# Do naps refresh you or "zombie-fy" you? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 14, 2007, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-naps-refresh-you-or-zombie-fy-you/419131 "2007-09-14T00:38:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2007, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-naps-refresh-you-or-zombie-fy-you/419131/1 "2007-09-14T00:38:22Z")
I occasionally take daytime naps-usually when I am scheduled to go into work early and have a midday break of 3 hours or so. I don’t know why the hell I do that tho because I invariably wake up feeling even worse and more exhausted than I did before I took the nap. Today was the worst-even after a shower I still felt like the living dead. So do naps help you or hurt you? Do you take a lot of them or avoid them? ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2007, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-naps-refresh-you-or-zombie-fy-you/419131/2 "2007-09-14T00:43:32Z")
Me + nap = _braaaaaaaaaaaaaains…_ I avoid them whenever possible. Bad things happen when I let myself nod off. Like, waking up at the very end of the bus route with the driver standing in the aisle yelling at me. ---
**Author:** ![Mindfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindfield/32/19759_2.png) [@Mindfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mindfield)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2007, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-naps-refresh-you-or-zombie-fy-you/419131/3 "2007-09-14T00:46:40Z")
Naps just make things worse for me. I can’t just sleep for half an hour or an hour. I either have to sleep – I mean really _sleep_ or I just feel like crap. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2007, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-naps-refresh-you-or-zombie-fy-you/419131/4 "2007-09-14T00:47:52Z")
I love naps. A 20 minute nap after a day’s work and I’m perky again 🙂 . ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2007, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-naps-refresh-you-or-zombie-fy-you/419131/5 "2007-09-14T00:50:37Z")
You guys are napping [too long](http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/58060/how_to_take_a_productive_nap.html). > [@](#): > > An ideal length for a productive nap is between twenty and forty minutes. This allows you to enter a light and refreshing sleep, but gets you up again before you enter REM sleep. If you enter REM sleep, the only way to escape feeling groggy when you wake up is to sleep through the complete cycle, which means a full night of sleep. ---
**Author:** ![Mindfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindfield/32/19759_2.png) [@Mindfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mindfield)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2007, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-naps-refresh-you-or-zombie-fy-you/419131/6 "2007-09-14T00:53:24Z")
See, that would be a problem for me. I can’t just fall asleep on a whim. 20 minutes is, on average, what it would take me to just reach unconsciousness. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2007, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-naps-refresh-you-or-zombie-fy-you/419131/7 "2007-09-14T02:39:50Z")
[QUOTE=Mindfield] See, that would be a problem for me. I can’t just fall asleep on a whim. 20 minutes is, on average, what it would take me to just reach unconsciousness. [/QUOTE] Well, the “timer,” such as it is, doesn’t start until you actually fall asleep. Maybe try 20 minutes and see if that makes a difference. The best nap time apparently varies considerably from individual to individual so you’ll probably have to experiment a bit to find what works for you. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2007, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-naps-refresh-you-or-zombie-fy-you/419131/8 "2007-09-14T02:39:55Z")
I love to nap but it does make me a tad cranky. I wake up like an irritable child, pouty and blurry eyed. ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2007, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-naps-refresh-you-or-zombie-fy-you/419131/9 "2007-09-14T02:41:51Z")
_eats the nearest Doper, shambles off in search of George A. Romero_ ---
**Author:** ![Meyer6](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cc9497/32.png) [@Meyer6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meyer6)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2007, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-naps-refresh-you-or-zombie-fy-you/419131/10 "2007-09-14T02:44:57Z")
If I lay down for a nap, I’ll be out for 3 to 4 hours. Therefore, I usually try to avoid them because hey, I’ve got things to do. Having said that, sometimes a 4 hour nap in the middle of the day just feels so damn gooooood! And yes, I am a college student, as you may have guessed. ---
**Author:** ![Rysto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecccb3/32.png) [@Rysto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysto)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2007, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-naps-refresh-you-or-zombie-fy-you/419131/11 "2007-09-14T02:45:33Z")
[QUOTE=Q.E.D.] You guys are napping [too long](http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/58060/how_to_take_a_productive_nap.html). [/QUOTE] I’m incapable for napping for such a short time. If I fall asleep during the day, it’s because I’m _tired_. ---
**Author:** ![Labelless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f19dbf/32.png) [@Labelless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labelless)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2007, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-naps-refresh-you-or-zombie-fy-you/419131/12 "2007-09-14T02:46:05Z")
About an hour if I’m really dragging perks me up like nipples in a snowstorm. Taking into account the ten minute ‘fall asleep’ time. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2007, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-naps-refresh-you-or-zombie-fy-you/419131/13 "2007-09-14T02:50:06Z")
I love naps. 3 minute naps, 20 minute naps, 40 minute naps, 3 hour naps…anything more than that and I run the risk of a bad, bad headache and crankiness until I’ve gotten a good night’s sleep again. ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2007, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-naps-refresh-you-or-zombie-fy-you/419131/14 "2007-09-14T02:51:25Z")
A long nap leaves me feeling terrible. If I can squeeze in a 20-30 minute nap between calls at work, I always feel much better. I’ve actually trained myself to nap if I have some downtime. I can lie down and doze off pretty quickly. It makes all the difference in the world. ---
**Author:** ![mack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mack)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2007, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-naps-refresh-you-or-zombie-fy-you/419131/15 "2007-09-14T03:01:25Z")
Since I had my twins I can slump down in a chair and nod off for a couple of 5-10 minute naps and feel refreshed. The only time I get zombie hangover is if it’s after a big meal. ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2007, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-naps-refresh-you-or-zombie-fy-you/419131/16 "2007-09-14T03:08:41Z")
[QUOTE=Q.E.D.] You guys are napping [too long](http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/58060/how_to_take_a_productive_nap.html). [/QUOTE] That’s what I was going to come in here and say – without the science. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f07891/32.png) [@Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Plastic_Ninja)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2007, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-naps-refresh-you-or-zombie-fy-you/419131/17 "2007-09-14T04:18:22Z")
I swear I dream in my 30 minute catnaps, though. Or at least my brain goes some very weird places… ---
**Author:** ![Phantom\_Dennis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/51bf81/32.png) [@Phantom\_Dennis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phantom_Dennis)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2007, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-naps-refresh-you-or-zombie-fy-you/419131/18 "2007-09-14T09:58:58Z")
I just took a nap today for the first time in months, and I wish I hadn’t. I woke up tired, groggy and confused about the time (I thought it was morning for a few minutes). I think the rest of my evening was spoiled because I was such a zombie. And now that it’s time for bed, I don’t really feel like sleeping. Naps are evil. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2007, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-naps-refresh-you-or-zombie-fy-you/419131/19 "2007-09-14T10:43:58Z")
Definitely refresh me. I wish work had a nap room. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2007, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-naps-refresh-you-or-zombie-fy-you/419131/20 "2007-09-14T11:14:42Z")
[QUOTE=John DiFool] I occasionally take daytime naps-usually when I am scheduled to go into work early and have a midday break of 3 hours or so. I don’t know why the hell I do that tho because I invariably wake up feeling even worse and more exhausted than I did before I took the nap. Today was the worst-even after a shower I still felt like the living dead. So do naps help you or hurt you? Do you take a lot of them or avoid them? [/QUOTE] Hate them. They feel sooo god as you slip into sleep, but I wake up groggy and cranky and, yes, zombified. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-naps-refresh-you-or-zombie-fy-you/419131.md?page=2)