The right nap can feel better than coffee. The wrong one can make you feel like you’ve just been revived from a medically induced coma. Nausea, pounding headaches, brain fog, and a weird sense of time displacement aren’t the dreamy midday break most people hope for.
If you’ve ever woken up from a nap feeling like you woke up in the wrong dimension, you’re not imagining it. Doctors say there are real physiological reasons your body might respond badly to an afternoon snooze—and ways to avoid it.
Why You Feel Like Trash After a Nap
There are a few medical reasons why naps can leave you feeling worse than before:
1. Sleep Inertia: This is the grogginess and confusion that hits when you wake up in the middle of a sleep cycle. According to Dr. Waiz Wasey, a Mayo Clinic-trained sleep physician, that weird dizzy-nauseous-disoriented feeling is a sign your body wasn’t done sleeping yet. “Most cases are mild,” he told The Guardian, “but extreme ones can last hours.”
2. Nap Timing and Your Body Clock: Your circadian rhythm isn’t expecting you to sleep mid-afternoon. Dr. Funke Afolabi-Brown says this is why grogginess post-nap often hits harder than morning tiredness.
3. Acid Reflux: Dr. Bharat Pothuri explains that lying down soon after eating can cause stomach acid to slosh up into your esophagus. That could feel like dizziness, nausea, chest pain—especially after lunch.
4. Dehydration, Low Blood Sugar, or Sleep Disorders: Not drinking water, skipping meals, or underlying conditions like sleep apnea can all leave you feeling off after napping. Less common causes include positional vertigo and dysautonomia, but if symptoms persist, it’s worth talking to a doctor.
How to Nap Without Feeling Like You Got Hit by a Truck
If you love naps but hate the crash, try this short checklist:
• Stick to 20 Minutes or Less: Any longer, and you risk falling into deep sleep. If you need more rest, aim for a full 90-minute cycle instead.
• Nap Earlier in the Day: Late-day naps can mess with your night sleep and leave you in that no-man’s-land of tired-but-alert-but-cranky.
• Don’t Nap Right After Eating: Give yourself 3–4 hours post-meal if possible. If you have to nap, skip heavy foods and prop yourself up with pillows.
• Watch What You Eat and Drink: Avoid fatty, spicy, and acidic foods before napping. And drink some water first.
• Build a Sleep-Friendly Routine: Getting a better night’s sleep will help naps feel better too. Wind down before bed. Ditch the screens. Pretend it’s 1998 again.
You shouldn’t have to choose between exhaustion and a nausea nap. A few small changes can make rest feel like rest again.
The post Why You Feel Like Garbage After a Nap—and How To Fix It appeared first on VICE.
