To nap or not to nap. . .

Anne here, posing the question, “What do Thomas Edison, Winston Churchill, Napoleon, Yogi Berra, Salvador Dali, Gene Autry, Eleanor Roosevelt, JFK, John D. Rockefeller and Leonardo Da Vinci have in common?”

You’ve probably guessed, being smart cookies and noticing the heading for this blog and putting two and two together — yes, they all famously took naps.

Thomas Edison worked for long stretches, and often boasted that he only spelt 4 or 5 hours a night, but he took frequent naps of 3 or 4 hours. He had no trouble falling asleep and could sleep anywhere.

Napleon was a famous cat-napper and when necessary could go days without a full night’s sleep.

Winston Churchill took a 2 hour nap in the middle of the day, and worked late into the night, claiming he got nearly twice as much done that way. Napping was so important to him that he kept a bed for the purpose in Parliament House.

I must confess naps elude me. I’ve never found it easy to take a nap, though I’ve tried often enough. A good friend of mine naps regularly — just lies down, goes to sleep almost instantly and wakes up 15 or 30 minutes later, energized and fresh as a daisy. Not me. Mostly I lie there not-napping. The few times I’ve succeeded, it took me ages to get to sleep and when I woke again, I was more like a grouchy thistle than a fresh, bright daisy.

So many countries, especially in warm climates, allow for naps in their routine, and yet in our culture, for anyone other than little kids or the elderly, taking naps is somehow frowned on. I remember my first experience of the generalized siesta, where most things closed for the afternoon, was in Spain. For the first few days I didn't quite know what to do with myself — I could walk (humming mad dogs and Englishmen) but most touristy things were shut. So I decided when in Spain.... and I went back to the pensione where I was staying and tried to nap, though without success. So I read for a few hours instead, and found that pretty enjoyable, too, but I hadn't had lunch, and by the time the restaurants opened it was pretty late and I was very hungry. But I soon adjusted and now I’d love to be able to take a regular afternoon nap. It seems a civilized thing to do, as well as being healthy.

“Healthy?” you ask. “Don’t you mean lazy?”

Not at all. As well as those listed above, loads of famous over-achievers took naps, and all of them claimed they were much more productive, as a result. The scientists back up their claims.

It’s been well established by numerous studies that naps can improve certain memory functions, can boost a person’s performance, restores alertness, improves motor skills, relieves stress, helps with brain overload, can improve mood, is good for your heart, can restore the sensitivity of your sight, hearing and taste, it encourages creativity and, as many of our famous overachievers asserted, it increases your productivity. Studies also suggest napping might help you to live longer.

Cat-nap, power nap or long nap?
As for how long a nap should be, it depends on what you want and what suits you. Some studies have shown that long naps are more effective than short ones, but other experts suggest a 20-30 minute nap is the optimum. It seems that each individual needs to work out the optimum length of nap time for him or herself.

JFK would nap for one or two hours each day. Yogi Berra once quipped, "I take a two-hour nap, from 1 o'clock to 4." Salvador Dali famously took numerous extremely short naps through the day — he’d take a nap while holding something like a metal key or a spoon in his hand. When he fell asleep, the metal thing would drop from his hand, clatter to the floor and wake him from his nap.

Naps of different lengths provide different benefits. A short nap of 20-30 minutes will enhance alertness, concentration, mood and coordination. Longer naps of around 90 minutes or so will enhance creativity. Which I think means, as a writer, if I’m napping, I’m working, yes? :)

So I’m determined to practice the art of napping. Every day, from about 3 in the afternoon until about 5.00, I’m not good for anything much. It’s when I go to the supermarket, or do something mindless — avoid housework, that kind of thing. We all, apparently tend to do this, fade out at some part of the day. It’s normal. And it’s your ideal nap time.

Tips for napping:
To nap most effectively, you should lie down, preferably in the dark and preferably with a blanket or covering. If you’re in an area where there’s a lot of distracting noise, white noise can help you — turn on a fan, a recording of a babbling brook wind in the trees or something like that. A friend of mine downloaded a white noise app to his phone and plays that whenever he's away from home and it always helps him drop off.

If you’re wired with caffeine, you’ll find napping hard, so you’ll need to plan your coffee, tea or cola drinks in advance — they can stay in the system for up to six hours. Interestingly, you can drink coffee immediately before you nap, and it won’t stop you napping because it takes about 45 minutes for the caffeine to kick in, by which time, you’ll be awake again.

And strangely, it will help you to nap if you set an alarm to wake you up. That way you can relax completely without worrying about oversleeping.

So what about you — do you enjoy the occasional nap, or do you, like me, struggle? Would you like it if the business world allowed people to stop for a nap each afternnon? How did you find your first experience of a "siesta" culture?

Comments

[Susan/DC]

When my children were very little and my husband and I were consistently sleep-deprived, we would trade off childcare so the other could nap. When the boys were a bit older, they got used to hearing me say "play quietly for a little bit so Mommy can nap, otherwise she will be very grouchy". Now, however, I take far fewer naps because, like you, I find that I wake up confused and out of sorts rather than refreshed, and if I nap too late in the day I have trouble falling asleep at night. Sometimes, however, just as when the boys were small, naps are still required. Then, as suggested in your post, it helps to set the alarm so that I can truly relax knowing I won't oversleep.

[Louis]

I have the dubious "honor" of dozing off while talking to my boss.

Of coarse this was way back when I was working and going to school at the same time and very sleep deprived.

He kidded me about that quite often.

I can still doze off almost any time.

[Anne Gracie]

Thanks, Susan. Good to know others struggle with it, like me.

They say that lack of sleep (at night) can have a cumulative long-term damaging effect so napping is a good way to rectify this.

[Anne Gracie]

Louis, that's very funny. But you must have been working very hard, doing school and working. No wonder you were tired.

I have always envied people who can just doze off — though not at work. LOL.

I was once at some friends place and we were watching some movie on TV. All three of them fell asleep in front of the TV. The movie finished. They didn't wake up. I turned off the TV. They didn't wake up. I cleared away the cups and snacks. They didn't wake up. Finally I went home.

[Mary Jo Putney]

Let's hear it for naps! Back when I had Real Jobs, I'd always hit a mid afternoon slump and not be good for much of anything. After I became self employed. I found that if I do a lie down before a meal, after I eat I can work all afternoon. Then I do a lie down before dinner, and am bright eyed and productive all evening. Everyone needs to figure out their own body requirements, but this works for me.

(By lie down, I mean I don't always actually nap, but it's restful enough that I do have the energy later.)

I do know that as a kid, I sturdily resisted all attempts to make me nap. It wasn't until much later that I figured out that it was my mother who wanted to rest. *G*

[Jenny Reid]

Consciously napping in the afternoon never works for me, but a boring day can put me to sleep at the drop of a hat. Once I was running late for a university lecture, rushed in and sat in the front row and immediately went to sleep. The lecturer/tutor never let me forget. Comments like 'well rested today are we?' became common. And my first foray into Spain absolutely horrified me when I discovered nothing open during siesta. A waste of good sightseeing time as far as I was concerned.

[theo]

The only time I was ever able to nap was when I worked midnights in hospital. I worked 7p to 7:30a three nights a week, had two young girls in school and would never get more than three or four hours sleep before I had to get up and start picking up kids and delivering them to sports and such. Then home to cook dinner and ready for work again. At that time in my life, I fell asleep the minute I stopped moving!

Now, I'm much more like my regular self and find it impossible to sleep during the day. Which is maddening because I don't sleep much at night either. And when I do sleep, I wake wondering where I am. Not good.

[Anne Gracie]

Mary Jo, that's great. As for the lying down, yes it's restful — if you're not fretting about not being able to nap. ;)

I've also considered learning how to meditate.

Jenny, I'm grinning about your lecturer never letting you forget you'd dozed off once. Serve him right for being dull.
And my reaction about everything closing for siesta was the same as you the first time. Now I kind of like it, and like the idea of having more night-life.

[Anne Gracie]

Theo, that sounds like a dreadfully long shift — why do they do that, when they KNOW people can't work 12 hours straight and still be efficient? And one place where everyone really needs to be efficient is a hospital.

I can just imagine how tired you were and how easy it was for you to fall asleep. Much like Louis, you were effectively working two jobs.

I'm a light sleeper, too, which is why I want to learn to nap.

[LouisaCornell]

I encountered the same sort of "nap" culture when I lived in Germany. Shops closed for two hours at midday - enough time for lunch and a nap. I must admit I rather liked it. Then when I was singing naps were essential. We traveled quite a bit from venue to venue and often took naps on the train. We usually didn't rise for the day until around 10 or 11 AM. After brunch we would go to the opera house and conduct an abbreviated rehearsal and sound check. We then returned to the hotel room and had to eat no later than 4 PM. Back to the opera house by 6 PM for makeup and costumes. Curtain up at 8. Final bows at around midnight. Off for a late supper and then in bed by 3 AM only to do it all over again. I found I could nap in the makeup chair much to the dismay of the makeup artists!

I love an afternoon nap, but I can only get one in on my days off. Fortunately my dogs and cats are VERY nap oriented! The moment I turn down the bed and turn out the lights they are perfectly happy to hop into bed and nap with me!

[Margot]

I'm terrible at taking naps. Even if I feel tired, I still can't fall asleep. And if I do, once I wake up, I'm definitely the grouchy sort.

[Anne Gracie]

Louisa, I'm impressed — falling asleep in the *makeup* chair??? Wow — that's serious catnapping.

Sounds like an intense and exciting period of your life. I didn't know that Germany shut down for a couple of hours, too — I've always associated the practice with more southern/warmer climes. And I've only ever been in Germany in winter and I don't remember it happening then. How interesting.

And yes, most animals very sensibly nap.

[Anne Gracie]

Margot, I suspect we're kindred spirits — in nap terms, at least.

[Cara Elliott/Andrea Penrose]

Anne, I can nap really easily in planes or trains, or waiting somewhere like a doctor's office, but I rarely sit down on purpose for a nap. When I hit that sluggish spell, I often do the opposite, like go out to do some exercise. That always leaves me feeling refreshed and energized (the endorphins which are released in the blood stream!) But on the rare occasions when I do lie down for a little snooze, it's quite nice. I may have to rethink my routine!

[CateS]

Napping is the greatest thing invented!! love my little afternoon doze..

[Donna]

Oh dear... I'm reading this post right after lunch at the office, and I would *love* a 20 min. nap right now!

I take napping in spurts. When I'm doing it (after work in the late afternoon), I can doze off pretty quickly and then wake myself up after 20 min. feeling refreshed and relaxed. I've learned the hard way over the years that if I go longer and let myself really sleep, then I'm a bear when I wake up.

[Anne Gracie]

Andrea, I envy your ability to just drop off. Exercise is something I used to do more often in lieu of napping — I used to take my dog for a walk, and I'd always come back refreshed.

Thanks, Cate, from dropping by. Happy snoozing.

Donna, according to some of the articles I read, your workplace would be much more productive if they allowed all their employees an afternoon nap.

[Patricia Rice]

I always have a mid-afternoon slump but I use it for email and mindless activities like checking the wenches. :) I've tried to nap, but it's a certain invitation for the phone of the doorbell to ring.

[Isobel Carr]

I WISH I could nap! I can only do when ill.

[Jo Banks]

Nap? What is a nap?That i cannot do years ago when i was expecting my son I was ordered to 'rest' in the afternoon all I succeeded in doing was get a headache!As for sleeping when travelling no way I always need to know where I am,I think I subconsciously dont trust the driver not to get lost!I have a friend who sleeps at the drop of a hat turn the tele on and she is gone.In fact she records everything just in case she misses the end of a programme ,generally she misses the middle and part of the start as well!

[LouisaCornell]

Anne,

I lived in a little village just across the border from Salzburg. I can't say that I noticed if the midday closing was just a Bavarian practice. I do remember the stores were open longer in the evenings and I assumed it was to make up for the midday closing.

[kate]

My husband regularly takes a nap. I find a twenty minute nap on Sunday afternoon nice sometimes - although I usually feel guilty for not getting enough done. My body wakes up on its own after about 20 minutes. My mom used to do that - take a 20 minute nap in the early afternoon. She found that she could accomplish a lot more for the rest of the day.

[Barbara]

Excuse me ... yawn ... it's nearly time for one of my 10 minute naps.

[Judy]

I need an afternoon nap, and it needs to be about two hours. I only sleep about 4-5 hours at night, so the nap is a must. I've tried doing the 20-30 minute nap and even only an hour, but I wake up feeling sluggish. I wake up after two hours without an alarm. If I sleep longer at night, I tend to have nightmares. Becoming self-employed was such a blessing to my weird sleep schedule.

[Ella Quinn]

I'm also a non-napper. Or only when I'm pregnant (not likely to happen again) or ill. My mother said that from the time she brought me home from the hospital, I was up all day and slept all night. Even 24 hour duty in the Army didn't turn me into a napper.

[Anne Gracie]

So interesting that so many of us find it hard to nap. And that others of us just drop off at any opportunity.

Thanks so much — it's been a fun discussion.