If I nap later in the day/evening, will I still dream?

[Jesslet]

The title pretty much says it all. If I nap later in the evening, say around 6 or 7 when I've already been awake for 9-10 hours, will I still go into REM sleep and have the opportunity for a lucid nap? Also, if I've gotten a full 8 hours or more of sleep in a night, will napping the next day be worth trying to WILD for the same reason or will I not go into REM sleep? Thanks

[OneUp]

Yes and Yes. I have had a lucid nap before, and depending on the time of day it can really jump your chances up. For instance whenever I take a nap roughly 1 or 2 hours after waking up in the morning, I usually become lucid. I find it much harder for myself personally to get Lucid Naps around 6 or 7 as that is when Im at my highest level of fatigue so I just fall asleep wanting to rest. Its still possible though. 8 hours or more of sleep is good for one night, and I'd say you could still WILD the next day, but that also depends on your regular sleeping cycle and some other factors. Those same factors can also determine whether or not you go into REM or just NREM. In the end alot of it boils down to your sleep cycle.

[Burke]

I'm not entirely sure we know of a specific marker that denotes when going to sleep will be just a nap or if it'll be full on sleep. There's got to be some sort of marker, but I'm not aware of it. I think the later in the day you wait, the more likely it will be a power nap, in which you don't enter REM sleep, but stage 2, the stage before deep sleep. I'd say a good rule of thumb is, if the sun's still up, naps are a go. Once the sun goes down, don't bother with it (you'll probably just fall asleep). As for sleeping too much, yes, you will go into REM like a normal nap unless it's an extreme amount. As long as you wait a couple hours you should be fine, and, unless you slept for like 18 hours, your nap should go as planned.

[Mellanhavande]

Yes. I've had the best lucid dreams during afternoon naps.

[ThreeCat]

I think it depends on how much sleep you have had, and how long you've waited since your larger block of sleep. Like Burke mentioned, there is a possibility you will immediately enter (and largely stay) in nREM. If this happens, the block of nREM sleep could be too large for any induction methods to properly penetrate into REM. However, I think as long as you stay asleep long enough, you will enter a dream, which is chance enough to become lucid. It will also depend on your own current body chemistry (and how much sleep you had the night before, how sleep deprived you are, etc). So I would take some naps, and try to remember some dreams. That will be your best bet in determining how effective a time spent napping will be for you in the long run.