Insomnia Support Group
Insomnia is a symptom, rather than a disease, and is characterized by inadequate quantity or quality of sleep. People with insomnia complain of difficulty falling or staying asleep, which results in significant impairment of daytime functioning. Insomnia is categorized as transient (shorter than one week), short-term (one to three weeks) or chronic (longer than three...
how many of us are able to take naps during the day? I can occasionally, but alot of the time my sleep is just taken away from me. Just curious, stories accepted :)
Yes, napping can reduce the amount of prior wakefulness you take to bed with you from the previous day, and so reduce your sleep drive. But, I've found this effect can be minimized with some prior planning.
My take is napping is OK ... if ... if it's done at least 6 hours or so prior to bedtime, and the nap is no longer than about a half hour. Or less. These conditions make it less likely the nap will negatively impact your overnight sleep.
So in other words if your normal bedtime is around 10 p.m., you'd want to nap from maybe 3 to 3:30 or even earlier, something like that.
Studies of circadian rhythms show that it's quite normal for a metabolic lull to occur after lunch. Many cultures in fact build this in with a siesta time in the afternoon.
Personally, what I've found is that even a short nap, even if I don't actually sleep, leaves me feeling very refreshed for the rest of the day. And it doesn't seem to negatively affect my ability to get a good night's sleep.
But ... and this is an important but ... everyone's different. You should experiment and see what works for you. Try different things.
I also think it's important to comprehensively address all the components that are involved with getting a good night's sleep. These include such broad areas as sleep hygiene, sleep timing, controlling negative sleep thoughts, and addressing excessive levels of stress and anxiety.
This is what's involved with CBT for insomnia. There are many sleep training programs that use CBT. By working all these areas simultaneously, I was eventually able to become a normal sleeper again. And enjoy a good nap now and then.