As the poet Shel Silverstein wrote, “I did not take a nap – the nap – took – me.” It’s a relatable thought, especially if you’re someone who regularly finds yourself nodding off at your desk.
In fact, one in three American adults say they get some extra shut-eye during the day. The good news is, if you decide to take a mid-day snooze, napping can be good for you.
“We've now found that sleep serves a lot of great functions. It's not surprising. That's why we spend so much time doing it,” says Rebecca Spencer, a sleep researcher at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. “The long story short is there’s a lot of evidence that naps confer all of those same benefits.”