Napping is often seen as necessary in the face of our busy days and lack of sleep.
Right after lunch or in the middle of the afternoon, it is common to feel tired. We yawn, lose concentration and fight the urge to sleep. The ideal is then to take a nap. “The problem of our population is sleep debt. In France, 30% of the population sleeps less than 6 hours per night during the week”explains Dr. Françoise Vecchierini, sleep specialist and member of the National Institute of Sleep and Vigilance. This sleep deprivation creates a state of drowsiness, particularly in the early afternoon. But should we succumb to the call of the nap or hold on until the next night? The specialist answers our questions.
For Dr. Vecchierini, napping is a beneficial response for sleep and therefore for health. This need is expressed “from the moment you feel sleepy, struggle to do your afternoon tasks, become a little aggressive, unpleasant or much less focused.” But be careful, you shouldn’t take just any nap. There are several types:
► The short nap of 5 to 10 minutes: used for intellectual recovery, “for example before an important meeting to have an energetic awakening in the short term”
► The 20/30 minute nap: it stimulates alertness for the rest of the day
► A long nap of at least 1 hour: it represents an entire sleep cycle. “It has the benefits of real sleep because it repays the sleep debt.” but the disadvantage of causing deep sleep and therefore causing sleep inertia. This inertia, also called “mental fog”, results in fatigue and drowsiness that is always present upon waking, making it difficult to get back into activity. For Dr. Vecchierini, it is the nap that should be avoided in order to get back into shape in the afternoon. “A nap that is too long will also be a source of imbalance in the circadian clock”adds the expert. It will be difficult to fall asleep at night, which will increase sleep deprivation and therefore sleep debt. “A long nap of one or two hours is especially recommended for people who work at night, before going to work.”
To get back into shape, the ideal is to take a 20-minute nap.It may seem brief but it allows you to be in light slow wave sleep and wake up feeling refreshed and ready.” This type of nap has benefits on mood, cognitive level and work efficiency by improving concentration, memory, creativity and reducing stress. “You can even have a coffee just before your 20-minute nap. Since it has a time delay, the effects of the coffee will appear when you wake up.”concludes the specialist.