Why do naps last 1 – 2 hours, but we can sleep for 8 hours straight at night?

Question

I’ve just noticed, that when I take a nap, my body wakes myself up within 1 – 2 hours. This is probably true for everyone else too. But our bodies allow us to sleep for 8 hours at night. Why can’t our bodies nap for a full 8 hours without waking up? How does our body know this? How does our body differentiate between napping vs a nights sleep?

In: Biology

Answer 1

So true. Even when I take a really long nap and feel like I slept away half the day, I look at the clock and it’s been 2 hrs max.