The Best Way to Combat Fatigue: Nap or Exercise?
Sleep inertia is the temporary disorientation and decline in performance and/or mood after awakening from sleep, which can happen if your nap was too short or too long. It is caused by an increase in delta waves, adenosine build-up, or a decrease in blood flow to the brain. Power napping for no more than 15 minutes can prevent deep stages of sleep that leave you feeling groggy after the nap. Sleep inertia can impact people with rotating shifts or on-call regularly, decreasing cognitive alertness at work and increasing work-related injuries and bad decision-making.