People who nap for 15 minutes wake up feeling more refreshed, sleep expert reveals

9 June 2021, 15:34 | Updated: 16 June 2021, 14:05

By Naomi Bartram

@naomibartram

A sleep expert has told us why sleeping for 15 minutes can be good for you.

Ever woken up from a nap and felt more tired than you did before?

Well, we’ve spoken to sleep expert Dr. Meeta Singh to find out all the best tips for getting the perfect snooze.

Dr. Singh is a leading sleep doctor who specialises in sports medicine and advising professional athletes.

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Speaking to us exclusively at Heart.co.uk, she told us that there is a knack to making sure you wake up from a midday nap feeling alert.

When you sleep, your body goes through cycles that consist of three sleep stages: light (N1 and N2), deep and REM sleep.

Based on these cycles, the time you spend napping can have a huge impact on how you feel for the rest of the day.

Dr. Singh explained: “Firstly, a power nap is about 15 to 20 minutes and is made up of light sleep which can be very refreshing.

“This is also known as a NASA nap as it is recommended for astronauts in space.”

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Dr Singh went on to say that a 30 minute nap can include ‘N2 sleep’ which is a little bit deeper and can also leave you refreshed.

If you’re feeling extra tired, a 90 minute nap incorporates a full cycle of sleep and often helps professional athletes recover after intense training.

But it turns out waking up during a deep sleep can actually make you feel worse, as Dr Singh added: “If you wake up around 45 minutes after you’ve taken a nap, you’re disturbing your deep sleep and you might end up feeling groggy.”

Meanwhile, Dr. Singh also explained why it is so important for everyone to understand their sleep patterns in order to improve their nighttime habits.

The new Polar Ignite 2 sport watch can help to identify factors that may have a negative impact on sleep.

The 'Sleep Plus Stages' of the device reveal how long you spend in each sleep stage and also count your sleep cycles, while the Polar Flow app gives a detailed breakdown of the quality of your sleep.

“This information and feedback is so important to understanding how we sleep,” she told us, adding: “Then you can combine that with expert opinion to make changes in your life.”

The Polar Ignite 2 is available to buy now at www.polar.com.