A lesson was bestowed upon my person recently. It’s influence will run deep within me for many moons, perhaps even until my last. It was on the importance of the eyes being allowed to close when they called for such. The monkey within me was taught the art of the nap.
So I’ve been experimenting recently with naps. My friend who’s had babies in the last year and runs around all day everyday attempting to keep his business operating despite it’s seemingly determined desire to do anything but; doesn’t really have time to develop a regular sleep pattern. He scoffs at my yawns and tired lethargic sleep when I suggest it is justified to feel tired and lazy as I only slept seven hours the night before, for him he has forgotten that such things even exist. Or perhaps has forced himself to forget. Some of my friends who have had babies in the last few years seem pretty keen on me having them too. I would love to suggest it’s because they want me to share in the joys of parenthood, the bonds of raising your own creation, but I’m pretty sure it’s because they hate me and want me to suffer as much as they do.
It turns out his secret is napping whenever he can possibly find the time. I am unaware of his exact nap pattern because I don’t really need such a detailed knowledge of his daily movements, but I suspect his naps can last for a little longer than the traditional fifteen minutes here and there. I suspect his new sleep pattern consists of something closer to a series of shorter sleeps broken up by being awake. I’ve never told him I suspect he exaggerates as he looks so exhausted and pained I haven’t quite got the heart to challenge and rub it in.
My experimenting though has consisted of a few different trials. Sometimes when I get in from work I feel a little sleepy, I lie down on the sofa and curl up under a blanket. Very easily this can turn into a two hour nap, similar I suspect to my friends ‘quick’ naps, and I wake up feeling like I’ve probably slept a little too long. He suggests it is because I nap on the sofa and should just go to bed but I have resisted trying that as I don’t want to sleep too well and too long as I’ll not be able to sleep when it is time later. Maybe I miss the point though and should only sleep when tired; if I nap during the day I won’t need to sleep at my usual time. I could create a new and improved sleeping pattern, it would be called Whenever.
The reason I talk about naps is that I just had one prior to writing this. I settled on the sofa to read my book for a bit with my feet up, this lasted ten minutes, before finding myself drifting off and allowing myself a little nap. I didn’t lie down and I didn’t pull the blanket over me. I am not sure how long I was out but if I was to hazard a guess it would be about twenty minutes. I wasn’t sure at first if I had been sleeping which is a good sign that I wasn’t out too long and I felt a little groggy which I’m sure is a good sign to suggest I was at least out for long enough.
It is with this nap this evening that I suspect I may just be a little closer to understanding the art form. I wasn’t too comfortable, wrapped up warm in a blanket or lying down completely, but was enough of all those things to just doze off when the feeling came and did so for long enough to give my body a little rest. A mate of mine I met years ago travelling told me his Dad swore by an eighteen minute nap. He was pretty precise on the number too and I could never work out if the eighteen minutes included the trying to sleep part and if not how did you know when to set your alarm. I never got a suitable answer. I also don’t like alarms unless I have to use them which means so far none of my naps have been brutally disturbed but this also means they’ve varied from three minutes to three hours. It’s all about being natural.
I am a great believer and lover of researching all these little things on myself and while I know everyone is different I can only express how I have felt. So far this is an experiment I have really enjoyed and fully plan to continue doing so. I can’t stress enough how much anyone reading this should join me in my research. Actual research by professionals suggests that napping in the day for between fifteen and ninety minutes can improve brain functions ranging from memory to focus and creativity. With that kind of information if you’re reading this on the sofa I don’t know why you haven’t already swung your feet around and up. Just try it, I promise you it won’t take much effort thereafter.
Observations and Misunderstandings 