I admit it. I'm a napper. Nothing like a great nap on the weekend to help keep you refreshed. But how long should your nap be?

Researchers studied a group of people who napped from10 minutes to 30 minutes and then they assessed the nappers for a range of benefits.

 

The results? Ten minutes seems to be the ideal time.

According to the published study results, it produced “immediate improvements in all outcome measures (including sleep latency, subjective sleepiness, fatigue, vigor, and cognitive performance), with some of these benefits maintained for as long as 155 minutes.”

Taking a longer nap either didn’t produce immediate results, or the results didn’t last as long. And a previous study done at UCLA found that the longer you nap, the more likely you are to awaken “confused and groggy.”

I turns out that the timing of the nap matter too! If you nap too late in the day, your body might think you’re down for the night and enter into “deep sleep,” which lessens the benefits and could mess up your body clock. So for the best results, experts recommend getting your 10 minutes of shuteye sometime between the hours of 1:00 and 3:00 p.m.

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