This Is Exactly How Long a Nap Should Be

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If you plan on curling up under your desk for a few minutes of shut-eye after lunch (Hey, you have to recharge somehow, right?), just make sure to set an alarm for 20 minutes from the time you close your eyes. According to the National Sleep Foundation’s blog, 20 minutes is the perfect amount of sleep to get if you’re looking to wake up with post-nap benefits like increased alertness, enhanced performance, and an improved mood. And sleeping any longer than that in the middle of the day could leave you worse off than no nap at all.

The problem with longer naps? When you hit the 30 to 60-minute range, you fall into deeper stages of sleep and your brain waves slow down, leaving you with a groggy “sleep hangover” when you wake up. No one wants that, right? So 20 minutes it is. And another tip: keep your socks on to doze off faster.

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