Should you take a Nap every day?

Summary

Podcast Summary: "Should you take a Nap every day?"

Who Smarted? – Educational Podcast for Kids
Release Date: September 19, 2025
Host: Jerry Colbert, with voices by Taya Garlett, Kim Davis, Gia Davis, and Adam Tex Davis

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Episode Overview

In this engaging and humor-filled episode, "Who Smarted?" dives into the science, history, and mystery of naps. The hosts break down why humans nap at all, how naps impact learning and memory, and the perfect nap length for kids, teens, and adults. With playful banter, memorable characters (like Captain Caffeine), and practical advice, the episode educates young listeners on why naps are important throughout life and how they differ by age.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Why Do We Need Sleep and Naps?

• Energy Analogy: The host compares the body's need to "recharge" with plugging in a device as the energy battery drains throughout the day.
  • Quote: "Every day you use up your body's energy supply, and at night you need to plug in, so to speak, by sleeping..." (03:53)
• Science of Sleep Functions: Sleep isn't just for rest; the brain remains highly active, organizing and storing new learnings, improving memory and problem-solving.
  • Quote: “Sleep is an opportunity for your brain to clean its room.” (04:17)
• Why Naps? Especially for babies and kids, naps allow extra time for the brain to process the huge amount they’re taking in each day.

2. How Much Do Different Ages Need to Nap?

• Babies: Need up to 18 hours of sleep a day, frequently through daytime naps.
  • Quote: "Believe it or not, the answer is c up to 18 hours a day." (05:29)
• Young Children: By age three, most take just one nap per day, but this is still crucial for development.
• School-age Kids: Usually get enough rest at night but can nap if needed.
  • Quote: "There's no set time for giving up naps." (06:11)
• Teens: Need lots of sleep (maybe up to 10 hours per night), but often miss out due to busy schedules, leading to tiredness and sometimes nap needs.

3. Caffeine and Kids

• Captain Caffeine Character: The role (and problems) of caffeine as a quick-fix for tiredness is lampooned humorously by a hyperactive character.
  • Quote: “But I'm Captain Caffeine. I keep naps away so you can stay up all day.” (07:19)
• Advice: Kids and teens should avoid caffeine and focus on naps or exercise for energy.

4. What’s the PERFECT Nap Length?

• Short Naps (Under 30 Minutes): Called “power naps,” these are best for quick energy without interfering with nighttime sleep or causing grogginess.
  • Quote: “The perfect nap is a less than 30 minutes.” (11:33)
• Longer Naps (90 Minutes): If you need more rest, a full sleep cycle (about 90 minutes) is optimal, allowing the body and brain to do necessary memory and problem-solving work. Napping too long, especially 60-120 minutes, often causes grogginess.
• Why Not Long Naps? Entering deep sleep and waking up mid-cycle feels worse than a short nap.
  • Quote: “A 30 minute nap will make you feel more awake than a 60 minute nap.” (11:53)

5. Why We Get Sleepy in the Afternoon

• Biological Clock: Most people have a natural dip in alertness 2-3pm.
  • Quote: “Between two and three in the afternoon is when most people go through a natural drowsiness...” (13:51)
• Cultural Solutions: Some cultures have siestas for this reason.
• Adults' Sleep Needs: Many adults nap due to lack of nightly sleep, not physical growth.

6. Caffeine vs. Naps

• Downsides of Caffeine: While caffeine keeps people awake, it doesn’t allow the brain to process memories and restore itself as naps do.
  • Quote: “Caffeine does not allow your body to do all the important stuff that it does while napping.” (14:21)
• Encouragement: If you’re tired and can nap, it’s smarter to sleep than reach for a caffeine boost.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Sleep is an opportunity for your brain to clean its room.” – Jerry Colbert (04:17)
• “Naps under 30 minutes, often called power naps, give you energy without impacting your nighttime sleep or making you feel groggy.” – Jerry Colbert (11:35)
• “But I'm Captain Caffeine. I keep naps away so you can stay up all day.” – Gia Davis as Captain Caffeine (07:19)
• “Trust me, even after a short nap, you'll feel better than you would after chugging down a drink loaded with caffeine.” – Jerry Colbert (14:46)
• [Fun skit moment] “Mom, I'm 15. Stop trying to rock me to sleep. And please stop singing. You're embarrassing both of us.” – Kim Davis (06:37)

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Important Timestamps

• 00:01 – 01:34: Introduction; why do we nap, setting up the episode’s core questions.
• 03:53 – 04:53: Energy analogy and explanation of the brain’s activity during sleep and napping.
• 05:29: Babies’ sleep needs explained.
• 06:11: Transition from childhood nap habits to school age; the end (and return) of nap time.
• 07:19 – 07:51: Captain Caffeine’s energetic (and cautionary) appearance.
• 11:09 – 11:53: Answer to “What’s the perfect nap length?” and explanation of power naps.
• 13:51: Afternoon sleepiness and the biological clock.
• 14:21 – 14:46: Caffeine vs. nap debate resolved.

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Conclusion

This episode cleverly combines science, humor, and practical advice to answer a surprisingly complex question: Should you nap every day? The hosts help listeners of all ages understand how napping supports learning and health, why short naps are best, and why caffeine should be avoided by kids and teens. The playful delivery and clear takeaways make it perfect for kids (and adults) eager to understand their sleep needs—and maybe persuade their parents to let them nap!

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Recommendation:
If you’re ever feeling sleepy after lunch, remember: a 20–30 minute nap is your best bet—and it's a whole lot smarter (and healthier) than reaching for that can of soda!

Transcript

[Jerry Colbert]

Hey, smarty pants. Has this ever happened to you? It's about mid afternoon and you're outside playing with friends, or maybe you're inside playing video games when you decide to call it quits and head home to bed to take a nap. What? No naps? Yeah, I know. For most of you, napping is not your thing anymore. And if you do nap, it's probably only after doing something really tiring, like playing basketball for six hours straight. Either way, you're definitely not napping as often or as long as you used to. You know, like when you were one or two years old. But guess what? There's a good chance that you're not done with naps forever.

[Kim Davis]

Huh?

[Jerry Colbert]

I ask again, has this happened to you? It's mid afternoon, and instead of being out with your friends, you're at home with an adult. It could be a parent, an aunt, or an uncle, or a grandparent, and you're sitting together on the couch watching tv. When you decide to get a snack, you ask the adult if it's okay to have a cookie, to which they say, yep, they're out. So has that ever happened? Yep. I thought so. So why is it that after giving up naps as a kid, you. You end up napping again as an adult? Why do you take naps anyway? And why are short naps sometimes better than long ones? It's time for another whiff of science on who smarted.

[Taya Garlett]

Who's smarted? Who's smart? Is it you? Is it me? Is it science? Or history? Listen up everyone. We make smarting lots of fun, but who's smart? And.

[Jerry Colbert]

Okay, smarty pants, take a look at whatever device you're using right now to listen to this podcast. Do you see an icon on the screen that looks like a battery? It shows how much energy is left in the device you're using. And as you may know, once that battery icon is almost empty, you'll need to plug the device into a power source to recharge it. In a way, that's how your body works too. Every day you use up your body's energy supply, and at night you need to plug in, so to speak, by sleeping so that your body will be full of power again in the morning. But why does this happen? Is it A, so your brain can shut down and get a much needed break? B, so your body can repair cells and get rid of any bad stuff? Or C, who knows, but it feels good? The answer is a combination of B and C. While sleep has a ton of benefits, such as bodily repair Scientists still don't have all the answers as to the reason why you need to do it every night. But one thing we do know is that your brain does not shut down. If it did shut down, who would keep your heart pumping, your lungs breathing, or your mouth drooling? While you might be fast asleep, your brain is busy doing lots of other things, including creating dreams. But as far as knowing everything your brain does during sleep, that's a mystery that keeps scientists awake at night. However, there is one thing your brain does that could explain why humans take naps. Think of your brain as your bedroom. When you wake up, your room might be nice and neat with most things where they belong. But as the day goes on, your room becomes a cluttered mess of toys and schoolwork and crayons and markers and video game controllers and snacks. And don't forget the dirty clothes. Everywhere but where they belong. In the hamper. By nighttime, your room is what your adult might refer to as, oh, wow.

[Gia Davis]

This place is a disaster.

[Jerry Colbert]

But believe it or not, in some ways, so is your brain. Every day, your brain is hard at work observing everything around you, and it's constantly collecting all the new things it's learning. Now, these things wind up getting thrown all over the place. So sleep is an opportunity for your brain to clean its room.

[Kim Davis]

Whoa.

[Jerry Colbert]

Scientists believe your brain uses this time to go through what it has learned and find places to store it, while improving things like your memory and problem solving skills. And this might be the reason you nap so much when you're little. After all, babies learn a ton every day. They can start a day like this and finish it like this. Mother, father, I seem to have a wet diaper. Now it's a poopy diaper, too. Clean up on aisle me.

[Adam Tex Davis]

Okay. Obviously, not that much development happens in.

[Jerry Colbert]

A day, but babies are constantly learning about the brand new world around them, while they're also figuring out how to move and communicate. So much growth happens in those early months. It's exhausting. And because of that, babies need a tremendous amount of sleep. Any idea how much is it? A, up to 10 hours a day, b, up to 13 hours a day, or c, up to 18 hours a day? Believe it or not, the answer is c up to 18 hours a day.

[Kim Davis]

Whoa.

[Jerry Colbert]

And if you've ever been around a baby, you know not all of that sleep happens at night. Babies nap a lot during the day.

[Adam Tex Davis]

To get in the extra hours.

[Jerry Colbert]

And all that sleeping and learning pays off. And as your body understands and accomplishes more things like walking and talking, you can get away with less daily sleep. So napping goes down, too. And by the time you turn three, you're probably just taking one nap a day. Yet that nap is still very important for your development. Then, by the time you start going to school, nighttime sleep is usually enough for your body. You might still nap, which is perfectly fine, as there's no set time for giving up naps.

[Adam Tex Davis]

But for a lot of kids at.

[Jerry Colbert]

This point, nap time is a thing of the past and future. You see, during your teenage years, you're going to go through another burst of development, and your body's going to need a lot of sleep to handle it, perhaps up to 10 hours a night. But getting sleep is not as easy as it used to be.

[Gia Davis]

Rock goodbye, baby in the treetop when.

[Kim Davis]

The wind blows the cradle will fall. Mom, I'm 15. Stop trying to rock me to sleep. And please stop singing. You're embarrassing both of us.

[Jerry Colbert]

Yes, the old tricks when you were a baby or toddler no longer work. And worse, teens are too busy with friends, school, and activities that they often go to bed late and get up early. That means they're short, changing the amount of sleep they need to handle all of the changes their bodies are going through. Which is why many teens find themselves very tired at times.

[Gia Davis]

And that's where I come in.

[Jerry Colbert]

No, this is not a good time for you.

[Gia Davis]

But I'm Captain Caffeine. I keep naps away so you can stay up all day.

[Jerry Colbert]

Yeah, you're exactly what teens don't need.

[Gia Davis]

But everybody loves me. I meant chocolate, soda, energy drinks, Red Bull monster tea, and everybody's favorite coffee.

[Jerry Colbert]

First of all, kids shouldn't have coffee or too much caffeine. And second, can you, like, tone it down a little? You're at a 10. Can you get it down to, like, a 6?

[Gia Davis]

But I need to keep you awake. Waka waka waka waka wak.

[Jerry Colbert]

Now, sleep is too important for growing kids.

[Gia Davis]

Fine, But I'll be back.

[Jerry Colbert]

Sorry about that. As I'm sure you smarty pants know, adults love their caffeine, particularly coffee. But before you become an adult, a better way for teens and tweens to keep alert is to exercise and, of course, take a nap. But if you do decide to take a nap, how long should your nap be? For maximum effect? Is it A, less than 30 minutes, B, an hour, or C, more than two hours? The answer is right after this quick break.

[Adam Tex Davis]

WhoSmarted is brought to you by Squarespace. Now, you know I'm good about creating new adventures and episodes of WhoSmarted.

[Jerry Colbert]

But you don't know that.

[Adam Tex Davis]

I procrastinate on other stuff, like a website for one of our new projects.

[Taya Garlett]

Oops.

[Adam Tex Davis]

When the website builder Squarespace reached out about sponsoring WhoSmarted, I decided to test it out. And now I feel silly for putting off building that website. Squarespace's blueprint AI thing literally built me a custom website in minutes. I just told it a few details about the project and boom. It generated everything. And everything you need is right there. I can schedule guest interviews, send email campaigns, even sell merch, all from one dashboard. Now it's your turn to stop procrastinating and start building. You can use Squarespace to launch that business site or any site that you've been dreaming about. But putting off today?

[Jerry Colbert]

There's no excuse anymore.

[Adam Tex Davis]

Especially since you can head to squarespace.com smarted for a free trial. And when you're ready to launch, you can use code smart smarted to save 10% on your first purchase of a website or domain. That's squarespace.com smarted code smarted this episode is sponsored by IXL. Look, I know back to school looks a little different when you're a homeschool family because maybe you're keeping up with your year round rhythm or maybe you're starting fresh with new plans and goals. Either way, it is the perfect time to reset, refresh and find tools that make life easy easier. That's where IXL comes in. IXL is an award winning online learning platform that covers math, language arts, science and social studies from Pre K through 12th grade. It adjusts to your child's level, giving them just the right challenge at the right time. So learning feels motivating, not overwhelming. And what I love about IXL is how effortless it makes homeschooling. Everything is organized by grade and topic, so instead of hunting for lessons, you can jump straight into exactly what your child needs. And the real time feedback is a game changer. When kids make a mistake, IXL explains it instantly, helping them learn and move forward with confidence. Plus, you can see their progress at a glance with detailed reports. Over 15 million students use IXL and more than 75 studies show that it really works. So make an impact on your child's learning at IXL. Today, WhoSmarted listeners get an exclusive 20% off when you sign up at ixl.com whosmarted that's ixl.com whosMarted now back to WhoSmarted.

[Jerry Colbert]

We're talking naps. Specifically, how long is the perfect nap? Now while you might think more sleep equals more rest. You're actually better off taking a shorter nap and saving the longer sleep for bedtime. This goes for adults as well as for teens and tweens. In other words, the perfect nap is a less than 30 minutes.

[Taya Garlett]

But why?

[Jerry Colbert]

Well, teens still need nighttime sleep to grow and develop, and a longer nap might hurt your ability to sleep later. Naps under 30 minutes, often called power naps, give you energy without impacting your nighttime sleep or making you feel groggy afterwards. And these naps provide the perfect boost to get through the day. On the other hand, if you go beyond 30 minutes, you fall off a cliff and into deep sleep. Deep sleep helps your memory and creativity, but it's hard to get out of you might feel groggy when you wake up from a deep sleep, which is why a 30 minute nap will make you feel more awake than a 60 minute nap. But if you do want to snooze for longer than 30 minutes, you'll want to go through an entire sleep cycle for which takes about an hour and a half or 90 minutes. In that time, your brain does all its memory sorting and problem solving. Your body rejuvenates and enters deep sleep, followed by REM sleep, which is when dreams happen. So after 90 minutes you'll start a new cycle, which is a perfect time to wake up. Just make sure you don't go beyond that. A nap lasting longer than 90 minutes to two hours and could have you waking up groggy again. And then you'll need something to boost your energy.

[Gia Davis]

Like me. Wake up. Wake up. Wake up. Wake up.

[Jerry Colbert]

Ugh. Not you again.

[Gia Davis]

Hey, without me, most adults would be fast asleep at their desks or on their couches or sitting in their cars.

[Jerry Colbert]

There is some truth to that. As I'm sure you've noticed, many adults tend to doze off during the day. Why is that? After all, they're not growing anymore. Any guesses? The biggest reason adults get tired during the day is they simply aren't getting enough sleep at night. Adults need an average of 7 hours of sleep each night to energize their minds and bodies, but many don't get that. Now you might be wondering, why is the afternoon the time when both kids and adults get tired? Well, that has to do with your body's internal clock cycles between two and three in the afternoon is when most people go through a natural drowsiness thanks to bodily systems that control your awake and sleep times. This is so common that some cultures have siestas or afternoon breaks to give people a chance to nap.

[Gia Davis]

And then I'm back.

[Jerry Colbert]

Yes, many adults and some kids get past this drowsy period by drinking coffee, tea, sodas, or energy drinks with caffeine or a chemical that jolts your brain and nervous system, keeping you awake.

[Gia Davis]

Wake up, Wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up.

[Jerry Colbert]

But while caffeine may be effective, it's not the best way to combat drowsiness. Caffeine does not allow your body to do all the important stuff that it does while napping. I mean, imagine your brain trying to organize itself while this is going on.

[Gia Davis]

Hey, hey. Wake up.

[Jerry Colbert]

Trust me, even after a shortening nap, you'll feel better than you would after chugging down a drink loaded with caffeine. So if you need to nap and you can nap, toss that energy drink and just get some sleep.

[Adam Tex Davis]

A double shout out to Super Smarty fans Phoebe and Lennon in Los Angeles, California. Phoebe, we hear you love getting smarter and that trustee makes you laugh. And Lennon, you love how we answer your questions on Spotify and you laugh.

[Jerry Colbert]

At all of Trusty's jokes.

[Adam Tex Davis]

Yep, you two are a dream team.

[Jerry Colbert]

All right, thanks for smarting with us this episode. Naps was written by Dave Beaudry and voiced by Taya Garlett, Kim Davis, Gia Davis, and yours truly, Jerry Colbert. Technical direction and sound design by Josh Hahn, who Smarted is recorded and mixed at the Relic Room Studios. Our associate producer is Max Kamasky. The theme song is by Brian Suarez with lyrics written and performed by Adam Tex Davis, who Smarted was created and produced by Adam Tex Davis and Jerry Colbert. This is an Atomic Entertainment production, and I love a good nap.