When I read an article in Psychology Today titled "Naps Are Exercise For The Brain", it tickled my funny bone and alerted my brain that a nap was in order. Yes indeed, a siesta is now something I look forward to. Any form of exercise that doesn't involve actually you know, exercise, is my cup of green tea. A survey in the New York Times states that:
"• 1 in 3 adults admit to napping on a typical day.
• Napping is high among adults who have trouble sleeping a night or who have worked out in the last 24 hours."
The article also blabbed on about people out of work napping (well, duh) and people dissatisfied with their incomes who have trouble sleeping also nap. (Double duh)
Then it brought up the suggestion of a micro nap. I don't want a friggin' mini nap, I want a NAP. Go to sleep, get down to REM, wake up refreshed and hot to trot and rearing to go nap. You know the one.
"All of us can learn how to nap and reap its many rewards!"
We have to learn how to nap??? That doesn't come naturally ??? We get tired and sleepy and eyes droop and the brain gets mushy and we want to do what? Sleep!!!
Which is what I am going to do now. All this brain teasing in the Psychology Today article has made tired. I need a nap.
47 comments:
I'm a power napper....I never rest during the day but when I really, really need to (ie: jetlag, illness, etc), I do a few minutes, and poof, I'm superhuman.
I need my sleep 8 hours a day. And I am 31 yrs old now.
I don't believe the crap that adults only sleep for 6 hours.
Zzzzzzzzz
smiles. not a huge napper, but every once in a while i need one...and i make it count...this may be another reason for my lack of brain cells...
as someone who can nod off any time i get five mins to sit still i know i'm not getting enough sleep. i rarely give in to that nodding off but maybe i should?
hmm, wonder how THAT will go down at work?
;-)
I sleep fine at night but I'm not a very good napper (I think I drink too much coffee). Now that I know napping is exercise I may have to start a training program to get really good at it.
I sleep 8 or 9 hours a night, so I don't feel like I need a nap. My husband says I go to bed in the middle of his day (around 9:00 at night) so if I did nap it would be around noon...
I think I need a nap now, after only 4 hrs sleep last night Yaaawwwnnn!
I think that the power nap was something that came about during the 90's. I probably don't get enough sleep. But I do my best to catch up on the weekend.
I would literally be the Crabbiest Person In America without my power naps! LOVE them!
this all makes me laugh so much, because it's subject is one of my pet peeves. And read your post and comments with great interest. What it comes down to for me, i sleep/nap very easily, loving my bed, but often find it a waste of my precious time, so i am forever trying to find the right balance.
I'm with you all the way! I'm a big believer in napping. I love a good, long nap. I've never believed those in the anti-nap camp who say that naps are bad for you. I find them restorative.
I wish I could be among the 1 in 3 who do so on a "typical" day. My naps are generally reserved for weekends, when chores and errands and other obligations permit.
I also love Psychology Today. Thanks for the link. And the cute photo. Sleep tight!
OMG, Naps totally rock!!
Priceless..!!
I LOVE napping. It's the best part about Sundays!
"Learning" to nap--that's a hot one.
Napping happens to be my second-favorite hobby. The first one is sleeping.
Both are self-taught.
I usually sleep about 6 hours a night. When I get less than that I have to nap at some point. I have a wonderful recliner chair and I can get a good 30 minutes or an hour with pure chaos around me. But I didn't learn that. It's in my personality. I don't know that you can train yourself when it comes to sleeping and naps. I think each person literally has to do what comes naturally.
Cheers,
SLC
I wish I was a napper. It sounds so lovely but it just doesn't happen for me. Even in kindergarten, I was the only kid who didn't get the concept of nap time. My poor teacher.
I love napping... I would do it more often if not so busy blogging...
I can't nap. Used to, but not anymore. Instead, I sometimes lie down under a cozy blanket and shut my eyes. I call it resting. It feels good on those days when I do it. But usually, no, I'm up and at 'em all the day long. I wonder if there is a way to "learn" to nap.
Thanks for the reminder. I used to take short naps almost every but I competely forgat about doing it. I think I need to start that habit again. :)
Naps, I love them!
But sometimes I take them at the oddest places, like at the movies and my hubby has to nudge me to wake up ... Lol!
Hope you have had a great weeeknd!
Margie :)
Although I vastly prefer a nice, luxurious long mid-day nap in my own soft bed, I have discovered that lying down on the couch in my office and sleeping for even a few minuted can really help.
agree with you on the exercise.
"...refreshed and hot to trot..."
Uh, that wording has me thinking nooner.
Oh, I used to nap all the time! And up until a few months ago I used to be able to sleep blissfully all the time! Now I'm an insomniac! Ugh! It is no fun! Up until two and three in the morning. Sleep three or four hours, and then up again until two or three A.M.! I think it must be menopause (I blame that for everything that ails me now!) 'Wish I could go back to the days when I was asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow! Oh well, there are worse things in life I guess.
Thanks so much for your visits and your comments on my blog. I appreciate it!
All the best,
Eileen
I am a superior sleeper. No one needs to talk me into napping if the opportunity presents itself! And now, I can stop feeling guilty, knowing this is exercise for my brain!
Hey Techno, I'm back from vacation and glad I was able to tune in a learn about micro naps ;-) I wonder who thought THAT up! Like you, I want a REAL nap!
Hope all's well and you have a great week.
xo
I wish I could nap in the day... I find it hard enough to sleep at night time ;))
This is a subject dear to my heart because of my sleep disorders, very interesting , take care.
A ten minute cat-nap perks me up no end, but I hate admitting to the fam that I do it.. I usually say I'm off for a session under the sunbed (wink), I only use the sunbed once a week MAX - but it doesn't stop me switching it on every day and locking the bedroom door, so the light shines out under it. Sad, or what?
I like the language in that article - "admit to napping" - as if it is a vice. That's very American.
That being said, I haven't been able to shake that American work ethic guilt that prevents me from napping. Maybe I need to 'learn'.
I sometimes will take a nap totally by accident. You just recline in a chair or lay down on the bed for a second, and Boom! You are gone! lol
No, you're not supposed to get down to REM. It's against the napping rules. Naughty, naughty - but I like you!
I don't nap. I wake up, I jump out of bed, I run around like a crazy woman for 18 hours, I lay down, and fall into a coma.
To each his own;)
I love power napping... as long as you only take a short nap, you can feel refreshed!
I used to nap daily. I miss college.
I'm definitely not a napper. I sleep well at night, but only sleep about 6 hours/night. (I read until late, and the 6 am alarm comes early)
But, I do have days that I laze around reading or having a movie marathon, in the horizontal position. A blankie and pillow may be involved. But I never fall asleep.
Don't they say that the ideal nap for refreshing oneself is about 20 minutes. That's a crap nap! I want to be out for at least 2 hours.
I probably need to nap, I have never been able to calm down enough to hit the "stop" button! Very much of a Type A. But I sleep very well at night... xoxo
I'm with you all the way. I need a NAP!!!!! The heck with mini-power naps. All they would power would be me walking to the refrigerator!
I just woke up from a yummy nap!! :D
All I ever want to do is nap and eat.
Nope, no cat,short or power naps for this chick. As long as it's day there's just no shut eye for me. My kids always knew mama was a deaths door if I was down in daylight. Heeeheeh. Now come night I'm out like a light.
God bless and have a beautiful day!!!
"I don't want a friggin' mini nap, I want a NAP..." Haha! That cracked me up, because it sounds just like something I'd say. You got that right! I wish I could take one right now, instead of going back to stupid work:) Have a good one, Technobabe!
I can't purposely nap, which is where I think the learning needs to come in. The only way i can nap is if I am overtaken by sleepiness, often when on a train or a bus....
I love the kitten photo with this post
I try not to nap, but somedays I get so stressed out I must nap! I must be the only person in the world that gets sleepy as soon I as I get stressed..a five or six hour nap usually makes me feel better:)
Naps are great for the mind and body :) Love the pic too so cute!
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