


Longer naps can often be less restorative. But if you need to drive somewhere or need to be really alert for work, it’s OK to take a short nap.”īillings recommends that your naptime should be an hour or less, otherwise you risk waking up groggier than before. “I often encourage people to push through so they don’t go to bed that night and struggle to fall asleep. “Ideally you don’t want to take a long nap or a late afternoon nap because it makes it hard to get to sleep the following night,” says Billings. But try to only resort to a nap if you really can’t avoid the crash. How to stay awake after a night of poor sleep Napping Regardless of the reason, there are ways to push through and stay awake after a night of little sleep. There are over 80 known sleep disorders, some of which are rare. If poor sleep occurs frequently, it could be caused by an underlying sleep disorder, Billings says. Sleep disorders like chronic insomnia (the most common), sleep apnea or restless leg syndrome could also cause poor nights of sleep. One common cause of poor sleep is, you guessed it, stress. Whether it’s an upcoming deadline or big event, stress can cause your body to be hyperaroused, awake and unable to settle down to sleep.Įnvironmental influences can also impact your sleep. For example, it’s definitely hard to doze off when your upstairs neighbor is once again vacuuming their unit at 10 p.m. Martha Billings, a doctor at the Sleep Medicine Center at Harborview, says that every human will occasionally have a poor night’s sleep - and it’s completely normal. That’s a lot of us who are very, very tired on some (or most) days.ĭr. The latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports 31.6% of adults 18 and over get insufficient sleep.
WAYS TO STAY AWAKE WITHOUT EATING FULL
Sleep is essential to function efficiently, but many factors can impact your ability to get a full night of sleep. If you find yourself drifting off in the middle of afternoon meetings, here are some realistic ways to stay awake - until you can crawl back into bed. If you once dreaded kindergarten nap time, but now yearn for those moments of consequence-free rest - you’re in the right place. And yes, we’re exhausted too.
