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Life Kit

How to take a refreshing nap (without ending up more tired)

Life Kit

NPR

Kids & Family, Business, Self-improvement, Education, Health & Fitness

4.33.9K Ratings

🗓️ 20 October 2025

⏱️ 21 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Naps can offer significant benefits, from emotional regulation to improving memory and athletic performance. But there are right and wrong ways to snooze. A sleep psychologist and a sleep physician explain the factors of the perfect nap and the importance of daytime rest. This episode originally published Feb. 26, 2024.

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Transcript

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0:00.0

This message comes from Hidden Brain, the show that's all about why we do what we do.

0:05.3

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0:09.5

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0:12.2

You're listening to Life Kit from NPR.

0:17.9

Hey, it's Mariel.

0:19.9

Before we start the episode, I want to thank you for listening to Life Kit.

0:23.5

And to ask you a favor.

0:25.4

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0:28.1

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0:28.8

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0:30.9

by completing a short anonymous survey at npr.org slash LifeKit Survey.

0:36.5

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0:43.7

So every time I take a nap, it's the same routine. You know, I'm on my couch, my eyes start closing,

0:49.9

and I decide, screw it, I'm going all in.

0:58.7

This nap may mess me up later, but there is nowhere else in the world I'd rather be right now.

0:59.8

And it is happening.

1:01.7

I don't even set an alarm.

1:09.5

And then I wake up, like four hours later, feeling groggy, often a little sad and guilty for having slept so long, so close to my bedtime.

1:14.5

So look, it turns out we're actually wired to take some kind of break or rest during the day,

1:20.1

which can include naps.

1:21.7

Our body's internal clock, our circadian rhythm, is built to have these natural dips.

1:27.3

Whether it's because the midday sun is too

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