SHOULD YOU NAP BEFORE WORKING OUT? SHOULD YOU NAP AFTER WORKING OUT?

Should you nap before a workout? Or should you nap after a workout? This was one of the questions asked to me by a good friend and loyal reader.

The answer is nap before a workout. End of article.

Yeah, right.

If you’ve been reading my material for any length of time, you realize that the answer is far more complex. If you’re thinking of taking a power nap before the gym, keep reading this article to see if that makes sense for you.

Original source: here.

WHAT IS A NAP?

It seems like a simple question to answer, but at what point does a nap turn into a full sleep? According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a nap is a “short sleep.”

Well, that’s not very helpful, is it?

So let’s turn to the world’s foremost authority on sleeping (in fact, the man who discovered REM sleep: William Dement). According to his book, The Promise of Sleep, anything under 4 hours to be a nap. Anything over 4 hours is sleep.

WHAT IS THE EFFECT OF A NAP BEFORE A WORKOUT VS. AFTER A WORKOUT?

Napping affects different people in different ways. For some people, it energizes them, and for other people, it really sedates them.

If napping has an energizing effect on you, then do it before a workout at the gym. If napping has a sedating effect on you, then do it after a workout.

Chances are if you’re chronically sleep deprived, napping will have an energizing effect on you. But if you get the necessary amount of sleep, a nap may have a sedating effect. This specific article is not about how to sleep better, but if you’d like to delve into that, just check out this article that I wrote.

However, this is a general rule, and you’ll have to test it out for yourself. Here’s how to test:

To read the rest of this article, click here!