The Power Nap Advantage: Can a Short Sleep Boost Your Exercise Performance?

September 15, 2024

by Cathe Friedrich

Can taking a short nap give you a workout advantage? These days, most people skimp on sleep, making an afternoon siesta a tempting proposition. But how might it affect your workouts? Can it help you achieve your fitness goals? Enter the power nap – a short, rejuvenating period of sleep designed to restore your body and mind.

What is a Power Nap?

Power naps, by nature, are short. They can be as compact as 10 minutes or as long as 30 minutes. They’re designed not to be lengthy, as longer naps can cause a “sleep hangover,” where you feel groggy afterward. Longer naps can also make it harder to fall asleep at night too.

What distinguishes power naps from longer-duration nap breaks? Scientists divide sleep into stages. These stages include light sleep, deep sleep and rapid-eye movement sleep, the stage at which most dreaming occurs. When you take a power nap, you enter the lighter stages of sleep but don’t rest long enough to enter deep sleep. By staying in the lighter stages of sleep, you get a pick-me-up without grogginess.

The Benefits of Power Napping for Exercise Performance

According to research, a nap can boost exercise performance. A 2021 review study found that naps lasting 20 to 90 minutes (longer than the average power nap) benefit athletic performance. Based on the study, taking a nap improved alertness, reaction time, and memory recall in athletes. Who wouldn’t want those perks? When you’re more alert and have a faster reaction time, you perform better and are less likely to get injured.

What about Muscle Recovery after a Workout?

Another intriguing idea that some trainers believe is that napping helps your muscle recover better after a workout. Although this makes sense, as muscle repair occurs during sleep, there are few studies addressing this issue. One problem with this idea is that power naps are so short that you don’t enter the deeper stages of sleep when your body releases hormones, like growth hormones, which help with muscle repair and recovery. You release most anabolic hormones during REM (rapid eye movement) sleep and, unless you enter REM sleep, you won’t get a surge in these hormones. To enter REM sleep, you would have to extend your nap to at least an hour and some sources say 90 minutes. That’s not practical for most people and you have the drawback of having a “sleep hangover,” where you paradoxically feel sleepy when you wake up.

Timing Your Power Nap for Optimal Results

To get the most benefit (better focus and reaction time), time your naps. A power nap is between 10 and 30 minutes, but as a study showed, you may get more benefits (based on some research) by extending your nap to up to 90 minutes. The downside is you could feel groggy after a nap of that length.

Consider taking a power nap in the early afternoon. This is the time when many people experience a drop in energy. There’s another benefit of napping in the afternoon. A 2021 meta-analysis found that afternoon naps boost cognitive performance in healthy adults. According to the study, you’ll gain the most benefits by taking a nap before 1:00 pm.

Here are guidelines to maximizing the benefits of your naps:

Nap in the same comfortable location and at the same time each day. This will help synchronize your internal biological clock to your designated time.
Don’t nap too close to bedtime. (after 3:00 pm)
Create a restful environment that is dark, quiet and cool
Combine naps with good overall sleep habits and post-workout nutrition and hydration.
Set an alarm to ensure you don’t oversleep and feel groggy.
Keep a journal, so you know how it affects your workouts and whether it improves your performance and how you feel afterward.

Here’s another tip from the Sleep Foundation. Do you enjoy coffee? Try a coffee nap! They recommend consuming a cup of coffee with between 100 and 200 milligrams of caffeine before taking a nap. It takes around 30 minutes for the caffeine to exert its effects on your brain. So, it’ll be easier to wake up at the 30-minute point. In this case, caffeine is like a natural alarm clock. By doing this, you awaken more energized and ready to go! Plus, if you’re exercising afterward, the caffeine could subtly boost your performance.

And don’t forget that napping after a workout can help you recover physically and mentally, especially if you are in a sleep deficit. Hopefully, you’re still getting a good night’s sleep though!

The Power of Rest

When you train, the message that often comes across is that we should train harder. But you’ll get the most improvement by balancing hard training with rest and recovery. Power naps or longer naps up to 90 minutes are a way to rest your body and mind and enhance your performance by increasing alertness and reaction time. A few minutes of shut eye may be all it takes to supercharge your performance and propel you towards your fitness dreams. Sweet dreams, and happy training!

References:

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Lastella M, Halson SL, Vitale JA, Memon AR, Vincent GE. To Nap or Not to Nap? A Systematic Review Evaluating Napping Behavior in Athletes and the Impact on Various Measures of Athletic Performance. Nat Sci Sleep. 2021 Jun 24;13:841-862. doi: 10.2147/NSS.S315556. PMID: 34194254; PMCID: PMC8238550.
“Should I Nap Right After My Workout? – Sleep Foundation.” 22 Dec. 2023, https://www.sleepfoundation.org/physical-activity/should-i-nap-right-after-my-workout.
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