Naps are funny things. Sometimes they make you feel better and sometimes they don’t. It seems to me that there should be a rule about naps. Something like if you nap for forty minutes you will wake feeling refreshed and revitalized but if you nap for longer than three hours you will wake feeling grumpy and sluggish.
Naps are also very personal things. Some people love to nap while others feel that naps are simply a way that lazy people waste their days away. When I was a child I HATED a nap. Now this was quite the problem for me since my mother is a great believer in nap time. I can remember trying to get her off the nap couch and she would pretend to be the couch and tell me to be very quiet or that I would wake up my momma. Unfortunately for my mother, I was a very logical child and knew that there was no such thing as talking furniture. That was against the rules so I just kept talking until she got up.
As an adult, I now have a very different opinion of naps. I love them. I wish that life would allow me to take a nap every single day. Since I am not yet independently wealthy, I must continue to work for a living so a daily nap isn’t really a viable part of my life. Perhaps this is why I so enjoy a nap when I do get the chance for one. It is a guilty pleasure.
Are you a napper? What is your best napping story?
Stephanie
Not a recent one...Naps make me feel bad since I've gotten older . But, when I was working and pregnant, I had a trial in front of a very grumpy federal judge. As everyone knows, a pregnant lady will fall asleep standing up. Any way, I was sitting at the prosecutor's table while the defense was cross-examining a witness. Boring. I fell asleep, actually snoring with my head back. The judge instructed the deputy U.S. Marshal to wake the prosecutor. Not being a gentle soul, the deputy came over and shook me. I fell out of the chair, in a dress - you can guess what happened to the dress. I stood up, barely awake and the judge told me that he would have no one in the courtroom going into labor because it was new carpet AND no one snored in his courtroom except him. The jury laughed and I never went to sleep again in court. Naps have gotten me in trouble...
ReplyDeleteYikes! Cheryl, that must have been embarrassing... ;)
ReplyDeleteStephanie, naps are really good for you. In fact, most of Europe builds life around naps. In Italy, it's called Reposso. In Spain, Siesta. 12:00-3:00 p.m. is blocked off for this. I'm serious. Every store is closed during that time. The only thing you can do is eat. Italians love to take a lengthy lunch and then a nap. Perhaps that is why they look so vital until they are very, very old. Maybe America should buy into this idea. (Of course, that is also why Europeans don't eat dinner until much later at night too.)
Here's a great tip. Power naps are the best thing ever. Lay on your left side (has to be left for total benefit to the heart and lungs) and put on a timer. Sleep for 20 minutes and 20 minutes only. You will feel so refreshed when you get up, and you do have to immediately get up or it won't work. Works every time...
The European view on naps gets my vote! Sadly, I rarely get to indulge in a nap. Perhaps, one day soon, when I retire to write full-time...
ReplyDeleteWhen I moved to Germany I went by way of London for a few days. The flight left JFK in the evening and arrived in London the next day. I spent the morning sightseeing (after I checked into my hotel) and then came back mid-afternoon. I was so tired and thought I'd lie down for a quick nap before dinner. HA! I woke up about 3 AM starving. Fortunately the night clerk had stuff to make ham sandwiches (he buttered the bread rather than use mayo) and that's the best damned ham sandwiched I've had. Evah! I totally didn't understand about jet lag. Now I do. LOL!
ReplyDeleteI like a nap but I seldom get one. I have never thought of it as a Power Nap but 20 minutes will get me going again. I've never paid attention to my sleeping position but I'll try my left side.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a napper. My family has never been a napping family. My husband, OTOH, is -- and so is his family. Drives me insane that in the middle of the day, around 2, everyone has to lie down for an hour. How in the hell do you get any site-seeing done if everyone shuts down at 2?
ReplyDeleteIf we do manage to go out and see something when the inlaws are here, as soon as we get home, no matter what time it is, everyone lies down for an hour. Not me.
Oh, and the hubby comes home from work and naps every day. I just don't get it. But after all these years, I've basically learned to live with it.
No, I'm not a napper. Never have been. Naps make me feel grumpy and horrible when I wake up. I don't fall asleep easily so the 20 min cat nap wouldn't work for me anyway. It would take me that long just to get settled down! :)
ReplyDeleteWow! Crystal, Playground Monitor, Jean, Lynn and Sherry! To nap or not to nap, seems to be a very personal experience.
ReplyDeleteLynn, love the differences between your hubby's family and yours. My family is not a family of nappers. We're doers, especially my DH's family. If I lay down to take a nap, unless it is a power nap, I think of all the things I could be doing. Inevitably, I'll get up and start doing stuff. Geez! Because I feel guilty.
Statistics show lying on your left side, where your heart has to do least work, helps you relax and feel more rejuevenated afterward. Can you tell that I've read countless magazines in my lifetime?
The older I get, the more naps look appealing. ~snicker~
Cheryl-Thank you for sharing your story with us. It started by day out with a laugh. I can see where that experience would put on off naps.
ReplyDeleteCrystal- I am with you on voting for the European view on napping. I could do with one every day.
P.M.-What a great story. I love travel stories and yours made me want a sandwich!
Ahh Lynn, I knew there would be at least one none napper amongst us. I can understand your frustration, especially on vacation, but we nappers feel soooo much better after our hour of down time.
Sherry-I can see that a 20 minute nap might not work for you. As I said, I think one either is a napper or not. Maybe it's genetic.
Kathy-Thanks for the power napping tips.
I am enjoying reading about everyone's thoughts on napping and appreciate y'all sharing them with us!