NAPPING??

It’s usually sometime after lunch.

You’re not bored.

You didn’t sleep terribly the night before.

And yet… your eyes feel heavy, your body slows down, and sometimes you even feel a little cold or shivery.

Most people fight this moment. They grab coffee, push harder, or tell themselves they’re being lazy.

But what if that feeling isn’t a problem at all?

What if your body is doing exactly what it’s designed to do?

I once heard a story on the Joe Rogan podcast about ultra-endurance runner Courtney Dauwalter. During a multi-day race, she talked about taking naps to keep going. One of those naps? Literally one minute. She lay down, closed her eyes, and a minute later got up feeling refreshed enough to keep running.

One minute.

I’ve also seen this in real life. A colleague of mine worked with a dating coach who lived in Israel but ran her business in the U.S. Time zones were brutal. Instead of pushing through exhaustion, she would take five-minute naps during the day. No bed. No ritual. Just a short mental pause. And it worked. She felt clearer, calmer, and more present afterward.

So what’s really going on in the afternoon that makes our body crave rest?

The Afternoon Dip Isn’t in Your Head

Our bodies run on internal rhythms. One of those rhythms creates a natural dip in alertness in the early to mid-afternoon, usually between 1 and 4 PM. This happens even if you slept well the night before.

At the same time, a chemical called adenosine builds up in the brain the longer you’re awake. By afternoon, there’s more of it on board, which increases the feeling of sleepiness. A short rest helps take the edge off that pressure.

Your body temperature also dips slightly in the afternoon. Sleep prefers a cooler body, so that drop sends a subtle signal that rest would feel good right now.

And then there’s digestion. After you eat lunch, blood flow shifts toward your digestive system. That can make you feel cooler or even a little shivery for a short time. Many people notice this and worry something is wrong, but it usually passes on its own.

Put all of that together and your body isn’t crashing. It’s slowing down on purpose.

That post-lunch slump isn’t weakness. It’s biology.

A Nap Doesn’t Have to Look Like a Nap

Here’s where people get stuck. They think a nap means getting into bed, turning off the phone, dimming the lights, setting a timer, and falling fully asleep.

But that’s not necessary. And honestly, sometimes it creates pressure that defeats the whole point.

A nap can simply be a mental break.

You can sit back in a chair.

You can lie on the couch.

You can close your eyes for a few minutes without trying to sleep at all.

Even very short pauses matter. Five minutes. Ten minutes. Sometimes even one.

Your nervous system doesn’t need perfection. It needs permission to pause.

Why Naps Actually Help

When you stop pushing and give your brain a short break, a few simple things happen.

Your mind feels clearer.

Your body feels less tense.

Your stress levels come down a notch.

Short naps and mental breaks improve focus and alertness. They help with emotional regulation. They give your nervous system a chance to reset instead of staying stuck in go-go-go mode all day.

This isn’t about catching up on lost sleep. It’s about restoring balance.

That’s why people often wake up from even a short nap feeling surprisingly refreshed. Nothing dramatic happened. The system just recalibrated.

But What About Insomnia?

This is usually the question that comes next.

“If I struggle with sleep at night… Am I allowed to nap?”

Yes. Absolutely.

A short nap — about 10 to 20 minutes — is not going to ruin anyone’s sleep. And for people who struggle with anxiety around sleep, napping is not what’s keeping them awake at night.

Nighttime sleep struggles are driven by pressure, fear, and overthinking about sleep. Not by a brief afternoon reset.

In fact, when someone is anxious about sleep, giving themselves permission to rest during the day can sometimes reduce that pressure. It sends a message to the nervous system that rest is safe and available, not something to chase or control.

The problem isn’t the nap.

The problem is the stress around sleep.

If this idea resonates, you might also like a piece I wrote about recovery that surprises a lot of people: “Can I Heal From Insomnia? Why You Don’t Have to Like the Struggle to Recover.” It speaks directly to this same theme — that healing doesn’t come from forcing, fighting, or doing sleep “perfectly.” You can read it here:https://www.chevymermelsteinsleepcoach.org/post/can-i-heal-from-insomnia-why-you-don-t-have-to-like-the-struggle-to-recover

You Don’t Need Rules

There’s a lot of advice out there about “how to nap correctly.” Set a timer. Don’t nap too long. Don’t nap too late. Do this. Don’t do that.

And while some general guidelines can be helpful, too many rules can make people anxious.

You don’t need to overthink it.

If you feel tired in the afternoon, take a short break.

If you feel better afterward, great.

If you don’t, that’s okay too.

Think of it less as a nap and more as a pause button.

Some days that pause is five minutes. Some days it’s twenty. Some days it’s just closing your eyes and breathing for a moment.

Your body is smart. It knows what it needs.

Listening Instead of Fighting

We live in a culture that rewards pushing through exhaustion. But the body always collects its due. Ignoring signals doesn’t make them disappear — it just makes them louder later.

That afternoon dip is one of the clearest signals we get. It’s your system saying, “Let’s slow down for a moment.”

You don’t have to fight it. You don’t have to label it as laziness. And you don’t have to worry that it’s ruining your sleep.

Sometimes the most productive thing you can do is stop.

As those stories show — from a business owner juggling time zones to an ultra-runner stealing a one-minute nap mid-race — rest doesn’t have to be long to be powerful.

Sometimes the smallest pause changes everything.

If sleep — day or night — feels confusing, stressful, or loaded with pressure right now, you don’t have to figure it out alone.

If it feels helpful, you’re welcome to book a no-pressure 30-minute conversation where we can talk through what’s actually going on for you and what might help your system settle again.

You can schedule that here:https://calendly.com/chevymermelstein/30min

And if today all you do is take a short pause… that counts too.