Babies need naps. Kids need naps. Teenagers need naps. Adults need naps. COLLEGE STUDENTS ESPECIALLY NEED NAPS.

I’m currently in my junior year of college and I’ve taken more naps in the past two years than I have in my entire existence. Here’s why: four classes in 11 weeks, three plus hours of practices during the week, three jobs, endless hours of homework and studying, and then trying to spend some down time with your friends. All of this would crush me if I didn’t take at least one nap a day. Naps have varied from 15 minutes to four hours. It really depends on the day of the week and how much homework and studying I really have to do that night.

Contrary to beliefs of the older generation, naps are fairly beneficial, especially to college students. For starters, naps help students focus better after they’ve gotten a little bit of sleep. With that being said, naps technically can make you smarter. Secondly, they reduce stress. When you’ve had a hectic morning and you’re already ready to crawl into bed for eight hours, a nap will recharge you and lower your blood pressure to give you a new start to the rest of your day.

Claiming you don’t have time for a nap? False. A nap doesn’t have to last an hour or longer to be effective. Naps can be as short as five minutes to recharge someone. Plus, if you nap for less than an hour, you have better chances at avoiding the “Where am I? What year is it?” phase when you wake up.

“But if I nap during the day, I won’t sleep at night.” Wrong. Again. Sure, if you take a nap after six o’clock at night, then yes, you might have some trouble falling asleep that night. However, if you take a nap earlier in the day, like late morning or early afternoon, it will actually increase your chances of falling asleep faster and getting better quality sleep that night. Personally, I think the best time to take a nap is after I’ve eaten lunch around one o’clock because that’s when I feel the drowsiest. After I sleep for a few hours, I’m refreshed and ready to roll for late afternoon classes.

With all benefits and facts aside, taking naps is just very relaxing. After a few morning classes and eating lunch, it feels nice to just lay down and sink into the bed for a few hours before I have to get back to being productive. After coming home from an exhausting practice on Saturday morning, it feels amazing to crash for a few hours and forget what day it is. Saturday is probably the best day to nap for a college student. Why? It’s the first day of the weekend, you don’t have the pressure to do homework or study until Sunday, you don’t have to worry about sleeping through a class, and you’ll be refreshed and awake if you decide you want to go out that night.

The next person that tells you that you’re too old to take a nap is dead wrong. Adults need way more sleep than anyone else to keep up with their lives. So, to the adults that think naps are a waste of time, take one. Watch it change your life.