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How to nap effectively as an adult. Luke Cousins, Physiology Regional Lead at Nuffield Health, has shared his guide to napping during the day. Is napping the same as sleeping? Naps are short and sweet, whereas sleep is longer and designed to recharge your mind and body. ”Napping should never be used as a substitute for sleep though. When we drift off at night, our brain moves through four stages of sleep.” “When we nap, we don't have time for this, meaning we are unable to reap the benefits we'd get from a deep and lengthy sleep.” The health benefits of napping Napping can benefit your concentration, memory and recall. “Taking a brief nap does have some proven health and performance benefits, including improving our energy level, reaction time and alertness, ability to relax, fatigue levels, mood, concentration levels and cognitive functioning.” How long is too long for a nap? The sweet spot for a nap is around 20 minutes. ”If you're napping for longer, you should aim to stay asleep for around 90 minutes to avoid interrupting your deep sleep cycle.” When is the best time to nap? The best time to take a nap is around midday. This is because our concentration and alertness tend to dip around lunchtime. ”Research indicates that this may be caused by our natural circadian rhythm (body clock), or influenced by behavioural factors like eating a big meal at lunch.” Can napping be a bad thing? In some cases, napping can have a negative effect on your natural sleep cycle. ”If we get all our sleep during the day, our body can't shut off at night because it thinks we're well rested.” "Relying on napping to compensate for poor quality night-time sleep can be a sign of bad sleep hygiene or an underlying problem.” THIS VIDEO MUST NOT BE EDITED FOR LENGTH TO COMBINE WITH OTHER CONTENT