Do Naps Help Your Narcolepsy?

If I can stick to a consistent nap schedule then I find them to be very beneficial. When I was at university, I would have a 20 minute nap every day at 3pm and found it to help me get through the day. Anything longer than 20 minutes and I would end up feeling worse.


Now that I work 9am-6pm three days a week, so cannot nap then, it means my schedule is a lot less consistent. I find that by the evening time I need to sleep, but I’m too tired for just a nap, but can’t go to sleep as if I’m going to bed for the night. So naps don’t have the same benefit that I found them to have when I was able to be consistent.

More often than not, it helps me get through the day. During the school year, my busy teaching schedule doesn't allow as much time as I would like. However, I have found that even laying down behind my desk for 10-15 minutes can help my brain fog for a few hours. During the summer, I typically nap every afternoon for an hour or so!

Naps for me are hit or miss. Sometimes they help but other times I wake up just as sleepy. I tend to have auditory and visual hallucinations more during my naps than I do at night.

Not immediately. I feel horrible after waking up from a nap. But about an hour later, I feel awake and alert and better than I did before the nap. If I take a nap at lunchtime, I can actually stay awake until bedtime and accomplish things after work. If not, I just get more and more tired as the day goes on and crash after work. So while I don’t immediately wake up feeling refreshed, a nap definitely benefits me a little later in the day.