Optimal nap time and duration: how long should a nap be? | Andrew Huberman and Lex Fridman

TL;DR

For most people a 20 to 30 minute nap is ideal, since it keeps you out of REM sleep and avoids waking up disoriented, and the late afternoon energy dip is the best time to take one. Huberman notes that anything past 90 minutes starts dropping you into REM. If you can't nap, elevating your feet or doing non-sleep deep rest offers similar restoration. Read on for why a short nap often beats a long one.

Transcript

that's an important parameter is how do you feel during the day almost everybody experiences some sort of dip in energy in the late afternoon or what would correlate to their temperature peak and that's a good time of day to get either a 90 90 minute or less nap or if you're not a napper or you can't nap feet elevated has been shown to be good for ... Read More

Key Insights

• 💝 Napping during the late afternoon can help combat energy dips and increase alertness.
• 😣 Elevating the feet during rest can aid in clearing toxins from the brain's glymphatic system.
• 😪 Non-sleep deep rest can provide cognitive and motor function restoration.
• 😪 Naps of 20 minutes or less are recommended to avoid entering the REM sleep stage.
• 😪 Hypnosis can be an effective method for achieving deep relaxation and improving sleep quality.
• 😪 Non-sleep deep rest can be beneficial for individuals who struggle with traditional napping.
• ☺️ Learning to relax the body and release the alertness button can enhance the effectiveness of napping or non-sleep deep rest.

Questions & Answers

Q: How long should a nap be for the best results?

Huberman recommends 20 to 30 minutes for most people, because unless you're sleep deprived that keeps you out of REM sleep. Naps longer than 90 minutes, such as two hours, start dropping you into REM, and coming out of even a small amount of REM can leave you feeling disoriented. Lex Fridman adds that for him even a 10-minute nap can feel like magic and often does as much good as a longer one.

Q: When is the best time of day to take a nap?

The late afternoon is a good time, because almost everybody experiences a dip in energy then that correlates with their temperature peak. Taking a 90-minute or shorter nap during that window can help combat the energy dip.

Q: What is non-sleep deep rest (NSDR)?

NSDR is simply lying down and allowing your system to drop into states of real calm. It can help you get better at falling asleep later and can be very restorative for cognitive and motor function. Huberman coined the term for this practice, which his lab has been studying.

Q: What does the research say about NSDR and brain function?

Huberman cites at least one study out of Denmark showing that a single 20-minute non-sleep deep rest protocol reset neuromodulator levels like dopamine in the basal ganglia. The basal ganglia is involved in motor planning and action, and the levels returned to where they were right after a long night's sleep.

Q: What can you do if you can't nap or have trouble falling asleep?

If you're not a napper, elevating your feet has been shown to help clear waste through the brain's glymphatic system, which Huberman describes as the brain's sewer system. You can also try to relax the body as much as possible, such as removing all expression from your face and letting your body float.

Q: How does hypnosis help with deep relaxation?

Huberman describes clinically and research-tested hypnosis protocols from his colleague David Spiegel that are cost-free and teach you to release the alertness button and drift off. Real hypnosis is self-hypnosis, a matter of deep relaxation and narrowing of context that is self-imposed. When you come out of it, most people report feeling amazing, as if they slept the whole night.

Q: Does everyone respond to hypnosis the same way?

No. People vary on a scale of about one to four for how easily they can be hypnotized. A few people find it very hard to let themselves go into these states, but for most people they drop in easily. The hypnotic induction involves looking up, slowly closing your eyes, taking a deep breath, and imagining yourself floating.

Q: Can you recover lost sleep with naps?

Huberman semi-respectfully disagrees with the idea that you can't recover lost sleep, noting there is no IRS for sleep. He distinguishes being sleepy, where you actually fall asleep during the day, which signals you're not sleeping enough at night, from being merely fatigued without falling asleep, which may come from something else like heavy physical exertion.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Taking a 90-minute or shorter nap during the late afternoon can help combat energy dips and improve alertness and productivity.

• Elevating the feet during rest can promote the clearance of toxins from the brain's glymphatic system.

• Non-sleep deep rest, which involves lying down in a calm state, can enhance the ability to fall asleep and provide cognitive and motor function restoration.