BS: I Need My Nap!

Subject: BS: I Need My Nap!
From: wysiwyg
Date: 06 Jul 07 - 05:06 PM

Only recently did I finally interpret my body's signals properly and recognize that my natural naptime is any time between about 3 and 5:30. (Not all of it, LOL!) Unfortunately, as a busy pastor's wife that's also the time of day I'm usually getting ready for the next round of stuff. Override it as I try-- with diet, exercise, Mudcat, caff, or anything else-- I just need a short nap in there somewhere! Sometimes I can manage a powernap, if I get right to it as soon as I feel the drowse coming on.

I know research is pretty clear on the benefit of the nap.

I'm not looking for advice, but I'm curious--

When's your natural naptime? Do you usually indulge, or override it?

~Susan

Subject: RE: BS: I Need My Nap!
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 06 Jul 07 - 05:12 PM

About 4.00pm - although it's been helped a great deal by changing my working hours to 7am-2pm. That means I'm out of the house by 6.15am and home again by 3.30pm. Limpit gets home from school then and we're too busy for nap time.

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: I Need My Nap!
From: Georgiansilver
Date: 06 Jul 07 - 05:19 PM

I have found that going to bed half an hour earlier at night has taken away the need for a nap in the late aft/early eve.
Best wishes, Mike.

Subject: RE: BS: I Need My Nap!
From: Little Hawk
Date: 06 Jul 07 - 05:34 PM

Naps don't seem to work for me. They make me feel worse! The best thing I can do is make sure to get to bed reasonably early.

Subject: RE: BS: I Need My Nap!
From: George Papavgeris
Date: 06 Jul 07 - 05:37 PM

We have 1 hour for lunch break at work. At 12 noon I have a sandwich in front of my computer, catching up with Google News. At 12:15 I slip out to the car park, put the radio on and set the alarm on the cellphone, put the seat back and snooze for a good 30-45 minutes. It's getting to the point now where I wake up naturally a couple of minutes before the alarm goes. At 1:15 I am back at work, refreshed and raring to go.

Out of 50 or so people in our office, at least another 5 or 6 do the same, sometime between 12:00 and 2:00pm.

Subject: RE: BS: I Need My Nap!
From: Rapparee
Date: 06 Jul 07 - 05:44 PM

If I slipped out to my car to nap I'd either boil (now) or freeze solid (in the winter).

For years I've gotten sleepy around 2 p.m. This played hell with my algebra grades in high school. Now I'm the boss and can grab a quickie if needed.

Subject: RE: BS: I Need My Nap!
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 06 Jul 07 - 06:48 PM

I depend on a little nap time to get through the day. Going to bed earlier may help, but research actually shows this is part of how your brain processes new material. If I'm writing a paper or working on something with lots of steps and details and suddenly feel a huge urge for a nap, I not only don't fight it I am glad of it. Usually during that period of relaxation (I set a timer sometimes as short as 10 minutes, at the longest 20) my brain seems to unravel whatever challenge I've been wrestling with. It is a remarkable tool, once you recognize it. Power naps are great.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: I Need My Nap!
From: George Papavgeris
Date: 06 Jul 07 - 06:58 PM

Never mind the power, I'll just take the nap. The terms always seemed weird to me anyway, as if I had to be plugged into a socket or something:-)

Subject: RE: BS: I Need My Nap!
From: JennyO
Date: 07 Jul 07 - 04:31 AM

I'm like Little Hawk. Naps just don't work for me. I've tried when I felt tired in the afternoon, and ended up waking up feeling worse and decidedly disoriented. Sometimes I wish I could nap but I can't. I find the tired spell passes anyway, especially if I get up and do something active, preferably out in the fresh air. Then when I go to bed, I usually fall asleep quickly and sleep soundly.

On the other hand, John nearly always has a late-afternoon nap. He can wake up quite refreshed after periods of as little as 10 or 20 minutes. so it's horses for courses.

Subject: RE: BS: I Need My Nap!
From: MBSLynne
Date: 07 Jul 07 - 04:39 AM

About 3-4pm. Unfortunately, that's when I have to go to work. On occasions when I do manage 20 mins, I wake up feeling groggy and wanting to go back to sleep, but if I get up straight away the grogginess goes and i find I am refreshed and with more energy.

My Mum and Dad, aged 81 and 77, both have frequent "Nanna naps". They don't just fall asleep in their chairs as a lot of older people do, they go and lie down on the bed. It seems to do them the world of good and they both seem far younger than their years.

Love Lynne

Subject: RE: BS: I Need My Nap!
From: Folk Form # 1
Date: 07 Jul 07 - 04:53 AM

I have a nap at my desk about midday. If

Subject: RE: BS: I Need My Nap!
From: Folk Form # 1
Date: 07 Jul 07 - 04:54 AM

.....I dont have it, I get pretty dozy.

Subject: RE: BS: I Need My Nap!
From: GRex
Date: 07 Jul 07 - 05:21 AM

Being a 'Morning Person' if I don't get my afternoon nap I feel too tired to go out in the evening. Old age is very frustrating.

       GRex

Subject: RE: BS: I Need My Nap!
From: JennyO
Date: 07 Jul 07 - 06:01 AM

Maybe it's linked to whether you are a morning or a night person?

I'm a night person and don't/can't nap, and John is a morning person and can't do without a nap.

Subject: RE: BS: I Need My Nap!
From: Georgiansilver
Date: 07 Jul 07 - 07:35 AM

Rapaire...you say>>>>>Now I'm the boss and can grab a quickie if needed<<<<<<. A 'quickie' over here is a quick session of sexual activity....must be nice being a fancied boss! LOL

Subject: RE: BS: I Need My Nap!
From: MBSLynne
Date: 07 Jul 07 - 08:55 AM

You may be right Jenny. I'm a morning person and even if I don't nap, I'm really not up to much mid to late afternoon.

Love Lynne

Subject: RE: BS: I Need My Nap!
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 07 Jul 07 - 09:19 AM

I'm having vague flashbacks of school times now... last lesson of the day, 3.00pm - 3.55pm, usually something tedious like Maths or Office Practice. I was in the habit of dozing off in the latter but still managed to answer a question correctly when it was put to me.

Funnily enough, I never fell asleep during art.

So this habit of napping at about 3-4.00pm is obviously a long standing habit.

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: I Need My Nap!
From: wysiwyg
Date: 07 Jul 07 - 09:29 AM

Maybe it's linked to whether you are a morning or a night person?


Apparently my planet of origin had a 25-hour day, because my circadian rhythms regularly go around the clock, turn upside down, and then right themselves. That means that if I try to live by Earth-rhythm, I will start out a cycle as a morning person and before long be a night person, and then back again. In an excruciating series of half-hour adjustments. Never has coincided with weekends or any work schedule I've been on, and only in my semi-retirement have I been able to make my life and sleep cycles work.

In the process I learned a lot about the science and biochemistry behind the ways our bodies recover during sleep-- the quantities of sleep needed in total, the cycles and depth of sleep required. Now, I respect that side of our physical reality and make sure I get the sleep I need. And I am much the better for it since I got off the speeding merry-go-round of career building. (So is my "career" of volunteer responsibilitites, some of which amount to consulting work.)

One area I have learned to respect is the brain's need to reboot (in sleep) when it's been intensely occupied with analysis or attentiveness. That could make a good joke, but I am talking about an intensity that only folks who've met me will understand, and it takes a toll that only sleep can pay.

~Susan

Subject: RE: BS: I Need My Nap!
From: SharonA
Date: 07 Jul 07 - 12:02 PM

2:00 p.m. for me, regardless of my schedule, since I was a teenager. When I was working locally and could go home for lunch, I'd take a "power nap" for a half-hour (12:30 to 1:00), but I still flagged at my desk at around 2:00.

Subject: RE: BS: I Need My Nap!
From: Bill D
Date: 07 Jul 07 - 12:16 PM

sadly, as I get older, napping gets harder & harder. I can't seem to turn off the brain in the middle of the day.
   I seem to do well only on a full night's sleep on NO nap....and that full night's sleep is also harder.

My natural cycle (when it works) is be up from 9-10 AM to 11 PM, and in bed from 11PM to 9-10 AM, whether reading, watching TV or sleeping. The only time I can be sure of being asleep is about 2-5:30 AM...the rest varies.

I'd LOVE to be able to turn off for an hours nap in the afternoon...but....**buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz**

Subject: RE: BS: I Need My Nap!
From: open mike
Date: 07 Jul 07 - 02:10 PM

ditto Georgian's comment about Rap's message-
"Now I'm the boss and can grab a quickie if needed."
"quickie" most often refers to sex, not sleep in U.S. also!
so beware taking your "boss" status to the limit and beyond!

and beware: sex and sleep do not mix...
like drinking and driving,
best not to do both at the same time.

Subject: RE: BS: I Need My Nap!
From: wysiwyg
Date: 07 Jul 07 - 02:14 PM

LOL...

We take "Geezer Naps" on long drives, or on short drives if we need to. The Geezer Nap is one where you pull under a shady tree and, as necessary, cover your face and/or ears and nod off in place. If we don't both need to fall out, we usually have an MP3 player along with us, with oldtime radio stories that can entertain or..... nod you off, too.

There's an epithet we need: "Oh, nod off with you!"

~S~

Subject: RE: BS: I Need My Nap!
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 08 Jul 07 - 01:30 AM

Bill D, maybe some relaxation techniques would help. That's what I have to do sometimes, if the brain is revving even though I feel sleepy. Breathe deep, relax the face, the neck, the shoulders, etc.

Seems to do the trick. Also a towel or pillow over my eyes to block the light.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: I Need My Nap!
From: Mrrzy
Date: 08 Jul 07 - 05:56 PM

1-3 and if it's bad, I can indulge it... but it's a great idea for an animal that evolved in the tropics. I need to lie under a tree sometimes, especially if I have lunch.

Subject: RE: BS: I Need My Nap!
From: Bobert
Date: 08 Jul 07 - 08:17 PM

Fir me it's between 1:00 and 3:00 but de[pends on what I have going... If I am tied up I can hold it off fir a while, like a half an hour at most...

I have set up a closet in the hotel I am renovatin' that I tried to keep less dusty and have three sections of couch cushions on the floor and this is the offical nap room...

I usually go 15 to 20 minutes and then I'm good to go...

Also, when I eat and what I eat at lunch (what they call dinner in these parts...) is a variable... The more carbs the sooner the nap gods grab me and throw my in the closet...

Bobert

Subject: RE: BS: I Need My Nap!
From: Bee
Date: 08 Jul 07 - 11:54 PM

I am weird, then. My nap time is between 7 and 8 pm. I tend to stay up until 12 or 1-ish, get up around 7, but around 7 pm, I doze off over a book quite nicely, for an hour or less.

Subject: RE: BS: I Need My Nap!
From: Catherine Jayne
Date: 09 Jul 07 - 04:00 AM

When I was pregnant I needed regular naps because I was exhausted. Now Harry is here I tend to have a nap mid afternoon about 3pm while he is having his afternoon nap. After an hour I feel so much more refreshed and can finish off the house work, start cooking dinner or go out for a walk. Going to bed about 10pm helps too and because Harry now sleeps through the night I'm not tired in the morning.

Subject: RE: BS: I Need My Nap!
From: Folkiedave
Date: 09 Jul 07 - 05:20 AM

I can nap any time, anywhere any place.

One afternoon I dreamt I was teaching and when I woke up I was.

Dave

Subject: RE: BS: I Need My Nap!
From: JennyO
Date: 09 Jul 07 - 05:29 AM

I dreamt I was eating marshmallows, and when I woke up, the pillow was gone.

Subject: RE: BS: I Need My Nap!
From: fat B****rd
Date: 18 Jul 07 - 09:48 AM

I nod off almost without fail when I decide to watch anything on TV that Ann doesn't like. I'm woken by irate (and of course totally unjustified) whinging.

Subject: RE: BS: I Need My Nap!
From: GUEST,ibo
Date: 18 Jul 07 - 10:05 AM

If you have difficulty sleeping,try watching CSI on tv,works for me every time

Subject: RE: BS: I Need My Nap!
From: Becca72
Date: 18 Jul 07 - 12:00 PM

Napping makes me feel worse instead of better. I am definitely NOT a morning person, either. I just started a new job where I was able to pick my own hours. I decided on 11am - 7pm and so far it's working wonders! No more alarm clock in the morning. I get up on my own around 8am and take my time getting ready. I LOVE it. Before, I had to get up at 6:30am (alarm clock at the ready) and no matter what time I went to bed the night before it was a struggle to get my arse out of bed when that little buzzer started in.

Subject: RE: BS: I Need My Nap!
From: JennyO
Date: 18 Jul 07 - 12:17 PM

I can totally relate to what you are saying, Becca. I've tried to adjust to going to bed earlier and getting up earlier, and it just doesn't work. In fact if I go to bed too early, I lie there and can't sleep.

Some people just aren't morning people, no matter what. How fortunate that you have found a job that suits you. You're on the right track now!

Subject: RE: BS: I Need My Nap!
From: GUEST,meself
Date: 18 Jul 07 - 12:48 PM

I love that term 'power nap' - makes dozing sound so macho. Once inadvertantly awakened a colleague in the staff room - he mumbled that he had just been 'powering out' ... I looked on him with new-born admiration. Whereas if he had confessed to taking a nap, I would have mocked him to his face.

As for me, I'm definitely not a morning person. But then again, I'm not much of a night person either. I'm not ready to work till about 10 a.m., then by about 11:30, I need a nap. After the nap, I feel worse. I'm done for the day. I malinger and sigh till about 11:00 at night. It is this routine that has gotten me where I am today.

Subject: RE: BS: I Need My Nap!
From: JennyO
Date: 18 Jul 07 - 01:12 PM

Can I recommend this thread, meself - I got douflousisity! Should be right up your alley (and mine)!

Subject: RE: BS: I Need My Nap!
From: PoppaGator
Date: 18 Jul 07 - 01:27 PM

Naps don't work for me, since it usually takes me 20-30 minutes or more to fall asleep. People (like my wife) who enjoy and seem to benefit from napping have the ability to nod off almost instantly, and then wake back up in a half-hour or less ~ i.e., they get their nap completed during the time I'm just waiting to fall asleep.

I'm pretty slow to wake up, too, meaning that I'm a member of the "not-a-morning-person" group. My current flex-time job allows me to pretty much set my own hours, and my typical workday schedule involves waking up (without alarm) sometime between 7 and 8, slowly ingesting coffee and blender-breakfast (protein smoothie), solving the day's crossword AND sudoku puzzles in the newspaper, showering, dressing, and off to work from about 10 until 5-to-6:30.

No nap on weekdays.

I'm usually at my best and most energetic in the early evening, and I'm involved in a number of community-rebuilding groups that meet in the 7-10pm time "window," also some musical endeavors around that time on other evenings. Back home, I'll usually stare at the TV (Letterman, sports, old movies on TCM, occasionally even a new movie) until at least 1 am, maybe later it it's interesting, and almost never doze off until I actually put myself to bed.

I do nap on Saturday or Sunday afternoon most weekends these days, but this is a fairly recent development. Before age 50 or 55 or so, I was never able to fall asleep in the daytime.

Another product of age: when I was younger, I could truthfully characterize myself as a "night person." I no longer find it as easy to stay up ~ or, at least, to stay OUT ~ as late as I once could. But while I can no longer claim the title of true "night person," I am still "not a morning person."

Subject: RE: BS: I Need My Nap!
From: Cluin
Date: 18 Jul 07 - 01:44 PM

The afternoon siesta is an extremely civilized custom. We are all more productive during the day when it is part of our routine. Right after lunch (after a brisk walk too)is good for me.

Subject: RE: BS: I Need My Nap!
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 18 Jul 07 - 02:59 PM

I've been fortunate in being able to fall asleep quickly, and though sometimes power naps don't work if I'm too wound up, I notice a sense of relaxation that passes over me as I'm just drifting off. If I can hit that point while I'm taking my short nap, the nap seems to have the desired effect even though I wasn't totally asleep.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: I Need My Nap!
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 19 Jul 07 - 02:18 AM

Sure-fire way to get to sleep is to start watching a film I really really want to see.

Manitas will fall asleep in front of the TV downstairs, but says he can't watch TV upstairs in bed because he doesn't sleep. I wouldn't mind but he usually ends up snoring through the dialogue that tells you just WHY Grissom is making bad puns or Horatio Caine is looking moodily into the distance.

As for napping.... I've timed it so that I'm on the train home from work these days. My journey is 45 minutes and that's just long enough to read 3 pages and doze off. I've not yet missed my stop but it's been a near thing once or twice!

LTS