This is something that happens to me from time to time since I was a kid.
I would take a nap after lunch, on a day like today. Then sometimes wake up feeling disoriented and depressed. Other times I’d feel fine.
What causes this specifically and why does it only happen sometimes?
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Hmm. I thought it was down to me having used up all of the hormone that ‘wakes’ me up, so the out-of-routine nap leaves me groggy.
Hmm. I thought it was down to me having used up all of the hormone that ‘wakes’ me up, so the out-of-routine nap leaves me groggy.
Our sleep pattern cycles every 90 minutes. The first 30 mins is light, the next 30 is deep, and the 30 after that is rousing you back into light sleep. If you never want to have a groggy nap again, sleep either 30 mins or an hour and a half. You’ll be in, or close enough, to light sleep, that it won’t make you feel like you got hit by a truck.
Any more than an hour and a half, your body starts prepping for the big 8 hour sleep where you’re immobilised and going into REM. There’s a bunch of other processes your brain goes through when you go down for the night-time sleep like memory categorisation/body restoration/etc. Your circadian rhythm (24 hour physical/mental/behavioural cycle) can’t usually tell the difference between a 2pm nap and a 10pm bed time. So interrupting that rhythm and those processes ends up feeling quite bad.
(this is VERY generalised information that I’ve gathered over a few years of brushing up against sleep studies and sleep behaviour analyses for pure curiosities’ sake. take it with a grain of salt.)
Our sleep pattern cycles every 90 minutes. The first 30 mins is light, the next 30 is deep, and the 30 after that is rousing you back into light sleep. If you never want to have a groggy nap again, sleep either 30 mins or an hour and a half. You’ll be in, or close enough, to light sleep, that it won’t make you feel like you got hit by a truck.
Any more than an hour and a half, your body starts prepping for the big 8 hour sleep where you’re immobilised and going into REM. There’s a bunch of other processes your brain goes through when you go down for the night-time sleep like memory categorisation/body restoration/etc. Your circadian rhythm (24 hour physical/mental/behavioural cycle) can’t usually tell the difference between a 2pm nap and a 10pm bed time. So interrupting that rhythm and those processes ends up feeling quite bad.
(this is VERY generalised information that I’ve gathered over a few years of brushing up against sleep studies and sleep behaviour analyses for pure curiosities’ sake. take it with a grain of salt.)
Probably depends on a lot of factors like caffeine, sugar and water intake, or stress levels earlier in the day.
Probably depends on a lot of factors like caffeine, sugar and water intake, or stress levels earlier in the day.
There are different stages of sleep. Light, deep, and REM. Waking up when still in the deep sleep phase leaves you groggy and moody.
The Stuff You Should Know podcast just had an episode on naps.
There are different stages of sleep. Light, deep, and REM. Waking up when still in the deep sleep phase leaves you groggy and moody.
The Stuff You Should Know podcast just had an episode on naps.
Sleep as near as we can tell is necessary for your brain to clean house. It happens in cycles lasting roughly 90-110 minutes. Where you’re at in that cycle when you wake up can have a dramatic affect on how you feel.
Imagine you’re at home and have a bit of free time so you decide to clean the house. You break out some wet wipes and wipe off the counters and do some sweeping. Your friend then calls and asks you to pick them up. Since you only have the wipes and the broom out, putting everything away is a snap. This is akin to taking a short nap.
Same situation different day, but it seems like you’ll have more time to clean this day. After wiping and sweeping you decide that it’s a good time to rewax the floors like you’ve been meaning to. You break out the wax stripper and the scrubbing equipment. But oh no, your friend calls again and needs you to pick them up. You can’t just easily put everything away like you did before. Stopping now will leave all the scrubbing equipment and half stripped wax on the floor, leaving your house messier than when you started. This is akin to being woken up during deep sleep. You can actually wake up feeling more tired than when you started.
With some practice you can learn to work with your sleep cycles. After a cycle ends you usually experience a brief moment of wakefulness before starting a new cycle. If I find myself doing this near the time I’m suppose to be awake I will just get up and start my day then. Going back to sleep for “just ten more minutes” will just make me more groggy.
Sleep as near as we can tell is necessary for your brain to clean house. It happens in cycles lasting roughly 90-110 minutes. Where you’re at in that cycle when you wake up can have a dramatic affect on how you feel.
Imagine you’re at home and have a bit of free time so you decide to clean the house. You break out some wet wipes and wipe off the counters and do some sweeping. Your friend then calls and asks you to pick them up. Since you only have the wipes and the broom out, putting everything away is a snap. This is akin to taking a short nap.
Same situation different day, but it seems like you’ll have more time to clean this day. After wiping and sweeping you decide that it’s a good time to rewax the floors like you’ve been meaning to. You break out the wax stripper and the scrubbing equipment. But oh no, your friend calls again and needs you to pick them up. You can’t just easily put everything away like you did before. Stopping now will leave all the scrubbing equipment and half stripped wax on the floor, leaving your house messier than when you started. This is akin to being woken up during deep sleep. You can actually wake up feeling more tired than when you started.
With some practice you can learn to work with your sleep cycles. After a cycle ends you usually experience a brief moment of wakefulness before starting a new cycle. If I find myself doing this near the time I’m suppose to be awake I will just get up and start my day then. Going back to sleep for “just ten more minutes” will just make me more groggy.
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