Napping during the day?

Three questions:

1. How many of you regularly take a nap during the day, as opposed to just sleeping at night?

2. For those of you who do, do you think you have had any improvement in your physique as a result?

3. For those of you who do, do you find that napping during the day increases or decreases your functionality/productivity during the day?

My personal experience:

  1. During the Fall and Winter semesters I regularly incorporate a nap into my daily routine.

  2. I do so to recharge my mind for evening studies; I do not believe it has made an impact on my physique, but then again I’m hardly balls to the wall when it comes to bodybuilding/training.

  3. I get lazy/unproductive without the nap.

I nap 2-4 times during the week, anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour and a half. Usually if I work out in the evening then I’ll nap. I always have good workouts when I do and it does also increase my energy levels for the rest of the day.

I don’t “nap” - but I try to make sure I have at least 20-minutes in the day where I “veg” out - you know just lay either on the bed or on the couch and not do a damn thing. Gotta have my “downtime”…

I try to either nap or meditate at least a few times a week - and it helps me profoundly in all areas.

I would have to say that the majority of my naps come from plain ol’ exhaustion. I don’t take a nap for maybe two or three weeks and then I will find myself crashing every afternoon for three or four days in a row. Occassionally I will get that brief moment in time where a nap is just out of leisure or maybe if one of the games on sunday is boring. But I don’t feel it helps to nap more. I had a roommate that used to train, eat, jerk off and sleep. He was a ripped 280lbs of completely unproductive flesh. But damn he sure made ya look.

There is absolutely no doubt in my mind whatsoever that an afternoon nap is beneficial. In college, I always took a 20-40 minute nap in the afternnons and always felt more energized, productive, and could focus better afterwards. I beleive it is natural and would be a common pratice if not for the typical American work schedule. I spent some time in Italy one summer, and many shops would close for an hour or so in the middle of the afternoon. I thought that was a good idea. Also, during tax season one year, I was working out of town for several weeks and staying in a hotel next to the office. I would basically “sneak” out and disappear for about 30 minutes to an hour in the afternoon to go to the hotel and nap. We were working till around 8pm every night and there is no douobt that the naps helped. People are not meant to be innactive all day and the typical 8-5 office job is unhealthy, and riduculous, fucking retarded really. Sorry for the rant (got a little off subject), but yes I think short naps are very beneficial and healthy.

whenever i can, i will nap. im pretty consistent with getting 8-9 (sometimes 10, but rarely) hours of sleep a night, and i always try to take a nap during the day. i feel energized, my workouts are better (or when i lift in the morning, i feel more alert to study), and it HELPS me get to sleep at night.

I nap fairly regularly, usually for about 20-30 minutes right after lunch. I put my feet up and zone out. (It’s good to be the boss!)


I don’t think that it’s contributed directly to my physique, but it sure is a nice break during the day. I totally agree with KC about American (and Japanese) work patterns. Most of the Latin countries have a break in the middle of the day, and it doesn’t seem to hurt them any. I say give it a try if you haven’t already done so.

Thanks all.