One of the best ways to recharge in the middle of the afternoon is to take a quick nap. You must be careful, because if you nap too long, you’ll wake up disoriented and groggy. You can get the best out of your nap by setting an alarm for a short rest, insuring you don’t slip into deeper slumber. If you fall deeply asleep and are groggy when you wake, you can try to stimulate your body and mind. Here are a few tips on waking up after a nap.

How to Wake Up After a Nap

1. Wash Your Face to Wake Quickly

• You can cup your hands and use warm or cool water or get a clean wash cloth. Rub your eye corners to get them to open them up. Many people like how refreshing cool water on their face is. Cool water has also been shown to lower heart-rates while at the same time waking you up.
• Grab a shower, if you can. The more water on your face, the better.
• Look and feel less tired. When you wash your face, you’ll feel less tired and look less tired. Washing helps to rub out any wrinkles that are lingering post-sleep.

2. Hydrate

You want to get a glass of water as soon as possible to get your metabolism going and electrolytes flowing. When taking a deep nap, metabolism can slow to low-maintenance or a sleep-state. Getting a glass of water is the best way to signal your body to wake up. Fill a tall glass and drink it down, slowly.

3. Get a Caffeine Boost

How to wake up after a nap? If you need to really wake quickly, get some caffeine in the form of tea, coffee, energy drinks, etc. This is a quick and easy way to get out of your heavy-headed haze.

Avoid caffeine if you need to sleep again soon. Coffee affects people differently, but there’s a good chance you will stay awake for hours after a cup or two. Please note that drinks with caffeine often have a diuretic, or dehydrating effect. If you drink coffee, be sure to enjoy plenty of water.

4. Grab a Small Snack

Get your metabolism going and your stomach settled by getting a small snack. Some people feel nauseous when they first wake and a bit of food in your system can help to prevent this. Try something easy to digest and light, such as fruits and nuts.

5. Get Your Mind Going

Read the paper, or a book or even hop online to get your brain going. Some people get into some morning news, video games and even crossword puzzles, anything to get the brain going. If your get your mind engaged and active, you will see it’s easier to stay awake.

6. Listen to Upbeat Music

How to wake up after a nap? Enjoy some music that is upbeat, such as workout or party music. Anything that gets your blood pumping and makes you want to move.

7. Get Fresh Air

Open your window and let some fresh air in. This can help you wake up and snap out of grogginess.

8. Move Around and Stretch

You can wake up sore and stiff from a nap. Stretching your muscles will help you to relax and loosen up. If you have time try some light exercise, like a jog, to get your heart and brain going. Dynamic stretches such as high-kneed lunges are great. You can also do squats and jumping jacks. The more movement, the quicker your blood pumps, waking you up. This is a nice way to try when learning how to wake up after a nap.

How to Optimize Nap to Energize Yourself

Limit How Long It is

How long you sleep has a large effect on how you feel when you wake. It is because of what sleep cycle you are in when you wake. Power naps should be 10-26 minutes. This is because NASA found pilots to have performance improved by 34% and alertness by 54% with a 26-minute nap. If you go as long as an hour, you’ll see rapid eye movement or REM which helps memory. If you nap for 90 minutes you can get a full sleep cycle, which boosts emotional memory and creativity. If you go over that 90 minutes, you’ll enter another sleep cycle and won’t reap all the benefits. This could also cause you to have a hard time sleeping at night.

Keep a Schedule

New parents are often told it’s vital to get a baby to stick to a regular nap time. This is the same as adults. An afternoon nap at the same time every day helps you get the extra hour of sleep for your circadian rhythm. Before long, your mind will know when nap time approaches and it won’t be hard to nod off.

Choose a Dark Quiet Place and Lie Down

There are studies showing it can take as long as 50% longer to get to sleep if upright instead of lying down. That’s why plane and train sleep is so poor. Choose a cozy, dark place that is the ideal temperature when you are wanting to nap. If you can, a couch is recommended. This helps you be less apt to sleep for too long. If you have a hammock, it may be ideal. There has been Swiss studies showing people fall into a deeper sleep faster in a hammock. It is thought to be because of the rocking motion. You may also want a sleep mask to reduce the light.

Stay Warm

Having a cozy room that is between 60-67 degrees will give you the best quality sleep.

Choose a ‘Half Crawl’ position

The author of “The 4-Hour Body,” Tim Ferriss says the trick to getting to sleep fast is to be in military half-crawl position. For this, lie on your chest with head on pillow and turned right. Place your arms to sides with palms up. Put right arm up with hand under your head. Pull right knee to the side so it’s at about 90-degree angle. This makes it nearly impossible to move if you don’t lift all your weight. With less fidgeting, you’ll calm our nervous system and fall asleep faster.