Take the Perfect Power Nap

Quick Win

A few simple tweaks to your nap routine will help you feel alert and vibrant all day long.

Try This Today

• If you’re not a napper, don’t worry: You can learn. The first few times you try to nap, concentrate on your breathing. Once you put yourself in a deeply relaxed state, you’ll eventually nod off. Dimming the lights or donning an eye mask can also help.
• Avoid caffeine and high-fat or sugary foods and drinks, which interfere with sleep.
• Set a timer. Sleeping for 45 to 90 minutes is associated with better performance on memory tests, but studies also show even a 20-minute snooze can provide brain benefits. Sleeping longer than 90 minutes could make you groggy. Be sure not to nap past 3 p.m.; it might interfere with nighttime sleep.

Why

Short daytime naps can help support cognitive health in older adults, some studies show. A review of 35 studies of adults age 50 and older published in 2022 in The Journals of Gerontology Series A found that napping for 90 minutes or less was associated with better cognitive function and episodic memory. And a study of 38 older adults with mild cognitive impairment published in 2023 in Neuroscience Letters found that after eight weeks of taking 20-minute naps three times a week, participants showed improvements in their cognitive function, sleep quality and overall quality of life.