and difficulty concentrating are labeled as Sleep Inertia and happens when a person wakes up during their REM sleep cycle. In that point in sleep, melatonin is at its highest in the brain which is the neurotransmitter that regulates the sleep-wake cycle. Those symptoms are more likely to occurr and can be more severe the longer you nap for.
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