Insomnia advice is often inconsistent. One specific piece of advice we often see recommended (and discouraged) is napping – so we were particularly keen to read a recent article from MSN Health & Fitness that specifically discusses whether napping is helpful or harmful.
They came to the conclusion that if you’re an insomniac, napping should be avoided at all costs. Not only does napping reduce your chances of sleeping a full night, it can perpetuate bad sleep habits which may encourage the onset of chronic insomnia.
The article mentions that napping can be beneficial for those with ‘normal’ sleep cycles. If you’re an insomniac though, you should be keeping yourself awake during the day and only sleeping (or trying to sleep) at night.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Very interesting, as I find for me personally, I NEED a nap almost more than sleep at night. I can function with little sleep at night, but if I don’t get my mid-day nap, I usually spend the entire afternoon/evening tossing and turning and utterly useless.
That’s interesting. The article mentioned that insomnia sufferers generally aren’t sleepy during the day – which seems like somewhat of a generalization.
Your comment is further evidence that insomnia affects people in different ways.