Do Naps Help Recovery? A Guide for People Who Train

Do naps help recovery? Yes, for most people who train, a short early afternoon nap can help you feel less tired and perform better later in the day, especially after a short night. It works best as a top-up to good night-time sleep, not a swap for it.

That matters if you are fitting runs, strength sessions and HIIT around work and family. Below, we cover what the research actually shows, how long to nap, the best time to do it, how to nap before an evening session, and when a nap may do more harm than good.

What does the research say about naps and training?

The evidence is promising, though still fairly small. A 2023 review in the British Journal of Sports Medicine pooled 22 randomised trials with 291 men aged 18 to 35, a mix of trained and physically active adults. Naps taken after a normal night's sleep, mostly in the early afternoon, were linked to better physical and mental performance and lower feelings of fatigue. The biggest gains came from naps of 30 minutes to just under an hour, and when testing happened more than an hour after waking up.

An earlier 2021 review of 37 studies on people who play sport, published in Nature and Science of Sleep, suggested naps of 20 to 90 minutes between 1pm and 4pm. It found naps seemed to help more when people were already short on sleep, and advised leaving 30 minutes after waking before training or competing.

There are limits worth knowing. Most of these trials were small, short and run in labs, and many only included young men. A third review, published in Sports Medicine, found naps after normal sleep helped in a repeated shuttle run test but had no clear effect on muscle strength. Very little research measures muscle repair directly. So the fair summary is this: naps seem to help how fresh you feel and how well you train later that day, while the case for faster muscle recovery itself is less clear.

How long should a nap be for recovery?

There is no single perfect length. The right choice depends on how you slept and what you have planned later. As a rough guide:

That heavy, foggy feeling after waking is called sleep inertia. It is more likely after longer naps, because you have more time to drift into deeper sleep, and it usually fades once you are up and moving. This is why the 2021 review suggested leaving at least 30 minutes before you train.

What is the best time of day to nap?

For most people, early afternoon. Many of us feel a natural dip in alertness after lunch, and that is when most of the nap studies took place. In the 2023 review, naps ran between about 12:30pm and 4:50pm, most often around 2pm.

Napping late in the afternoon or evening is where problems tend to start. The closer a nap is to bedtime, the more it can take the edge off your sleepiness at night, which can make it harder to drop off. If you train after work, a nap at lunchtime or soon after usually fits best. If you work shifts, your timing will look different, so build naps around your own sleep window rather than the clock.

Is a nap as good as a full night's sleep?

No. Night-time sleep is longer, runs through several full sleep cycles, and is where most of your recovery from training happens. A nap is a useful top-up, not a substitute. If you find yourself relying on naps just to get through the day, the bigger win is usually protecting your night-time sleep first.

For the bigger picture, read our guide to how much sleep you need to build muscle and recover, and our deep dive on sleep and running performance, which covers sleep habits and race week sleep.

Should you nap before an evening session?

It can help, especially after a short night or a long day. The key is giving yourself time to wake up properly. The 2021 review suggested leaving at least 30 minutes between waking and training, and the 2023 review saw bigger benefits when more than an hour passed between waking and testing.

Here is how that could look for someone training at 6pm:

If you can only nap closer to your session, keep it short, leave at least 30 minutes, and use a thorough warm-up to shake off any sluggishness. If a nap leaves you groggy and flat every time, it is fine to skip it and simply rest quietly instead.

When can napping hurt your sleep?

Naps are not for everyone. They are more likely to cause problems if they are long, late in the day, or if you already find it hard to sleep at night.

• If you struggle to fall or stay asleep, the NHS advice on insomnia lists ‘do not nap during the day’ among its tips.
• If a nap leaves you lying awake at bedtime, make it shorter, move it earlier, or drop it.
• If you feel very sleepy during the day even after a full night in bed, speak to your GP, as it can be worth checking for an underlying cause.
• If poor sleep carries on for weeks despite good habits, your GP is the right person to talk to. A pharmacist can also advise before you try any sleep aids.

How do naps fit into a hybrid training week?

If your week mixes running, strength and HIIT, naps are most useful on your hardest days rather than every day. Good moments to use one include:

• A day with two sessions, such as a morning run and an evening strength session.
• The afternoon after a long run or a tough HIIT class.
• The day after a short or broken night, before a session you do not want to miss.
• Race week, when nerves can cut into your night-time sleep.

If you are napping because you feel wiped out most days, that is a sign to look at your overall training load, not just your sleep. Our guide to signs you are overtraining, and how to recover explains what to look out for. Easing back for a few days, eating enough and protecting your night-time sleep often help more than any nap.

With Edge Pro, your plan blends running, strength, HIIT and mobility into one week, and you can message a real coach anytime. If your sleep has been short, tell your coach and they can talk you through moving or easing a hard session.

How do you take a better nap?

• Set an alarm for the length you want, so a 20 minute nap does not turn into two hours.
• Lie down somewhere dark, quiet and cool. An eye mask or earplugs can help.
• Keep the timing fairly consistent, ideally early afternoon.
• Do not worry if you do not fall asleep. Lying quietly with your eyes shut can still feel restful.
• If caffeine affects your sleep, keep it to earlier in the day so it does not clash with your nap or your bedtime.
• After waking, get some light, have a glass of water and move about to clear any grogginess.

So, should you nap to recover from training?

If you can fit one in and it does not upset your night's sleep, a short early afternoon nap is a low-effort way to feel fresher for training. Keep it to around 20 to 60 minutes, finish by about 4pm, and give yourself at least 30 minutes before you train. Treat it as a bonus on top of good night-time sleep, a sensible training load and decent food, not a replacement for them.

This article is general guidance, not medical advice. If you are new to exercise, returning from injury, pregnant, or managing a health condition, speak to your GP before starting, and see a physio for any niggle that does not settle.