Influence of Day Sleep on Health

There is always a question in people’s mind whether sleeping during day is good or bad for the health.  As far as the influence of day sleep on health is concerned, it mainly depends on the length of sleep you take during day to determine if it’s bad or good. A nap after lunch is good for health and makes the person feel fresh and relaxed but it shouldn't be more than 90 minutes. Majority of the people find it healthy to take nap for 60 to 90 minutes and they find themselves more productive and active after taking the nap. 

According to the supporters of nap, sleeping in afternoon keeps them physically and mental fit and healthy and save them from the feeling of fatigue, muscle pains and headaches. They say that napping makes up for their poor sleep experience at night and fulfills their natural need for essential hours of sleep. Some research studies also supported this idea by concluding that napping is good for the sleepers who find it hard or don’t have sufficient time to take enough sleep at night. A research conducted in Manchester to study the influence of day sleep on health and measured the alertness level of 2 groups, one who took nap and the other who slept all night and didn't take nap. The study showed that both the groups had the same alertness level. 

As everything has its positives and negatives, day sleeping may be harmful or not helpful in some cases. For example if you are suffering from insomnia, day time sleeping will make your condition worse. Insomnia patients are never recommended by their doctors to take sleep during day.


People suffering from depression and anxiety should also avoid sleeping during day. Your feelings of depression will be intensified by sleeping in afternoon and will overwhelm you with bouts of depression. So if you are suffering from any of these 2 problems, avoid sleeping during day and try to take full length sleep at night that will keep you healthy and relaxed. If you stick to this healthy pattern you will not face problems affecting your sleep and mental health.   

A new study is conducted by British researchers who selected a group of young males and females and kept them in their lab for three days. They scheduled their sleeping time from noon till evening and measured the outcome by taking their blood samples daily. They found that day time sleeping was not as deeper and sounder as the night sleep and has a negative impact on their genes. As the study tested a small group of people without measuring their health problems, we cannot generalize its results. Moreover the length of a healthy nap should be around 90 minutes but in this study the day sleeping time was around 3-4 hours that is surely not good for a person.

Considering the length of sleep is very important whether you are sleeping during day or at night. A widely accepted and commonly practiced sleeping pattern says that a normal person can take 6-8 hours of sleep at night and 30 to 90 minutes of nap during day.