I want to talk about napping.
I think it\’s something we don\’t talk about enough. (yes, I\’m serious.)
And it can be a big part of self-care. It is a big part of mine.
I have had insomnia my whole life. It\’s sort of better now, or maybe I just deal with it better than I used to. I had a sleep study recently, and I had to go see an ENT first. She asked a bunch of questions about my sleep patterns, and when she was done she said: for having the issues you have, you are doing very well!
I smiled and looked down sheepishly. I felt proud, like when I was a kid and the teacher read MY story to the class.
So, some \”experts\” tell you that the best way to combat insomnia is good \”sleep hygiene\”. Go to bed at the same time every night. Get up at the same time every day, even on the weekends. (are ya KIDDING me? Why would I get up on a weekend at 7:30 if I don\’t have to work?!) These experts strongly advise against napping, for obvious reasons. if you take sleep at face value, napping will generally disrupt your sleep schedule. (more on this in a moment.)
I used to nap unintentionally-I\’d get home from work, be tired, and just turn the TV on, sit on the couch, and \”rest my eyes\”. Three hours later I\’d wake up still in my work clothes, in a panic because it was dark out, not knowing what day it was or what my name was or what planet I was on.
The sleep experts would have wagged their index finger in my face. That\’s why it stayed unintentional for so long: SHAME. I felt like a failure for napping.
That was some world-class bullshit. Self care: if you are tired, SLEEP. I get that you might not be able to sleep as long as you\’d like, or you may not have the privacy, or quiet that you need. Find a way to rest.
So now, I nap with intention.
I see it as one of the most fundamental ways of caring for myself. And yes–I realize that many folks have obstacles I don\’t-like kids to care for, or more than one job. I think it\’s a tremendous failure of our society–this is evident in other industrialized countries–that we push ourselves so hard, that it\’s too difficult for so many people to have balance in their life, or risk not paying the bills.
(no, this is not a political post.) I personally think there is a benefit to any rest we can get. Whenever you can catch 10 or 20 minutes of rest, or even of quiet, it helps.
So here\’s the weird thing: I have trouble falling asleep at night, often; I never sleep through the night, and I often wake up not feeling rested. But when I nap? I CRASH. Like, I\’m OUT. It\’s like my body and mind can only fully relax into that kind of sleep, well, when I\’m not supposed to be sleeping.
And I always set an alarm now (hence the \”intentional\” part). I don\’t wake up in a panic, but I often have what I call the \”post-nap ooginess.\” I feel….off, somehow. Listless, disconnected, weird. It wears off, of course. And getting the rest is worth it. But just barely.
Our bodies need sleep, they need rest. In order to digest our day\’s experiences, to re-charge, to stay healthy. I am unable to stay up all night. That is-I can do it, but even if I sleep ALL the next day, I always get sick. This started in 5th grade, by the way. I went to a slumber party and stayed up all night. Less than a week later, got strep throat. I was that kid that had to get picked up at midnight from slumber parties (just when the fun was starting!) after that, for many years. As an adult, I\’ve had the pattern continue. I once took a red-eye home from the West Coast, and didn\’t sleep well. Slept all day when I got home, got sick later that week. I worked in an ER, doing psych evals, mostly weekend evenings, until midnight. We could make about triple working an overnight, so I did once. Stayed up all night, and made serious bank. Slept all day the next day, and two days later: sick. Had to call out from work the rest of that week.
Ideally, would I prefer to get a solid 8 hours every night? not wake up multiple times, not feel sluggish in the morning? of course!
But if, in order to get the rest and restoration that I need, that means napping…well, then nap I shall. I do believe I\’ve turned it into an art form.
So much so that my mother got me the pajama top in the photo as a gift.
I have to be at work at 8:30 tomorrow (well, this) morning. Note the time stamp: why am I up blogging? Because I took a nap today after work. A really GOOD one.
#napping #selfcare #getyourresthowyoucangetit #remembertosetanalarm