4 Comments

1. Dawn Foster says:

   This is also up for discussion in our house.

   I’m a serious napper of the 90-120 min variety (like you). Todd also naps, but he takes 5-15 minute naps, so I would say they he really dabbles in napping without taking it seriously :-)

   I think napping is one of those things that varies wildly by individual. Good for some, not for others.

2. michelle says:

   My husband is a frequent napper. I am not, except in extreme circumstances. I try not to judge, not being an inherent napper. However, that being said, napping (after exercise, if I recall correctly) has been proven to increase production of human growth hormone. That’s a solid argument FOR napping. DIY doping.

3. tODD says:

   Wait, you want to nap every day at 4pm? Or are we just talking weekends. I’d understand the latter. Sort of.

   Saying that “napping is {good,bad}” is kind of like saying the same thing about eating. Both certainly fill a need, but perhaps more importantly is how one goes about them.

   I tend not to nap on a regular basis. Mainly this is because, pre-nap, I always want my nap to last a short time, maybe an hour or so. But then I’ll keep waking up to roll over and realize, no, I really just want to keep on sleeping. For many hours in a row. This results in my being grumpy, because during these interstitial waking moments, I know deep down that I want to get up and do something, but then the rest of my body shouts down that part of my brain. But ultimately, no one’s happy.

   And then I wake up and I don’t feel well-rested for quite some time. It’d be one thing if I woke up feeling refreshed, but instead, no matter when I finally manage to convince my body that, yes, I really do want to get something done today besides napping, I sit there, eyes half open, and think about how I’m not convinced I’m happier being awake. Or having napped.

   Not that I’m ever as productive in my waking hours as all this inner struggle would make it seem. It’s just that the potential for productivity is obviously greater when one is awake.

   The only time I really willingly give in to napping is when my body is nodding off doing whatever it is I’m doing (usually in a comfortable position on the couch). If my body is making me sleep in short, jerky bursts, I might as well give in. But if some coffee or moving around or a short walk or a change of activities staves off the napping, so much the better, I think.

   That said, you seem to do so much more than I in your waking hours even with naps, I wouldn’t worry about it. They clearly give you energy. I feel they do the opposite for me.

4. Mark says:

   I used to despise napping as when I woke up I was very disoriented and had no idea of how much time had past. Nowadays I’m a huge napper and will nap around 4-7:30, or sometimes 6-9:30. I feel that I get enough sleep at night but if I’m not doing something constructive I lag the entire day and the only thing I want to do is go home and nap. This does affect my normal sleep schedule on occasion, but the way I feel about is if my body needs sleep I’m definitely going to give it some.