Like pretty much everyone who's ever talked about naps as an adult, I didn't like them when I was a kid - but then I grew up and realized that naps rule.
There's all sorts of science behind why a nap is good for you. It helps you digest, it gives you a little pick-me-up, it makes you happier and more alert, etc. etc. etc. As far as I'm concerned, all of that is just icing on the cake. A nap is a sweet little morsel of time that lets you float away from your responsibilities on a spun-sugar dream cloud.
I like 'em.
At my parents' house, my favorite place to nap is on a big grey sofa in the living room. I cuddle into the cushions, put one throw pillow under my head and one on top of my feet, and then I sleep, feeling safe, comfortable, and the teensiest bit rebellious. Sleeping? In the middle of the day? What a wild and crazy person I must be.
In college I usually napped on my bed, but when the opportunity arose - and it often did - I would catch my Z's wherever I happened to be. At USC and Swansea Uni that meant curling up on stiff pleather couches in corners, between bookshelves in dusty, disused corners of the library, and even lying facedown on the quad and hoping no squirrels got frisky. When I'm on a bus or the Tube, I fall into a doze that's lifted easily by the announcement of my stop. I am an opportunistic napper, I'll admit that.
Since I've been in the UK, I've fallen asleep in every room in the house but my boyfriend's roommates' bedrooms. Nap-wise, I've fallen asleep on the couch in the kitchen when my boyfriend was playing video games. I've fallen asleep in the living room behind the couch when he and his friend were taking a Christmas photo, and I frequently fall asleep on aforementioned couch when I get tired of editing, writing or applying to jobs. If I told you I wasn't teased for this, I'd be lying - apparently it seems like I just fall asleep wherever I am when I get sleepy. And that...well, actually, that may be the case.
For as far back as I can remember, I've felt safer sleeping in the daytime than at night. It's usually a bit warmer, I'm usually tired, and my brain doesn't seem to turn on creatively until right before I fall asleep - that, coupled with a lifetime of insomnia, means that naps are sometimes the only way for me to get rest. My ideal nap is about an hour and a half long, but I dated a guy in college who liked 20-minute power naps (what I would call 'death naps' because I always rose feeling like death.)
What do you guys think? Pro-nap, anti-nap? Opportunistic napper?
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I've only recently discovered naps; I was at school, getting ready for sport, when I thought 'Hey, my bed looks super comfy at the moment.' so I lay down on it, shoes and all, and slept until five when my friends burst into my room asking me where I'd been. I then received a lecture from my teacher about skyving lessons. You may ask, was a two hour nap worth a lecture from a teacher who seems to have a problem with digressing?
ReplyDeleteYes. Yes it was.
I am definitely pro-nap. Especially since I've been pregnant. And lately I've been one to fall asleep wherever. If I could I would nap on my desk at work, but those darn kids need to be supervised. :)
ReplyDeleteI love naps, only problem is that when I wake up from one, I feel even more tired than before I fell asleep. Maybe I'm just not conking out properly, but I do find it hard to get into a deep sleep when there's a light on or when other people are around. I'd love to be able to properly nap more and not just fall asleep with my eyes open at inopportune moments,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. Naps are awesome! They give you extra power to carry throughout the day and brightens up your mood. An hour and half is good but I don't usually have time for that long naps so an hour has to do the trick.
ReplyDeleteI don't usually nap. I just sleep all day long getting up only to eat, if that, and go to the toilet.
ReplyDeleteIn my defense I'm generally a sleepy person and cold makes me even more sleepy. I don't care where or when if my brain says Sleep! I sleep. I don't care if it's floor, bus, bed or sofa. I almost slept while standing in the underground once.
But I kinda hate doing that because when I wake up it's really confusing and I'm always hungry and feel like I was sleeping for a month.
I'm mixed about naps. I love falling asleep into one after school and getting the sleep I missed, but I hate missing the time in the afternoon, and waking up. I know you're only supposed to nap for about half an hour or so, but I can't control when I wake up, and I can't set an alarm if I don't know when I'll fall asleep. Meh, I nap anyway.
ReplyDeleteSame here! I always seem to nap when I have a ton of homework, and a band rehersal after school, so after I'm done napping, I don't even have time to do my homework before I have to leave..
DeleteI am pro-nap and I am also quite fond of half-hour naps. When I had about an hour between classes, it was nice to take a quick nap and then be on my way. I either napped in my dorm room bed or on the couches in the student union which are incredibly comfortable.
ReplyDeleteYou went to Swansea Uni?! When were you at Swansea Uni?
ReplyDeletei once fell asleep on a park bench sitting back wards with a group of friends while in a deep conversation. they left me there and took pictures.
ReplyDeleteI only ever nap accidentally when I come home from school feeling either very tired or ill. I usually wake up after 20/30 minutes feeling awful, like you said 'death naps'.
ReplyDeleteI'm definitely anti-nap. No matter how long I nap for, I wake up feeling worse than I did before the nap. But I always make sure I get enough sleep so that I never feel the urge to take a nap. I'm 23 and I go to bed at 10- makes me feel a bit like an old lady sometimes, but it works for me!
ReplyDeletepublic-transport naptaking is awesome, used to do it on the way to school all the time XD
ReplyDeleteMy first year at University, I lived off 20 minute, opportunistic naps. My third year at University, if I don't get up at exactly 1 hour, I'm sleeping 4. Screw circadian rhythms! If a 4 hour nap happens it's because i wasn't going to survive without it.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't say I'm anti-nap, but it just isn't a wise choice for me. As someone who also has insomnia, naps make (for me) night-time sleeping even more horrible. ...And I'm sorry, but I couldn't help but notice that, based on your apostrophe use, you have multiple boyfriends. Unintended, I'm assuming? :)
ReplyDeleteAs an undergrad, I would nap on the couches in the library. Where I am now...there just aren't many places to nap at McGill, I've found, and I tend to just use the couch in my living room.
ReplyDeleteI don't tend to nap at home - it's just not the done thing in my head for some reason - but I nap at school/college all the time. Yesterday, for example, I had a particularly early morning, so during my free first lesson I just put my head down on a table and slept, mostly undisturbed.
ReplyDeleteMy friend Josh enjoys waking me up far too much, though. He went for the traditional yelling-my-name-in-my-year-really-loudly method yesterday, but he has been known to hold small gatherings of my friends (mostly the blokes) in order to wake me up via a tennis ball pelting. It was a bit like the jigglyball game from Scrubs, but more painful.
I am most definitely pro-nap. I used to hate taking them (I was in a rebellious pseudo-teenager stage of 'naps are for little kids') but then I took a nap once and now I love taking them. Considering how little sleep I get at night, and how early I have to wake up, they make me feel so much better.
ReplyDeleteNaps are just the best thing. Except if you're so tired that you sleep for too long and miss your bus stop!!
ReplyDeleteI am completely an opportunistic napper who doesn't get the opportunity to nap very often. I've found myself (especially home for the holidays) being the "grandpa" of the family by just conking out in whatever chair I happen to be curled up in.
ReplyDeleteIf I was stationary for more than 5 minutes there was a large chance I was about to take a nap. Naps are brilliant though, honestly. It makes me so happy when I can just wake up from a nap, having done nothing but slept - and feel like I accomplished something.
Now that I'm in college, I use naps to get me through long school days, but yet I can't understand how on earth I managed to survive my super-long high school days without naps! A typical high school day had me running nap-less for sixteen or seventeen hours! Not now. Nope.
ReplyDeleteI also use naps to help me calm down. If I'm freaking out about a paper, or an existential crisis about what the hell I'm even doing here, or something equally distressing, I force myself to take a time out and just shut my brain off for a few minutes. It works wonders!
I forgot to add - I'm an opportunistic napper during the hottest parts of the summer, because my house doesn't have air conditioning and I can't handle the humidity without zonking out to get me through the day without dying.
ReplyDeleteI love sleeping, but because of my demanding university school,I actually sleep about 2 hours/day. However, in the middle of the day, I take several 20-minute naps, gaining a little extra energy to continue my study.
ReplyDeleteOpportunistic napper. Naps are one of my favorite things. Also, I love love love your blog! I wish I could write something substantial online as often as you do.
ReplyDeleteI'd be Pro if I had the time.. And if I could sleep in the day.
ReplyDeleteI napped all through my high school years and got called grandma at least twice a week.
ReplyDeletePro-nap, but usually my naps turn into massive 4 hour sleeps.
ReplyDeleteI do like a good nap although I do find it hard to fall asleep in noisy places. I think its because I don't sleep enough at night, its about 11pm and I reading your blog instead of sleeping
ReplyDeleteHour and a half naps are excellent. That's the length of a sleep cycle, so you'll wake more rested! (You should also aim to sleep in 1 1/2h intervals at night.)
ReplyDeleteFor my last ex and I: taking naps was literally one of our favourite passtimes.
NAPS RULE.