Daytime Naps: Benefits for Recovery
A daytime nap is one of the most accessible recovery tools: it requires neither equipment nor supplements. Many professional teams officially include it in their training-camp schedules. The editorial team looked into when a nap helps, how many minutes to sleep, and how not to spoil your nighttime rest.
Why an Athlete Needs a Daytime Nap
The main function of a daytime nap for an athlete is to compensate for nighttime sleep loss. Early workouts, evening matches, flights, and pre-competition anxiety often prevent getting the needed 8-9 hours at night. A short nap during the day allows you to partly repay the debt and reduce its effect on attention, reaction time, and well-being.
The second function is support between two training sessions in a day. When there are several hours between a morning and evening session, sleep in that interval helps restore concentration, reduce the feeling of fatigue, and get ready for the next load. This is exactly why daytime rest is included in the schedule of many training camps.
The third function is linked to biological rhythms. In most people, at the start of the afternoon there is a natural dip in alertness - the so-called postprandial, or post-lunch, dip. It exists independently of food and is part of the circadian rhythm. A short sleep during this period 'fits into' natural physiology and usually comes easily.
Finally, a daytime nap is useful for learning: some studies indicate that sleep after training a new motor skill helps consolidate it. For technical sports this is an additional argument in favor of an after-lunch pause.
What the Research Shows
In a study by Waterhouse and colleagues (2007), young men, after a night of sleep shortened to 4 hours, either rested or slept about 30 minutes after lunch. The short nap improved subjective alertness, some measures of short-term memory, and 20-meter sprint time compared with no sleep. The authors concluded that a daytime nap is beneficial specifically against a background of partial deprivation.
A systematic review by Lastella and colleagues (2021), devoted to daytime napping in athletes, reached a similar general conclusion: a nap of roughly 20 to 90 minutes generally improves cognitive performance and some aspects of physical performance, and also reduces subjective fatigue. At the same time, study quality is heterogeneous, samples are small, and protocols differ greatly.
The effect is stronger in those who are sleep-deprived. If an athlete gets enough sleep at night, a nap gives a smaller gain - there is simply nothing to 'compensate' for. A daytime nap should therefore be seen as a tool, not a mandatory ritual for everyone.
The expert consensus on sleep in athletes (Walsh and colleagues, 2021) also mentions napping as a useful strategy, especially with early workouts and after travel, but advises ensuring it does not interfere with falling asleep at night.
Duration and Sleep Inertia
A key concept to know is sleep inertia. It is a state of grogginess, disorientation, and reduced performance immediately after waking. It is strongest when a person wakes from deep slow-wave sleep and can last from a few minutes to half an hour or longer.
Brooks and Lack (2006) compared naps of different durations after nighttime sleep restriction. A ten-minute nap produced a quick improvement in alertness with virtually no inertia. Twenty- and thirty-minute naps had an effect, but after thirty minutes noticeable inertia appeared. A five-minute nap barely helped.
Another option is a full sleep cycle of about 90 minutes. A person passes through the stages of light, deep, and REM sleep and usually wakes from a lighter stage, so inertia is less pronounced than after 40-60 minutes. Such a nap is appropriate after a very short night or on a competition day with an evening start, when there is time to fully 'wake up.'
| Duration | Advantages | Limitations | When appropriate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-20 min | Quick gain in alertness, minimal inertia | Small contribution to repaying sleep debt | Before training, during a workday |
| 30-60 min | More deep sleep | Pronounced inertia after waking | If there are at least 30-60 min before a load |
| ~90 min | Full cycle, greater debt compensation | May interfere with nighttime sleep | After a short night, a flight, a competition |
A practical rule: the less time between waking and a load, the shorter the nap should be. If training is in an hour, 15-20 minutes is enough; if there are still several hours until the start, you can allow yourself a longer sleep.
When and How to Nap Correctly
The optimal time for a daytime nap in most people is roughly from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., that is, during the natural dip in alertness. Sleeping later than 4-5 p.m. more often interferes with falling asleep at night, especially if it is long.
Conditions matter just as much as at night: darkness (an eye mask), quiet or earplugs, coolness, a comfortable position. Even if you fail to fall asleep, 20 minutes of calm lying with eyes closed provides some rest.
A well-known technique is the 'coffee nap.' A person drinks coffee and immediately lies down for 15-20 minutes. Caffeine starts to act about the time they wake, helping them shed inertia faster. Reyner and Horne (1997) showed that combining caffeine and a short nap reduced sleepiness in drivers on a simulator more effectively than either measure alone. However, this technique should not be used in the afternoon by those in whom caffeine worsens nighttime sleep.
- Set an alarm so you do not 'sink' into deep sleep.
- After waking - light, water, a light warm-up.
- Plan your nap on a schedule, not only when you 'absolutely can't.'
- Watch how a daytime nap affects falling asleep in the evening, and adjust the duration.
For teams at training camps it is useful to build a 60-90-minute 'quiet window' into the schedule after lunch. Not all athletes will sleep, but the chance to rest without stimuli is beneficial in itself.
Who a Daytime Nap Can Harm
A daytime nap is not for everyone. People with insomnia often worsen their nighttime sleep if they nap during the day: 'sleep pressure' drops, and it becomes even harder to fall asleep in the evening. In such cases sleep specialists usually advise giving up daytime naps at least during treatment.
Some people tolerate even a short nap poorly: after waking they feel wrecked, with a headache. If this happens regularly, it may be worth shortening the duration to 10 minutes or replacing the nap with quiet rest without a phone.
A constant need to sleep during the day in a person who supposedly gets enough sleep at night is a reason to consider the quality of nighttime sleep. Snoring, awakenings, and morning headaches can indicate sleep apnea; daytime sleepiness can also be a manifestation of other conditions, including anemia or thyroid dysfunction.
Finally, a daytime nap is not a substitute for nighttime sleep. It helps soften the consequences of sleep loss but does not eliminate them completely, and regularly 'patching' the deficit during the day is not equivalent to adequate nighttime rest.
Editorial Conclusions
A daytime nap is an effective and free recovery tool, especially for athletes who are short on nighttime sleep or train twice a day.
The most universal format is 10-20 minutes in the window from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.: it quickly boosts alertness and causes almost no inertia. A longer nap is appropriate if there is enough time before a load.
A daytime nap does not replace nighttime sleep and can interfere for those who have trouble falling asleep. Listen to your body and watch the quality of your nighttime rest.
The editorial team recommends also reading our materials on how much an athlete should sleep, on sleep and muscle growth, and on active recovery.
References
- 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;13:841–862.
- Waterhouse J, Atkinson G, Edwards B, Reilly T. The role of a short post-lunch nap in improving cognitive, motor, and sprint performance in participants with partial sleep deprivation. J Sports Sci. 2007;25(14):1557–1566.
- Brooks A, Lack L. A brief afternoon nap following nocturnal sleep restriction: which nap duration is most recuperative? Sleep. 2006;29(6):831–840.
- Reyner LA, Horne JA. Suppression of sleepiness in drivers: combination of caffeine with a short nap. Psychophysiology. 1997;34(6):721–725.
- Walsh NP, Halson SL, Sargent C, et al. Sleep and the athlete: narrative review and 2021 expert consensus recommendations. Br J Sports Med. 2021;55(7):356–368.
- Tietzel AJ, Lack LC. The recuperative value of brief and ultra-brief naps on alertness and cognitive performance. J Sleep Res. 2002;11(3):213–218.
Andriy Melnyk
A strength-sports coach and author of programs for beginner and intermediate levels. Writes about training planning.
