Do You Take Naps?

[daylatedollarshort]

I take naps probably every other day. If I feel tired, I nap so I can feel refreshed and get more things done when I wake up. Otherwise I would just spend the rest of the day tired.

I think being able to take naps whenever you want is one of the perks of not having a structured, 8 - 5 job.

[FIREd]

I don't nap. I never liked it - even as a kid- and I usually feel worse after a nap than before. But I generally sleep very soundly at night.

[Meadbh]

I have never been able to sleep "on command". This was problematic when I worked as a physician on call at night, as interrupted sleep often meant no sleep at all and it was difficult to function the next day, when I really needed a nap but couldn't take one. After one of those bad calls I would leave work a little early if I could, drive (very carefully) home and crawl into bed. I would often nap/sleep for 4-6 hours, wake up at midnight, and be unable to sleep for the remainder of the night, before getting up to face another workday. I am convinced that decades of this have been very detrimental to my health.

Now that I have time to take naps, I rarely do, unless I am feeling particularly tired. They are not part of my routine and I do not wake up feeling refreshed.

[aja8888]

I am near 70 and never have consciously napped.

Now I have dozed off in the recliner for a few minutes after work, or after working in the yard all day in the hot sun. But I fight that dozing and just get back on my feet and go do something.

The few times I actually fell asleep early in the day, I could not sleep at all at night, so napping is out.

My wife takes a nap during the day for a couple of hours. She has COPD and has lost some of her stamina and endurance, so to say. She is a light sleeper and is up half the night since she took a nap during the day.

I am a night owl and rarely go to bed before midnight. She is out by 9 PM, although she is back up before 3 AM. No matter how early I rise, she appears to have been up for a couple of hours already. What a life!

[winger]

Warm afternoon......just finished lunch......nothing much that needs done today.... I'm going to close my eyes for a while.

[JustMeUC]

Quote:

Originally Posted by winger Warm afternoon......just finished lunch......nothing much that needs done today.... I'm going to close my eyes for a while.

and now i am feeling sleeeepy.......


Thanks, I feel better! Perhaps my friend was just stressed when she blurted that out. Hopefully she will be feeling better next time we talk.

I think napping must run in my family. My grandparents were tobacco farmers and they would always take a nap after lunch before going back out to work and my mom must have learned it from them because she was always a napper. I remember when we were younger her telling us kids to play quietly for an hour while she took a nap and we would go read or something until she woke up. My dad, well he takes a nap every time he sits down to watch a ball game. He claims to love them, but I think watching one is actually an excuse to fall asleep!

[scrabbler1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aaronc879 .... If I nap it's definitely before 3pm. Otherwise I will have difficulty getting to sleep later at night.

This reminds me of when I began working in the 1980s. I had a short commute for about a year and the regular workday was shorter, so I was home before 5 PM. I was often tired and began taking naps before I would start with dinner. However, I got caught in a trap where I had trouble getting to sleep that night so I had to force myself to stay awake for the next few hours before starting with dinner, at least on Mon-Thurs evenings.

[MRG]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FIREd I don't nap. I never liked it - even as a kid- and I usually feel worse after a nap than before. But I generally sleep very soundly at night.

Glad there are others. Really there are times a nap would feel good, but I know how I wake up.

That said if you can and want too, enjoy.

MRG

[veremchuka]

I'm angry that you're angry that SHE was angry!!! Why would you care what she thinks? If you want to take 2 naps that's your call and no one elses concern.


I don't take naps but around 7:30 pm to 8:30 pm it is hard to stay awake, falling asleep for 60-75 minutes then would mean I'd struggle to get to sleep at 1 am.



When I was working and on a commuter van I'd nap for about 15-20 minutes on the ride home and felt great other than that the last time I took naps was in the 1950's.

[antmary]

I love naps! My unscientific opinion is that is good for the heart. I have napped since my 30's - even if only 15 mins. during lunchtime.

Today, I lay down about 2 or so, even if to rest my thoughts and allow the synapses to click back into place. Then, I have so much more energy for the rest of the day!

[Arifriekinel]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JustMeUC She said she has 2 teenagers, a husband, works full-time and said she was an adult she didn't have time for such silliness. She actually sounded angry with me! Does anyone else take naps? Do other people get upset about it?

I think anyone with time to be angry about someone else's sleeping habits has plenty of time for silliness :P

I don't plan naps, but if it's midday and I'm tired, I turn on Netflix, put on the late night cartoons that've helped me sleep every night since I can remember, and nap away. Then I wake up feeling fantastic.

I wouldn't have been productive at all during the time I was so tired, so I see no reason to waste that time fumbling along at half speed when I can wake up from a nap ready to work better and longer.

[Amethyst]

As a rule I do not nap; but I am working 12-hour rotating shifts these days, so fatigue is a constant companion, and naps are a help.

I also think the OP's friend was feeling irritable and stressed, or she would have kept her crabby thoughts to herself.

The one thing I would watch out for is letting a habitual nap - or any other habit, really - rule one's life. One of my friends lives half the year in FL and works half the year up here. She told me a story about a married couple, FL retirees, who invited her to visit for the afternoon. They were chatting along, when suddenly the husband and wife announced that it was time for their 90-minute nap - and upstairs they went, leaving her to amuse herself for 90 minutes! Very rude - they should at least have warned their guest, when she arrived, that their mandatory nap would be on the agenda.

Amethyst

[SumDay]

I'm still working, but I work from home, so I often nap at lunchtime. And, when I do, I don't sleep straight through the night. So I'm considering joining Nappers Anonymous. They're hard to give up though.

[HFWR]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pb4uski Naps are very underrated.

+ a brazillion

[Lisa99]

I love naps. Short 20 minute ones to long 2 hour ones... they're all tremendous. Especially when I've gotten up at 4:30 am on a Saturday to walk for 6 miles. By about 2pm it's time for a nap!

[powerplay]

I have a bit of a different take on this situation. I think the friend is looking for some acknowledgement of her busy/stressed lifestyle.

If you want to take a nap go for it!!

[Calico]

I love naps, and take them on the weekends now. Looking forward to retirement when I can take one every day. Unfortunately my employer frowns on napping at work.........

[MRG]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Calico I love naps, and take them on the weekends now. Looking forward to retirement when I can take one every day. Unfortunately my employer frowns on napping at work.........

Understand, one of the worst days of my career at Megacorp was enforcing this 'rule'. Poor guy went to sleep in the mens room stall.

My manager, a good guy but a stickler for rules, insisted the sleeper be brought up to HR as an issue. What a waste of time, effort, humility all for a guys sense of power.

Did I mention I'm glad to be ER!

MRG

[hiker88]

Almost every day I work at home at about 2pm I start to feel sleepy and zonk out for about 15 minutes. Wake up feeling totally recharged.

[JakeBrake]

I never take an "official" nap. I will doze off occasionally while watching TV or reading. I wake up at first light every morning. Then I'm through with sleeping until I go back to bed. If I want extra sleep, I have to go the bed early because I am always wide awake at first light. Sometimes I will go to bed as early as 7:00 PM.