Is taking a nap daily bad for you?

What is the age of the napper and how many hours of sleep do they get at night?

I don’t think so. I’m not a napper but my dad took an 1 hour to an 1 and ½ hour nap pretty much every day of his life. He was a chemist (Ph.D in Physical chemistry), made good living at it, 32 years with the same company; he was a good man, a good husband and a good father and could fix or build just about anything he set his mind to, and lived, with almost no illnesses, no major ones at least, or any mental impairment until the very last year or so of his life, until the age of 82. Napping certainly didn’t do him any harm. I know it’s not a scientific example but I thought I would offer it up anyway.

@artemis Great question. I nap. Couldn’t get by without it now that I’ve gotten used to it.

What I have read of research says that getting a 1 to 2 hour nap every day increases longevity. Most adults need 6 to 8 hours sleep in each 24 hour cycle, so if they nap and actually sleep during that time, that means they don’t need to sleep quite so long at night.

Here are a couple of articles on it.
Napping Benefits.
Take a Nap.
10 Benefits of Power Napping and How to Do It.

Well, there is such a thing as too much sleep. However, seeing as you are 15 and sleep around 6–7 hours a night, I would say that a daily nap is definitely not going to harm you. Teenagers are typically recommended 10 hours of sleep at night adults are recommended 6–8, and with your naps, you hit that mark. The only thing that I can see as bad about these naps is that you will start to get into a routine and if you are unable to nap on a given day, you’ll probably start to get really tired around that time. Just keep that in mind.

There are large populations who traditionally take a nap in the early afternoon (during the hottest part of the day) and it doesn’t seem to affect them adversely.

A large portion of the world’s population takes a midday/afternoon siesta every day. I don’t think it will hurt you too much.

No. In fact, any nap shorter than twenty minutes helps give you energy for the rest of your day. It just has to be short and sweet.

As @global_nomad said, teens often require more sleep than adults. If you’re not able to sleep more than 6 or 7 hours at night, it makes sense that you’d want to nap in the afternoon. However, to echo global_nomad once more, you might get into the habit of napping and have a hard time doing without.

For days like that, find an alternative pick-me-up like fresh fruit or fresh fruit juice – the natural sugars will give you a little boost. (Getting hooked on coffee or energy drinks like Monster or Rockstar is probably not a good idea, since you’ll probably crash afterward and feel even more tired.)

Yes, more than a 1 hour nap during the day is not good. 20 – 40 minutes is very beneficial, but very hard to organize.

As long as you’re not suffering from it, I don’t see why it would be bad. It sounds like you’re catching up on your lack of sleep from the night before.