How to Nap Like a Pro - How to Nap

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Part 1

English: Napping can do wonders for your afternoon productivity, but how can you prevent it from wreaking havoc on your nighttime sleep schedule? When fighting the urge to drift off at work, how long should your power nap be? We’ve got you covered.

The midday nap: you either know it and love it well, find yourself physically incapable of falling asleep unless it’s nighttime, or like the actor Jon Bernthal, completely reject the entire premise. But whether you’re a devoted daytime dozer who plans a nap into their afternoon schedule, or someone who can’t remember their last siesta, the practice of briefly checking out while the sun is still up is quite divisive.

Chinese: 午睡可以显著提高下午的工作效率，但如何避免它打乱你夜间的睡眠时间表呢？当你在工作中努力抵抗睡意时，你的能量小睡应该持续多久？我们来为你解答。

午睡这件事：要么你了解它并热爱它，要么你发现自己身体上无法在夜间以外的时间入睡，或者像演员乔·伯恩瑟尔那样，完全拒绝整个概念。但无论你是一个忠实的日间小睡者，会在下午日程中安排午睡，还是一个人完全不记得上次小憩是什么时候，这种在太阳还高挂时短暂休息的做法都颇具争议。

Part 2

English: “Napping is a controversial issue in the sleep community because it may be good for some people and it may be bad for other people,” says Dr. Matthew Ebben, an associate professor of psychology and clinical neurology at Weill Cornell Medicine. Dr. Ebben is also the associate director of the Center for Sleep Medicine, a multidisciplinary treatment center on New York City’s Upper East Side. A bulk of his job is making recommendations to his patients about how to improve their sleep and daytime alertness. Unfortunately, because napping is such an inexact science, feeling energized is not as simple as taking a short power nap or a two-hour deep snooze.

Chinese: “午睡在睡眠学界是一个有争议的话题，因为它可能对某些人有益，而对另一些人则有害，“马修·埃本博士说，他是威尔康奈尔医学院的心理学和临床神经学副教授。埃本博士还是纽约市上东区睡眠医学中心的副主任，该中心是一个多学科治疗中心。他工作的大部分内容是向患者提供关于如何改善睡眠和日间警觉性的建议。不幸的是，由于午睡是一门不精确的科学，想要感到精力充沛并不像简单地小睡 20 分钟或深睡两小时那么容易。

Part 3

English: “If you look at the research, it really depends on what population you’re looking at,” Ebben says. “It’s often recommended that people nap about 90 minutes for optimal athletic performance. To reduce the risk of sleep inertia, the 20-minute recommendation is often given.”

The 20-minute nap has also gained popularity amongst people who don’t conduct sleep research for a living. Office workers, exhausted parents, and sleepyheads everywhere laud the 20-minute repose for being the most efficient, least day-ruining way to fight lethargy.

Chinese: “如果你看看研究，它真的取决于你研究的是哪个人群，“埃本说。“通常建议人们午睡约 90 分钟以获得最佳运动表现。为了降低睡眠惯性的风险，通常会给出 20 分钟的建议。”

20 分钟午睡也在非睡眠研究人员中广受欢迎。上班族、疲惫的父母和各地的困倦者都称赞 20 分钟的小憩是最高效、最不影响白天状态的对抗疲劳的方式。

Part 4

English: But for the thousands of nappers out there happily indulging in the 20-minute reset, a pertinent question remains: what is the best time to conk out? “When someone’s sleeping during normal nighttime hours, it’s usually recommended that they nap between 1 and 4 o’clock [in the afternoon],” according to Ebben. The key to all sleep-related issues, though, is the big nightly sleep.

Chinese: 但对于成千上万享受 20 分钟小憩的午睡者来说，一个相关的问题仍然存在：最佳入睡时间是什么时候？“当一个人在正常的夜间时间睡觉时，通常建议他们在下午 1 点到 4 点之间午睡，“埃本说。不过，所有睡眠相关问题的关键在于夜间的充足睡眠。

Part 5

English: “Every person has a certain 24-hour sleep need,” Ebben begins. “If they dissipate that sleep need at night, they feel alert and refreshed during the day. Now, if you nap during the day, even though you’re getting sufficient sleep at night, it could result in poor-quality sleep at night.”

Another thing Ebben wants to clarify is that, even if you are a strict no-phone-in-bed person, it is perfectly fine to nap in bed.

Chinese: “每个人都有一定的 24 小时睡眠需求，“埃本开始说。“如果他们在夜间消耗掉那个睡眠需求，他们在白天就会感到警觉和精神焕发。现在，如果你在白天午睡，即使你夜间睡眠充足，也可能导致夜间睡眠质量下降。”

埃本还想澄清的另一件事是，即使你是一个严格不在床上玩手机的人，在床上午睡也是完全没问题的。

Part 6

English: “When we have folks that have insomnia, one of the treatment elements that we think about is what’s called stimulus control,” Ebben says. “When you pair sleep with your bedroom environment, you’re going to condition yourself to sleep in that environment over time.”

There you have it. Upon a chair, lying bare, on your bed, in a shed…napping can take many different forms. But if you want to take your napping advice from an expert, remember that 90 minutes is best if you want to get in tip-top athletic shape, and 20 minutes is ideal for feeling alert while not accidentally staying up all night.

“Listen to your body. Don’t do it. You’re alert enough!”

Chinese: “当我们遇到失眠患者时，我们考虑的治疗要素之一就是所谓的刺激控制，“埃本说。“当你将睡眠与卧室环境配对时，你会随着时间的推移让自己习惯在那个环境中入睡。”

就是这样。在椅子上、光着身子躺着、在床上、在小屋里……午睡可以采取许多不同的形式。但如果你想从专家那里获取午睡建议，请记住：如果你想达到最佳运动状态，90 分钟是最好的；如果你想保持警觉而不意外熬夜，20 分钟是最理想的。

“倾听你的身体。别午睡。你已经足够警觉了！“

Vocabulary

Source: GQ Wellness | Author: Matthew Roberson | March 17, 2026