Napping After a Workout

After your Sunday long run or an intense weekday workout, you might find yourself fighting heavy eyelids, desperate for a quick nap. This raises the question: should you take a nap after exercise, or could this habit disrupt your night time sleep patterns?

There has been plenty of research on the effect of nighttime sleep on exercise and vice versa but much less has focused on recovery naps after a workout.  We know that exercise can help you get more sleep as well as improve the quality of your sleep. We also know that sleep is critical both for improving your performance and to help you recover after exercise. 

Multiple studies have shown that athletes who take daytime naps (although not specifically just after exercise) often perform better and report reduced fatigue, even when they are regularly sleeping 7-9h a night. A short nap after a workout can support muscle recovery with some studies showing we have patches of slow-wave sleep during post-exercise naps. Slow-wave sleep is the deep sleep we associate with repair and recovery, but research also shows that this usually happens when a person didn’t get sufficient sleep the night before and occurs during longer naps (>30min). Overall, a nap after exercise can help you feel more energized, help with recovery and may help you supplement your nighttime sleep, but it should be just that, a supplement. Your nighttime sleep is where you’ll do your best recovery so regularly getting around 7-9h of good quality sleep is key.

The timing and duration of your post-workout nap are crucial. Napping too long or too late in the day can interfere with your regular sleep schedule.  Research indicates that naps longer than 30 minutes or those taken late in the afternoon or evening can make it more difficult to fall asleep at bedtime and can reduce the quality of your sleep that night.

If you do decide to nap, here are some science-backed recommendations:

• Keep naps brief: Aim for 20-30 minutes to avoid entering deep sleep, which can leave you feeling groggy and disrupt nighttime sleep.
• Time it right: avoid napping too late in the day which can affect your sleep that night.
• Monitor your night time sleep: If you notice difficulty falling asleep at bedtime, consider adjusting or eliminating your nap schedule.

The bottom line? Napping may be helpful for anyone doing intense training because the amount of sleep they need will increase to cope with the additional repair and recovery and they may not be able to achieve that sleep with just their nighttime sleep.  Even so, while napping after workouts can support recovery and performance, it requires careful consideration of timing and duration. 

Listen to your body's signals, but be mindful of how your nap and exercise routine affects your overall sleep patterns. If you consistently feel the need to nap after workouts, consider the quality and duration of nighttime sleep and make sure optimizing that is your first priority. If you feel that you are struggling to balance your sleep with your training, contact us at [email protected] and let one of our sleep scientists help you optimize your sleep.

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