Sleep Snacks: Why Your Nap Needs Are Uniquely Yours

I love napping. Like, love love. I wear a “Good at Naps” necklace. Hell, I even have a whole Etsy store dedicated to it. It’s truly one of my favorite things.

I hear frequently: “I can’t nap, and I’m super jealous that you can.” And look, I get it. I’m jealous of people who can glance at carbs and still fit in their jeans. We all have our struggles.

But napping actually isn’t for everyone.

When we think about sleep, it’s easy to imagine it as one big, monolithic unattainable concept. A singular block of rest. Before I learned anything about sleep, I thought it was like the TV show Severance. You close your eyes and wake up in the morning; nothing happening in between.

But sleep is your body’s reset button—a time when both your brain and body repair and recharge. This process is guided by your circadian rhythm, a 24-hour internal clock that regulates when you feel awake, and sleep pressure, the gradual build-up of a chemical drive for sleep the longer you’re awake.

Think of sleep like food. The longer you go without it, the hungrier you get. That’s sleep pressure.

Sleep pressure is like a balloon slowly inflating—the longer you're awake, the more that balloon fills with a chemical called adenosine that makes you feel sleepy. Eventually, the pressure becomes so intense that your body signals it's time to sleep. While you sleep, your brain clears out the adenosine, resetting the pressure. This is why, in healthy sleepers, you wake up feeling refreshed after a good night’s sleep.

Think of nighttime sleep as your main meal, and naps as sleep snacks. A quick 10-20 minute nap can partially reduce your sleep pressure by clearing out a bit of adenosine. It’s like taking the edge off without fully deflating the balloon, leaving you feeling more refreshed without interfering with nighttime sleep.

Short naps have been shown to lower blood pressure, boost memory and learning, and improve your mood and productivity levels. Think of it as a control-alt-delete for your brain. Research even suggests that a well-timed nap can help regulate your stress levels and improve heart health.

For most people, the ideal time to nap is about seven hours after waking up, typically between 1 and 3 p.m. If you work from home, this is easier to pull off. If your office has a sofa or nap pods, this is the time to use them. Even your car is a good option (been there, done that—no judgment).

Important though: Don’t let your nap go past 25 minutes and set an alarm if it helps. As we sleep, we cycle through light, deep, and REM sleep roughly every 90 minutes. The deep and REM stages are where the magic happens—your body repairs tissues, consolidates memories, and regulates emotions. Waking up during these stages can leave you groggy and potentially more tired than when you started. If you need a longer nap, aim for a full 90 minutes to complete the entire sleep cycle.

Like food, some people absolutely need a snack to survive the afternoon. No snack? They’re ready to gnaw off their own arm by dinnertime. Others skip snacks because it spoils their appetite. Napping works the same way.

If you struggle to sleep at night, napping can make it worse. You need all the sleep pressure you can build to fall asleep when you need to. However, if you have a naturally higher sleep drive (meaning your body has a stronger biological need for sleep) and don't struggle with nighttime sleep, a quick nap can be exactly what you need to recharge, especially as afternoon fatigue sets in.

If napping doesn’t work for you or you work somewhere that napping isn’t possible, try a 10-minute power down. Play a simple game on your phone, do some deep breathing, or try a short meditation (Headspace has some awesome ones). Your brain will thank you without messing with your nighttime sleep.

Sleep isn't one-size-fits-all, and neither are naps. And prioritizing your sleep means figuring out what feels best for YOUR body. If you discover that naps recharge you, embrace it with pride - there's nothing lazy or shameful about honoring your body's needs. What matters is what leaves you feeling energized and ready to tackle the rest of your day. No one else gets to decide that for you. Play around, keep a journal, you might be surprised what works for you.

When Napping Isn’t a Choice

Naps weren’t always a choice for me. They were relentless. One moment I’d be fully engaged, the next, drowning in the unbearable, all-consuming certainty that if I didn’t go to sleep right then, I might die. I’d slip away from meetings, hide in the bathroom, and steal a few precious minutes of rest. I worked for the President of the United States, surrounded by the best and brightest—people navigating impossible jobs on even more impossible hours. And yet, I never saw them sneaking into bathrooms to sleep. I felt lazy. Weak. Like I didn’t want it badly enough.

At 35, after nearly two decades of fighting my body, I was diagnosed with narcolepsy—a neurological condition that disrupts the sleep-wake cycle. If any of this feels familiar to you, know this: sleep disorders are real. And they’re treatable. You don’t have to navigate this alone.

For support, I highly recommend the Sleep Helpline—a free, national resource offering personalized guidance for anyone facing sleep issues or disorders.