Why do we get so rested on just 10 minutes of sleep and why do we get the opposite effect if we sleep for a longer time?
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From my understanding. Adenosine is a chemical compound in our brains responsible for feeling drowsy/sleepy – the adenosine binds to adenosine receptors, triggering feelings of sleepiness
Any amount of sleep removes adenosine, eliminating the drowsiness as a result. If you’re feeling sleepy, a power nap of 10-15 mins can be enough to remove enough adenosine to stave off feelings of sleepiness for the short term
The body however ideally wants to use sleep to fully recharge, heal, process thoughts/experiences. So if you sleep too long, your body will begin to enter phases where these processes begin – deep sleep and REM sleep. At that point, you can wake up but because your body was jolted from an ongoing process, the sleep can feel incomplete or unfulfilling. That feeling of being jolted awake with your heart beating is you waking up right in the middle of REM or deep sleep – it’s not healthy
The trick is to figure out the length of time that’s perfect between a power nap and the beginning of restful sleep. For myself, it’s 10-20 mins depending on how fast I fall asleep. Anything longer and my body’s sleeping for the long haul
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