Is Sleeping in the Afternoon Good or Bad For Health?

Sleeping in the afternoon may feel tempting and relaxing, but is it good for your health? We are all aware of the fact that how sleep is important for good health. Wrong sleeping habits can lead to a weak immune system and hormone disbalance which is one root cause of many health issues. 

But, is sleeping anytime 24 hrs a day good, or are there any specific hours to sleep? As much as night hours are considered healthy and important for any human body, does taking a nap during the afternoon count as healthy as well?

In this blog, we will talk about the bad and good impacts of sleep during midday, who should sleep during afternoon hours, when and for how long one should sleep during the afternoon and why a person feels sleepy during these hours. Also, we will see what Ayurveda says about Afternoon sleeping habits.

Why Do We Feel Sleepy During Daytime?

Nowadays, life has become so fast that many of us find ourselves rushing through our mornings that we often neglect the importance of a healthy breakfast. Instead, we settle for a brunch which might seem convenient but can have significant repercussions on our energy levels and productivity throughout the day.

When we have a heavy lunch our stomach needs energy to digest which needs more blood from different parts of our body, and during this process, our body instantly starts feeling drowsy and lazy. That’s why we often tend to feel sleepy right after we have lunch. 

Other than heavy lunch, if a person is on medication or had an improper night’s sleep, they can feel sleepy too during daytime.

Why Sleeping in the Afternoon is Bad For Health?

Daytime sleep is tempting, but it is not advisable to sleep during these hours (afternoon) for many reasons.

• A person who has a habit of daytime sleeping is prone to heart disease. Sleeping more than an ideal time period (which is 15 mins – 30 mins) can cause slow, fast or irregular heartbeat, and it can cause a greater risk of getting heart stroke as well.
• Sleeping excessively during the daytime can cause irregular nighttime sleeping patterns, which can lead a person to an Insomniac condition in the long run.
• Afternoon sleeping habits can make a person feel lethargic, heavy body, lazy, headache, improper digestion, impairment of memory and coughing.

However, there are some exceptions to who and when one can take an afternoon nap, about which we will talk in the later section of this blog.

How Sleeping in the Afternoon is Good?

According to studies, taking a short afternoon nap is great for adults, too. There is no need to feel lazy for indulging in daytime sleep. A short nap in the mid-afternoon can boost memory, improve job performance, lift your mood, increase alertness, and ease stress.

How to Make the Best Out of an Afternoon Nap?

We can say an afternoon sleep as a power nap. This is because it is advisable to take a quick nap for as long as 20-30 minutes to regain the energy for the rest of your day. The longer the nap the more groggy one might feel afterwards.

a nap should be taken in the early afternoon, that is before 3 p.m. to avoid any interference in night time sleep.

Conclusion

Finally, we can say that, though sleeping in the afternoon is not healthy, a power nap of about 15-30 minutes, early in the afternoon can be considered good for health as it recharges your body to work for the rest of your day.