The great napping poll

[athena53]

I tend to wake up when the sun rises (even with the blinds closed and wearing eyeshades) so this time if year it's darned early. I try to block out some time in late afternoon after I've been to the gym and done all the essential stuff, to settle in with a good book. Sometimes I fall asleep for half an hour, sometimes I don't. No guilt at all- getting enough sleep is important for health. My late husband didn't like napping- he said he always felt groggy for a long time afterwards- but I never felt guilty taking a nap when he was around, either.

 

[grasshopper]

Life long napper here, 10 minutes late morning, and 5-10 watching Netflix at night, or until Ms G wakes me up.

 

[Cobra9777]

I nap very rarely, maybe once every couple months... and generally only if I didn't get much sleep the night before or had to get up very early for some reason. Other contributing factors, which don't happen very often, include... large lunch, TV documentary in the afternoon, DW not at home. If all of this aligns, then I might snooze on the couch for 30 minutes to an hour. But it's not a deep sleep and I always wake up feeling odd... not guilty, but groggy (not rested) and like I just wasted part of the day.

 

[EastWest Gal]

I nap when I want to, or need to. Having just traveled from Europe, with a delay on my last leg, I was pretty tired when I went to bed, but I never sleep in. I just can't do it. So, of course I napped. In Italy, Spain, and Latin America, the stores close in the afternoon and everyone takes a break. Some probably nap. But then they stay up late and enjoy the warm summer nights. Why should anyone ever feel guilty for sleeping when they need to?

 

[gauss]

"More days than not I DO NOT nap. But I enjoy it when I do, with a twinge of guilt."

I nap when I am tired. Often lay down on the couch for 20-90 minutes.

I feel a twinge of guilt in that DW is still working. I don't try to hide it from her however.

Sometimes it is funny if she phones me and I take the call. She can usually tell what I have been up to.

-gauss

 

[LRDave]

I nap most days (guiltlessly) and I still w*rk.

 

[golfnut]

My naps happen involuntarily in late afternoon only if I am home on the couch. Not sure how long they are - maybe 15-20 minutes. I always try to fight it off but lose the fight.

 

[Danmar]

Nap almost every day. After strenuous workout and lunch usually have a strong need to lie down. Usually about 45 minutes. One of the great benefits of being retired. Why would I feel guilty?

 

[Chuckanut]

I nap occasionally and I don't feel guilty about it.

It energizes me and put me in a good frame of mind.

I nap much less often now that I am retired. When I was working I often napped 4-7 days a weeks. I was exhausted far to often. Frequent napping was a sign that things needed to change.

The poll would be better if it left out what people are supposed to 'think' when they follow their napping habits.

 

[kcowan]

I used to nap every day at 4:30 for an hour. Then I discovered I need to do it on Saturdays when more important things were happening so I gave it up for good.

 

[ejman]

Nap every day after lunch for about 45 minutes. Feel really cranky when for whatever reason am unable to take that nap.

 

[scrabbler1]

Before I ERed, I napped on the days I didn't work, usually for 45-60 minutes in the late afternoon. On the days I did work, I would nap if I were going out that night and wasn't working the next day. Those were usually Friday nights in my full-time work era although I rarely worked 2 straight days in my part-time work era.


Now that I am retired, I can nap every day in the late afternoon for 45-60 minutes.

 

[Meadbh]

I would like to know where people nap. Do you lie on your bed, stretch out on the sofa, or curl up in a hammock? If you put on your PJs and get under the covers, does that still count as a nap?

On the rare occasions where I currently nap, I tend to just relax in a comfy chair with an ottoman. But when I worked really long hours, sometimes I would change into PJs as soon as I got home, and just crash in bed. Sometimes I woke up in an hour, and sometimes I slept for several hours, often waking up in the middle of the night. This played havoc with my sleep cycle. The whole exhausting routine was very unhealthy, which was a major motivation for ER.

 

[Bestwifeever]

mea culpa, mea maxima culpa. I created a silly poll, on the spur of the moment. I admit I joke around too much and should have created only one concept per multiple choice question. But I couldn't resist the silliness. Anyway, hope folks have fun with it.

Hey, option 4 is hilarious! Have you met my DH?

I nap only when I have a fever (the need for napping is a diagnostic tool for me). I do fall asleep at night watching TV in our family room much past 11 but consider that part of bedtime, which is where I should be instead.

 

[W2R]

I love napping in retirement!

I usually nap sometime between 4PM - 7PM and I nap on more days than not. My naps are about 10 minutes to an hour long and total bliss; so refreshing! And wild dreams. Often after a 10 minute nap, I awaken thinking that I must have slept for hours and feeling a little alarmed that I did that. Then I am ecstatic to find out that I got all that rest in just 10 minutes or so, and still have the rest of the afternoon to enjoy.

I would like to know where people nap. Do you lie on your bed, stretch out on the sofa, or curl up in a hammock? If you put on your PJs and get under the covers, does that still count as a nap?

On the rare occasions where I currently nap, I tend to just relax in a comfy chair with an ottoman. But when I worked really long hours, sometimes I would change into PJs as soon as I got home, and just crash in bed. Sometimes I woke up in an hour, and sometimes I slept for several hours, often waking up in the middle of the night. This played havoc with my sleep cycle. The whole exhausting routine was very unhealthy, which was a major motivation for ER.

Like you, I nap in my wonderful comfy chair with ottoman. When I worked I napped in the same chair after work, but I tried not to nap because I wanted to do other things. Now that I am retired, I have more time to nap.

Other than slipping my shoes off (which I usually do anyway), I am fully dressed when I nap. I have a light blanket by my easy chair which I can use if it is cold.

 

[Sojourner]

As a rule, I do not nap. Very occasionally I feel the need to nap, and then I do so, guilt free. Statements about SOs are irrelevant as I do not have one.

+1

This describes me perfectly.

 

[Independent]

I didn't see this option in the poll:

I get very sleepy after lunch. I'd love to nap and wake up refreshed. But, If I fall asleep, I usually wake up groggy and it takes a long time to clear my head.

 

[Danmar]

I would like to know where people nap. Do you lie on your bed, stretch out on the sofa, or curl up in a hammock?

Lake house:In front of fire on sofa or on the dock on comfy lounge chair
Everywhere else on a sofa. Just seems wrong to actually go under covers in bed? That's not a nap? Probably depends when you nap. I generally nap around 1:30-300PM.

 

[MBAustin]

I nap on average 1-2 times a week, mid-afternoon, for 25 minutes (I set a timer to make sure I don't nap longer as that makes me groggy for the rest of the day). I nap on the futon in my craft room. The dog now knows the words "power nap" and beats me to the futon, then he curls up at my feet to nap with me.

 

[MRG]

I have never been a napper. Didn't like them as a kid, don't like them as an adult. Seldom drift off.

DW on the other hand is quite good at them.

 

[Choices]

Napping is one of my many talents. I even used to nap at my desk at the office.
I now nap when I feel like it. It was easier before DH retired! Now, I have someone who asks "Did you take a little nap?", the dogs never asked....

 

[Racer X]

Why are we mixing napping with guilt? What do these two things have to do with each other?

We're retired folks here, why would we feel guilty if we take a nap?

It took me maybe 9-10 months of being retired before I lost the guilt associated with not being productive. I still mentally prepare that "status report" for DW on what I have accomplished during the week. It's hard to get over that kind of thinking.

But I am slowly getting there. I have discovered the power of the afternoon nap, and it is glorious. I don't nap more than a few times a month, but when I need to do so, it feels great. Napping with the cat in front of a fire on a cold winter's day, or laying out in the hammock in the summer and falling asleep to the sound of the water - that's why I retired. I didn't retire to explain how many times I mowed the darn lawn or reorganized the kitchen cabinets.

 

[spncity]

DH is what I call a Ninja Napper. A nap can occur in any position. No comfort required. He's been teaching our new grandson the finer points of sleeping while sitting in a chair.

 

[hankster]

As a long time shift worker, napping has been a coping mechanism to make up for the almost constant state of sleep deprivation.

Lately I've found that I really hit a wall in the evening, even when I'm on vacation, if I don't get a nap in earlier in the day. I suspect that my love of naps will continue in retirement. I plan to raise my napping to an art form

 

[scrabbler1]

Those afternoon naps would often be the best sleep I'd get, especially after a day I worked. Back when I was first working, and my schedule and short commute got me home before 5 PM, I would take a nap before dinner. But I then had too many problems trying to get to sleep at my normal hour, so I had to stop the weekday naps when I had to work the next day.