Sleep is important in many way, especially when it comes to our health, but also for our mood and how we feel. Naps could be exactly what you need in your day to feel good. I’ll tell you a little about sleep deprivation and some of the lengths I went to when I absolutely had to take a nap. You can see how taking a precious nap IS possible! And it doesn’t mean laziness. There are a handful of famous people, mentioned here, who believe in taking naps. Then I’ll let you know the best way to take a nap to be beneficial to you.
Sleep Deprivation
You have most likely heard- repeatedly, how important it is to get the right amount of sleep. But that can be a challenge! Have you ever been so tired that you couldn’t think about anything else except sleep? Or so tired you forewent doing something else you would have loved? Have you ever been so tired that you nodded off while talking to someone?
My sweet mother actually nodded off one time teaching a Sunday class to several little boisterous children. My mother put in SO many hours to help our family make ends meet. She would also forego sleep if it meant helping out one of her children. She gave and gave and gave! As a child I was answering a questionnaire about my mother. When I asked her what her favorite thing was to do when she had spare time, she answered, “sleep.” All of us kids knew that was her favorite thing.
Taking Great Lengths
At one time I was living in Arizona. Occasionally, I would get tired enough that I would trade my lunch hour for sleep. I worked at an office building and I would walk out to my car (where hopefully I had found a parking spot in the shade), roll down my windows and cram myself into the hatch back where I uncomfortably had to hunch over the high middle of the two back seats. I set a timer on my phone to wake me up at the end of my lunch hour.
But that wasn’t as tired as when I was pregnant with my first child. I couldn’t seem to get enough sleep. I was working for a different company in the northwest and my husband and I would carpool together. He would drop me off at my work so I didn’t usually have a car where I could retreat. There were days that I was miserably tired with nowhere to go to rest my head even if it was on a break. I walked around strange hallways just to check for a quiet place where I could recline. Since my desk was out in the open and not in an enclosed office, resting my head on my desk wasn’t a good idea.
Although, at this same office, one of my managers later became pregnant with her first and was sicker than I’ve seen a lot of women. On her break (I think it was always on her break?) she would lay underneath her desk. I guess that is better than putting your head down on your desk. Do what you have to, except maybe not put your head down on your desk!
The Nap
Have you been there? Have you ever been so tired that it was hard to be happy? Then napping would be a Delight for you.
Think napping is an excuse for being lazy? Not so! The workplace at Google headquarters provides “EnergyPods,” or nap rooms, for it’s employees. At Google, they realize how important a nap can be to one’s productivity and creativity. And other big companies, such as Zappos, and the Huffington Post also provide ways for their employees to get in a power nap.
The National Sleep Foundation cited a few famous and highly successful people who believed in the afternoon nap. Winston Churchill, John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan, Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison and George W. Bush.
Is Getting a Nap in My Day Really Possible?
You won’t always be able to take a nap when you want, but it may be more possible than you realized, like taking a nap in the backseat of your car on your lunch break! Find a hiding spot or align the moon and stars to get your kids to nap at the same time and follow suit.
By the way, there are possible ways to take a nap when you have small children at home that won’t nap, such as placing your toddler in a Pack ’n Play for safety. With some ingenuity you may just find a way. You will be a better mother over all if you are well rested.
Taking a nap doesn’t need to take up a huge chunk of your afternoon. In fact, it’s better if it doesn’t. If you can scrape together 20 uninterrupted minutes, then you can get a rejuvenating nap in your day.
The Power Nap
Research has shown that a quick 20 minute nap significantly improves your alertness and performance, not to mention boost your mood! It’s a smarter way to combat the sluggish, worn-out, tired feeling than reaching for the caffeine, which likely gives you a false re-charge and can make you more prone to mistakes.
20 minutes for a nap is the sweet spot. Have you ever woken up from an hour long nap and felt terrible and had a hard time getting going again? If you have time to take a longer nap, it’s best to ensure a 90 minute nap to pass that groggy state and get a complete, restorative sleep cycle. But the 20 minute nap, keeping it under 30, will help you avoid that groggy state.
After your nap do something to help your body feel energized. Get in a short, brisk walk or stretch and get right back to what you were doing before.
Learn more about using naps for boosting your energy and productivity.
Tell me, in the comments below, what you’ve done to be able to take a nap.
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