Do you ever wake up cranky after a nap?
We’ve all felt it. We take a snooze thinking we’re going to wake up refreshed and ready to take on the rest of the day. But we end up waking up groggy and cranky from a nap. Why? Well, it all starts with something called sleep inertia, which is basically your body’s reaction to waking up in the middle of your REM cycle. Here are some tips so you won't be waking up cranky from a nap.
While you thought that 30-minute nap was supposed to help, you may have overdone it and gone straight into the type of sleep that your body needs at night.
Here’s how to fix the problem:
1) Take a Power Nap
As college students, we probably don't have 90 minutes to spare in our day. Power naps are 10 minutes long and are the best way to quickly recharge before your body starts any sort of sleep cycle, so you won’t wake up cranky. In this case, less is more.
2) Take a Coffee Nap
If you’re like me, chances are you already drank coffee before your midday nap. A coffee nap is when you drink coffee (or anything with caffeine) before you nap so you wake up with energy. Studies show that caffeine takes about 20 minutes to kick in, which is the perfect amount of time to nap.
3) 90 minute naps
If you really can't swing a shorter nap, take one that's 90 minutes long, the length of one full sleep cycle. Set a timer for an hour and a half and wake up feeling like you actually got 8 hours of sleep last night.
Even though a shorter nap sounds counterintuitive, it's actually the most effective way to recharge. Hopefully this information will allow your naps to be efficient and your days productive. Sweet dreams!