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Naps may help make up for lost sleep

By Brittany Doohan 

If you had a tough time sleeping last night, a nap may be all you need to get back on track. Napping for just 30 minutes may help reverse some of the hormonal impacts of a poor night’s sleep, suggests a study published in the Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM). 

Study participants were limited to 2 hours of sleep for 1 night, then allowed to take 2 30-minute naps the day after. After the night of limited sleep, participants’ levels of norepinephrine — a neurotransmitter and hormone involved in the body’s fight-or-flight response to stress — almost tripled. When the participants were allowed to nap, the researchers found no change in norepinephrine levels. The results of the research suggest that napping may do more than just help you feel more awake — it may actually help reduce at least some of the harmful effects of sleep deprivation.

So if you’re feeling sleep deprived, stressed or just out of sorts, a nap may be just what you need. A little extra rest can’t hurt, right?

Published on April 22, 2016. 

Brittany Doohan is a health and lifestyle writer and editor living in San Francisco.