Make-Up Sleep?

I understand good sleep is important for all physical goals, but I only get 5-6 hours of sleep a night, then I take a 2-3 hour nap in the middle of the day.

Are these naps making up for my lack of sleep, or do I need to get constant rest at night?

im not an expert here but from my understanding sleep has many purposes in the body, some well understood, alot not so understood. one is to simply give your body rest. your naps will help you with this. another function however is the release and mantanance of hormones such as hgh which is said to be released during deep sleep. your not gonna get the deep sleep in a nap.

my opinion, if you cant get a full 8 i’d keep the nap if it makes you feel better.

I think if you are consistent with your sleep schedule then you’ll be okay. It may not be “optimal” in terms of getting 8 hours at a time, but it will be better than just five hours. Ideally you get it all in one block because of the sleep cycles, hormones, etc. but naps are a good way to get extra rest.

[quote]Deorum wrote:
im not an expert here but from my understanding sleep has many purposes in the body, some well understood, alot not so understood. one is to simply give your body rest. your naps will help you with this. another function however is the release and mantanance of hormones such as hgh which is said to be released during deep sleep. your not gonna get the deep sleep in a nap. [/quote]

I think it takes 45 minutes to reach REM level sleep. So he will be able to get “deep sleep”. Sleep cycles are basically 90 minutes.

Also, i recently read that daily sleep totals are cumulative, and if you need naps to reach your optimal quota, it’s essentially the same. Google 'biphasic sleep" for more info on napping.

[quote]K2000 wrote:
Deorum wrote:
im not an expert here but from my understanding sleep has many purposes in the body, some well understood, alot not so understood. one is to simply give your body rest. your naps will help you with this. another function however is the release and mantanance of hormones such as hgh which is said to be released during deep sleep. your not gonna get the deep sleep in a nap.

I think it takes 45 minutes to reach REM level sleep. So he will be able to get “deep sleep”. Sleep cycles are basically 90 minutes.

Also, i recently read that daily sleep totals are cumulative, and if you need naps to reach your optimal quota, it’s essentially the same. Google 'biphasic sleep" for more info on napping.

[/quote]

good shit.

Good call on putting biphasic sleep into google, there is some interesting stuff. Like OP I struggle to get the 8 hours in one go so I have to rely on a nap during the day to catch up on sleep. It is difficult to get 8 hours sleep a night regularly at university.

I sleep when I can get it. And it serves me better than not napping.

As already mentioned, I’ve seen arguments that long sustained sleep is best. But a 90 minute nap completes a full sleep cycle, and even a cat nap can be useful if it keeps you from bonking.

[quote]weaver1516 wrote:
I understand good sleep is important for all physical goals, but I only get 5-6 hours of sleep a night, then I take a 2-3 hour nap in the middle of the day.

Are these naps making up for my lack of sleep, or do I need to get constant rest at night?[/quote]

I don’t think you’re schedule is ideal, obviously you want 8+ hrs. of consecutive sleep. Although, 5-6 with a nap is going to be better than just 5-6. I sleep as much as I can, and almost always get at least 8. Although, when I don’t get enough sleep I have a hard time with naps bc. I am caffinated throughout the day.

yeah no doubt about being caffeinated, im in afghanistan right now for a 1 month op. so im normally on a schedule, up at midnight sleep by noon, so its so hard for me to go to sleep in the daytime. i work out about 1-2 pm sleep by 4pm if im lucky or if theres no mission. plus like u said im always geeked