A short afternoon nap can feel like the perfect reset. After a busy morning, a quick period of sleep may leave you feeling more alert, less tired, and ready to finish the day.But new research is adding an important detail to the conversation about daytime naps:
It may not be the fact that you nap that matters most—it may be how long you nap and why you need the nap in the first place.
A 2026 umbrella review examining 16 meta-analyses and 244 health-related outcomes found that shorter daytime naps were generally associated with better cognitive and fatigue-related outcomes, while naps lasting more than an hour were associated with higher risks of several chronic health outcomes. The researchers concluded that keeping naps to 60 minutes or less may offer a better balance between potential benefits and risks.
That does not mean everyone who sleeps during the afternoon is harming their health. The research is largely observational, and long naps may sometimes be a sign of an underlying health or sleep problem rather than the cause of it.
So, should you keep taking your afternoon nap?
In many cases, yes—but there are some important things to know.
Why Do We Feel Sleepy in the Afternoon?
Feeling sleepy after lunch is not necessarily a sign that something is wrong.
Humans naturally experience changes in alertness throughout the day. A dip in wakefulness commonly occurs during the afternoon, which can make a short nap feel particularly refreshing.
A nap can provide temporary relief from sleepiness and fatigue, particularly if you did not get enough sleep the previous night.
Research in older adults has also found that daytime naps can improve subjective sleepiness and fatigue and may improve some measures of psychomotor performance and learning.
The key is understanding the difference between a short restorative nap and a prolonged period of daytime sleep.
Short Naps May Be the Sweet Spot
If you love daytime naps, you don’t necessarily need to give them up.
The latest umbrella review found that naps lasting less than 60 minutes were associated with cognitive benefits and reduced fatigue, while longer naps were associated with greater health risks.
Other research has been even more specific.
A 2024 meta-analysis of 44 cohort studies involving more than 1.8 million participants found that naps lasting 30 minutes or longer were associated with increased risks of mortality, cardiovascular disease, and metabolic disease, whereas naps shorter than 30 minutes did not show significant associations with those outcomes.
These findings don’t prove that a 31-minute nap causes disease. They show an association in observational research.
Still, they provide a useful practical message:
If you are going to nap, a short nap may be preferable to sleeping for a large portion of the afternoon.
What Happens When You Sleep for Too Long?
Long naps can sometimes leave you feeling worse instead of better.
After a prolonged nap, you may wake up feeling:
- Groggy
- Confused
- Heavy-headed
- Less motivated
- Sleepier than before the nap
This can happen because longer naps are more likely to involve deeper stages of sleep. Waking from deeper sleep can produce a temporary period of reduced alertness known as sleep inertia.
Long daytime sleep can also interfere with nighttime sleep for some people.
And there is another issue that researchers are particularly interested in: the association between long naps and chronic health conditions.
A systematic review of cardiovascular research found that naps of one hour or more per day were associated with higher odds of cardiovascular risk factors, cardiovascular disease, and mortality, while short naps generally did not show the same pattern among younger and middle-aged adults.
Does Napping Increase the Risk of Heart Disease?
This is where sensational headlines can become misleading.
Several observational studies have found that people who regularly take long naps have higher rates of cardiovascular disease.
For example, an earlier meta-analysis of prospective studies found that naps lasting at least 60 minutes per day were associated with increased cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality.
But this does not prove that sleeping for an hour during the afternoon causes heart disease.
Why?
Because people who need long naps may already have health problems.
Someone with poor nighttime sleep, sleep apnea, chronic illness, medication side effects, depression, or another health issue may naturally become excessively sleepy during the day.
In that situation, the nap could be a symptom or marker of an underlying problem rather than the direct cause.
This distinction is extremely important.
What Does the Newest Research Say?
The 2026 umbrella review provides one of the more comprehensive recent assessments of the subject.
Researchers examined 16 meta-analyses covering 244 health-related outcomes. Their findings suggested that naps shorter than an hour may provide cognitive and fatigue-related benefits, while naps longer than an hour were associated with approximately 30% higher coronary-heart-disease risk and about 20% higher risks of diabetes and obesity.
The researchers concluded that limiting naps to 60 minutes or less may provide a better balance between potential benefits and risks.
Importantly, this is still evidence based largely on associations. It should not be interpreted as proof that taking a 65-minute nap will cause diabetes, obesity, or heart disease.
What About a 20- or 30-Minute Nap?
A short nap may be particularly useful when your goal is simply to restore alertness.
Short naps are less likely to take you into deeper sleep, making it easier to wake up and return to your normal activities.
The 2026 review specifically reported benefits from 20- to 30-minute naps for physical performance and recovery, particularly among people experiencing sleep deprivation.
That makes the classic “power nap” a reasonable option for many healthy adults.
You don’t necessarily need to sleep for 90 minutes to feel refreshed.
Can Napping Improve Brain Function?
Possibly.
Research involving older adults has found an association between short-to-moderate daytime naps and better cognitive performance compared with both no napping and very long naps.
A systematic review of 35 studies found evidence suggesting an inverted U-shaped relationship between nap duration and cognitive function: moderate amounts of daytime sleep may be more beneficial than either no naps or very long naps.
Other research has reported improvements in alertness, learning, psychomotor performance, and fatigue following daytime naps.
However, researchers still don’t know whether habitual napping directly improves long-term brain health.
What About Older Adults?
Napping becomes more common as people get older.
Older adults may experience changes in nighttime sleep, circadian rhythms, medications, activity levels, and health conditions that contribute to daytime sleepiness.
A systematic review focused specifically on older adults found that daytime napping generally had positive effects on subjective sleepiness and fatigue, as well as some aspects of psychomotor performance and learning. The review found minimal evidence that napping itself was harmful to nighttime sleep in the studies examined.
However, long or frequent naps should not automatically be dismissed as harmless.
If an older person suddenly begins sleeping for long periods during the day, particularly if this is accompanied by worsening nighttime sleep, confusion, weakness, breathlessness, or other symptoms, it is sensible to discuss the change with a healthcare professional.
When Is a Nap a Warning Sign?
Sometimes the important question isn’t:
“Is napping healthy?”
It is:
“Why do I need to nap so much?”
Occasional afternoon sleepiness can be completely normal.
But regularly needing long daytime naps may be worth investigating.
Potential reasons for excessive daytime sleepiness can include:
- Not getting enough sleep at night
- Poor-quality sleep
- Obstructive sleep apnea
- Certain medications
- Depression or other mental-health conditions
- Chronic medical conditions
- Irregular sleep schedules
- Shift work
- Sleep disorders
If you are sleeping adequately at night but still feel that you could fall asleep during the day, don’t simply assume you need more naps.
The underlying cause may deserve attention.
The Difference Between a Nap and Catch-Up Sleep
There’s another important distinction.
Suppose you stayed up late several nights in a row and slept only five hours per night.
A nap the next afternoon may simply be your body’s attempt to recover from sleep deprivation.
That’s different from someone who regularly sleeps eight or nine hours at night and still needs two or three hours of daytime sleep every day.
The first situation may reflect insufficient nighttime sleep.
The second could potentially indicate excessive daytime sleepiness or another issue that deserves investigation.
Does Napping Make It Harder to Sleep at Night?
It can.
The effect depends on factors such as nap duration, timing, individual sleep needs, and nighttime sleep quality.
A long nap late in the afternoon can reduce your sleep pressure—the biological drive to sleep—and make it harder to fall asleep at bedtime.
A short nap earlier in the afternoon is less likely to interfere with nighttime sleep for many people.
If you regularly struggle to fall asleep at night, experimenting with shorter naps—or temporarily eliminating them—may help you determine whether the nap is contributing to the problem.
The Best Time to Nap
There is no single perfect nap time for everyone.
However, an afternoon nap is generally more compatible with the body’s natural daytime dip in alertness than a nap late in the evening.
If you nap too close to bedtime, you may find that your nighttime sleep becomes more difficult.
A practical approach is to nap earlier rather than later and keep the nap relatively short.
How Long Should Your Nap Be?
For many healthy adults, a practical starting point is:
10–20 minutes
A very short nap can provide a quick boost in alertness without taking up much of the day.
20–30 minutes
This is often called a “power nap” and may be useful when you need to recover from fatigue or sleep deprivation. The 2026 umbrella review found particular performance and recovery benefits associated with naps in this range.
30–60 minutes
This may provide additional sleep but also increases the possibility of grogginess after waking. Observational research has produced mixed findings regarding this range.
More than 60 minutes
This is where the research becomes more concerning. Long habitual naps have repeatedly been associated with higher risks of cardiovascular and metabolic outcomes.
Again, association does not establish causation.
How to Take a Better Nap
If you enjoy daytime naps, a few simple habits can make them more useful.
Set an alarm
Don’t rely on waking naturally if you know you tend to sleep for several hours.
Keep the room comfortable
A dark, quiet, and comfortable environment can make it easier to fall asleep quickly.
Nap earlier
An early or mid-afternoon nap is generally less likely to interfere with nighttime sleep than a late-evening nap.
Don’t use naps to replace nighttime sleep
A nap can supplement your sleep, but it should not routinely become a substitute for adequate nighttime sleep.
Pay attention to how you feel afterward
If a short nap leaves you refreshed, it may be working well for you.
If every nap leaves you extremely groggy or you consistently need several hours of sleep during the day, consider discussing your sleep pattern with a healthcare professional.
What If You Don’t Nap?
You don’t need to start napping simply because research suggests that short naps can have benefits.
If you sleep well at night and feel alert throughout the day, there is no requirement to add a nap to your routine.
Napping is a tool—not a health obligation.
Some people function perfectly well without daytime sleep.
Don’t Panic About Headlines Saying “Naps Are Dangerous”
You may see headlines claiming that daytime naps increase your risk of heart disease, diabetes, or death.
Those headlines leave out an important part of the scientific story.
Most of the large studies linking naps with long-term disease outcomes are observational studies. Researchers observe people’s habits and health outcomes, but this type of research cannot by itself establish that the nap caused the disease.
There may be other explanations.
For example, a person with an undiagnosed sleep disorder might take long daily naps because they are excessively sleepy. That person’s higher health risk could be related to the underlying disorder rather than the nap itself.
This is why researchers continue to study the relationship.
So, Should You Stop Taking Your Afternoon Nap?
For most people, there is no reason to panic about an occasional short nap.
If a 10-, 20-, or 30-minute afternoon nap helps you feel refreshed without interfering with nighttime sleep, it can be a reasonable part of your routine.
The bigger concern is habitual, prolonged daytime sleep, particularly naps lasting more than an hour every day.
Recent evidence suggests that keeping naps relatively short may provide cognitive and fatigue-related benefits while avoiding some of the associations seen with prolonged napping.
And if you suddenly find yourself needing long naps every day, the answer may not be “sleep more during the afternoon.”
It may be worth asking why you’re so sleepy in the first place.
The Bottom Line
Daytime naps are not automatically good or bad.
Duration matters. Timing matters. Your overall sleep matters. And the reason you’re napping matters.
The latest evidence suggests that:
- Short naps can improve alertness and reduce fatigue.
- Naps of around 20–30 minutes may be useful for performance and recovery.
- Longer habitual naps, particularly those exceeding an hour, are associated with higher risks of several cardiovascular and metabolic outcomes.
- Long naps may sometimes be a marker of poor nighttime sleep or an underlying health problem.
- A nap should complement healthy nighttime sleep—not routinely replace it.
So if you love your afternoon nap, you don’t necessarily have to give it up.
Just consider making it shorter, taking it earlier in the afternoon, and paying attention to whether you are becoming unusually dependent on daytime sleep.
A little sleep may refresh you.
A very long nap every day may be telling you something else.