Nap Calculator

Which nap should you actually take?

Nap length changes what you get out of it, because it changes how deep into the sleep-cycle sequence your brain travels before you wake up.

• 20 minutes (power nap): stays in light sleep, so you avoid grogginess almost entirely — best for a quick reset during the day.
• 26 minutes (NASA nap): the duration a NASA sleep study found improved alertness and performance in pilots, without tipping into deep sleep.
• 60 minutes (recovery nap): reaches slow-wave (deep) sleep, which is more physically restorative but makes waking up harder for 10–20 minutes.
• 90 minutes (full-cycle nap): completes an entire cycle including REM, so you tend to wake near a natural boundary and feel clearer.

As a general rule, early-to-mid afternoon naps are easiest to fall into and least likely to disrupt nighttime sleep, since they fall outside the body's strongest circadian dip.