Health- How Long Should You Nap?

Apparently,  I've been napping to long and too late. I get up around 4:30 in the morning so my mid-afternoon slump comes earlier that most folks. I fight the urge to sleep as much as possible.  Every now and then, I lose the battle and fall asleep in front of the TV around 4:00p.m.. Next thing I know it's 6:00 and I wake up feeling awful and, of course, when bedtime rolls around, My brain say's, "Okay, I'm ready to think now."

Above: 92.9 The Lake Newsman, Scott Lewis, dreaming about a major story that will launch him into world-wide journalist fame.

Here's what the latest research tells us about naps...

After studying a group of young adults who napped for five, 10, 20, and 30 minutes, Australian researchers assessed the participants for a range of benefits over the next three hours.

The results? Ten minutes seems to be the sweet spot.

According to the published study results, it produced “immediate improvements in all outcome measures (including sleep latency, subjective sleepiness, fatigue, vigor, and cognitive performance), with some of these benefits maintained for as long as 155 minutes.”

Also, when it comes to nap times, the longer you nap, the more you are likely to wake up groggy and confused. But it's more than how long you nap; when you nap is equally important.

If you nap too late in the day, your body might think you’re down for the night and enter into “deep sleep,” which lessens the benefits and could mess up your body clock. So for the best results, experts recommend getting your 10 minutes of shuteye sometime between the hours of 1:00 and 3:00 p.m.