Studies show that a 20-minute power nap is perfect for recharging the brain and the body and leaves you feeling refreshed and ready to conquer the rest of the day. But I don't take a 20-minute power nap. No, no, no. What's the point in that? By the time you get to sleep you have to wake up. It's much too stressful for me. My naps last much longer. I can sleep a good 1.5 to 3 hours and awake with tousled hair and a drool-stained pillow. That's my idea of a good nap.
I've been napping that way ever since my youngest child was born - that was 6 years ago. It's my favorite part of the day, really. I look forward to it the way you would look forward to an overdue date night with your husband. Nap time means that I can shut out the world for a little while and just attend to me.
The only problem is that I'm not finding nap time refreshing anymore. It's really just one of those things that's not working for me but I keep doing it anyway because it's what I know (I have a long list of those). Don't get me wrong, I still love to nap, but when I wake up, I don't feel refreshed - I feel groggy. I'm frustrated that the items on my to-do list aren't getting done because I spent my free time napping. I don't want to play with my kids when they get home from school because I'm focused on all the stuff that didn't get done that day.
So I have decided to give...up....the....nap.....!!!!
For the past few days, in an effort to evoke change (see Waiting for Change) I've replaced napping with laundry, writing, cooking, cleaning, watching my favorite TV shows, and frittering my time away on Facebook. Some of these things I enjoy more than others (none of them do I enjoy more than napping), but at least I'm getting stuff done. And I feel good about it. I actually feel better than I do after an hour of sleep. And a nice tall glass of caffeinated iced tea helps!
And again we are stitched from the same cloth!! Girl--you know I LOVE me a good nap. It's the best!! It's funny because I was never able to nap before kids. If I tried, I would wake up feeling extremely anxious and just disoriented. It's like it would mess up my whole day. After I became a mother though, my body chemistry changed and suddenly napping worked really, really well for me. Too well! I always struggle with that seasonal disorder and Jan/Feb are the worst months for me which means I nap A LOT. I recently went through the same pledge to give it up. For starters, I changed my meds and that helped. I try to get outside in the sunlight for at least 30 minutes a day because that Vitamin D helps too. BUT..I do allow myself one day a week to crawl back into bed after dropping kids off--usually Mondays. I figure one day a week is okay and so much better than my previous schedule! :) Good Luck on your new routine! xoxo -Annie
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