Are ‘Depression Naps’ Harming Your Health?

If you have depression, you may feel sad or low, lose interest in hobbies and other activities you once enjoyed, and experience persistent fatigue. To cope with these symptoms, you may turn to frequent sleep during the day — sometimes called “depression naps.”

“It’s the idea of individuals who take extended naps during the day to help with fatigue or feeling blue, as a way to potentially avoid negative feelings,” says Traci Speed, MD, PhD, a psychiatrist at Johns Hopkins Medicine and an associate professor of clinical psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore.

But do these naps actually help? Or are they causing harm to your mental and physical health? Here’s what research and experts say.

What Are ‘Depression Naps’?

“Depression nap” isn’t a medical term. Rather, it’s a colloquialism that likely originated on social media, Dr. Speed says.

While informal, the term refers to a very real phenomenon associated with depression. It describes the tendency of some people with the mood disorder to take prolonged naps during the day, either because of depressive symptoms like fatigue, or as a means of escaping negative thoughts or feelings, says Adam Sands, MD, MPH, a psychiatrist and an assistant professor of psychiatry at NewYork-Presbyterian Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York City.

If you rely on naps to cope with unpleasant emotions, you miss the opportunity to develop healthier means of dealing with them. Instead of resolving the underlying issues contributing to depression, naps perpetuate the cycle, he says.

“It’s especially problematic when someone is spending so much time napping — or even just lying in bed trying to sleep and not think — that they are not engaging with other aspects of life that ultimately could be really helpful for them,” Dr. Sands says.

Can Depression Naps Harm Your Health?

There may be health risks associated with depression naps, primarily related to their impact on your circadian rhythm (the internal clock that tells your body when to sleep and when to wake).

“If you take a daytime nap, especially something that lasts several hours, your sleep drive resets to zero,” Dr. Speed says. “So, you're disrupting your circadian rhythm, and that creates a perpetual cycle of not being able to go to sleep at night, which then reinforces this need to have a nap during the day."

How to Stop Taking ‘Depression Naps’

Many health conditions, including chronic pain, hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid), and post-COVID syndrome, cause fatigue and may make you more likely to nap during the day, Speed says. So, it may help to consult a healthcare provider to determine whether you’re truly taking depression naps or if they’re related to another condition.

If depression is the underlying cause, probe further to understand your motivation for napping. Exhaustion from depression-related insomnia, for example, calls for a different intervention than using naps as an avoidance strategy.

Here are five approaches that can help, depending on what’s driving your naps.

1. Practice Behavioral Activation

As Sands says, depression often leads people to withdraw and engage less with things that bring them fulfillment, joy, or any kind of positive feeling. “It’s really important that people try to re-engage with those things — to activate their behavior and do things that are stimulating,” he says, noting that the times you feel the desire to nap is the perfect opportunity to engage in behavioral activation.

2. Move Your Body (Even Briefly)

Exercising, even for short bouts, can improve both sleep and mood. “Moving our muscles and helping the blood get pumped to our brain — that’s going to be more beneficial than taking that nap,” Speed says.

3. Write a ‘Worry List’

Feeling overwhelmed is a common trigger for depression naps. Instead of heading to bed, try writing your worries down. “Writing it down can be helpful — to say, ‘Okay, I've acknowledged it. I can't do anything about it right now, but I will do it tomorrow,’" Speed says.

Once you’ve put them on paper, redirect your focus by doing something else, she suggests.

4. Improve Your Sleep Hygiene

Focusing on sleep hygiene (healthy habits, behaviors, and environments for sleep) is a simple yet effective strategy for curbing depression naps driven by daytime fatigue. “People underestimate the value of it,” Sands says.

There are several sleep hygiene habits that can make a difference, including following a consistent bedtime and wake time. “Even that alone can be powerful,” Sands says. Avoiding screens before bed, limiting caffeine to morning hours, and not eating, working, or watching TV in bed can also help.

Sands recommends getting out of bed if you haven’t fallen asleep within 20 minutes. Leave the bedroom and do something relaxing that doesn’t involve screens until you feel tired again, he says.

5. Seek Professional Help

There are many effective self-help strategies you can use to tackle depression naps. It’s best to work alongside a mental health professional. “If someone is experiencing depression and struggling, my advice is to seek treatment, whether that’s therapy, medications, or a combination,” Sands says.

If you already see a mental health professional, tell them what you’re experiencing. They can help you find ways to cut down on depression naps.

The Takeaway

• “Depression naps” is a colloquial term for the tendency of some people with depression to take prolonged daytime naps, either due to fatigue or as an escape from negative emotions.
• While napping may provide short-term relief, habitual long naps can disrupt your circadian rhythm. These disruptions have been linked to higher risks of metabolic conditions such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and obesity.
• If depression is driving your naps, evidence-based strategies like behavioral activation, exercise, and improved sleep hygiene can help. It’s also essential to work with a mental health professional.