# Naps and the afternoon dip

The dip is normal. Short early naps help; long late naps steal from the night.



## Takeaways

- Accept the dip.

- Nap ≤ 20 min, before 15:00.

- If you nap long, expect a shorter night.



The early-afternoon dip is a circadian feature, present whether or not you ate lunch. Galpin: you should feel a little sleepy in the early afternoon and tired at the end of the day — high performers who fear tiredness are fighting biology.

Naps of 10–20 minutes before mid-afternoon improve alertness with little inertia; naps over 30 minutes or late in the day reduce sleep pressure and can shorten the night. Log nap minutes so the comparison can run.



## Sources

- The post-lunch dip in performance (Monk TH, 2005)

- Benefits of napping in healthy adults: impact of nap length, time of day, age, and experience with napping (Milner CE, Cote KA, 2009)

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Educational summary of published research, not medical advice. Screening scores are not diagnoses. If a score is elevated or you feel unwell, talk to a clinician.

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