The Negative Effects of Napping

As much as you may enjoy your daily afternoon nap, a nap is not always a good thing.
A nap can leave you feel more sleepy and groggy and this can put you into a foul mood.
The worst thing a nap can do is to disrupt your regular sleeping pattern at night.

If you want to have a good nap you need to have the ability to fall asleep anywhere.
If you can only sleep in your bed, napping is not going to work very well for you.
 If you enjoy sleeping on the couch or in an armchair, then go ahead and take a nap.

So why do people nap?
That's a great question and there can be many different reasons for this. You may simply have
trouble falling asleep and staying asleep. You may suffer from a sleeping disorder and the only
way to deal with this is by napping.

Shift workers often nap to compensate for working through the night. It can be difficult to get a
 good solid sleep in the day. Taking a nap before going to work can help rejuvenate them and
 allows them to stay alert while working.

The downside to napping is that people often view you in a different light, just because you take
 a nap. Most people associate napping with young children, seniors and people who are sick.
You may be viewed as lazy or lacking in ambition because you take daily naps.

Research has shown that people who nap often have an increased risk of heart problems.
This may be due to not sleeping for a solid 6 or 7 hours at one time.

If you like to nap you want to ensure that your nap does not last more than 30 minutes.
When you allow yourself to nap for longer periods, you are increasing your chances of falling
 into a deeper sleep. When you waken from a deep sleep you may experience that groggy and
moody feeling.

You are much better off to nap for about 10 minutes at a time. 
This length of time has been shown to improve your mood and restore your energy levels.
If you enjoy and benefit from napping, then continue to do so. But, if you wake up feeling moody
and tired you may want to look at making changes to your lifestyle.

The best sleep pattern is still one that allows you to sleep, uninterrupted for 7 or 8 hours each night.