Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Laid to Rest

Anyone who knows me knows I am a huge fan of naps. It is almost a religion to me. I darken the room, spray my pillow with lavender, put some nice fresh crisp sheets on and blast a fan. Spending an afternoon in the darkened bliss provided by my comforter is my version of heaven.

There is a counter culture out there who does not understand or respect the nap. They will do things like wake up up after 20 minutes and ask how your nap was, as if to stop a ball game in the first inning and ask who won.

I realized this might be due to undefined terms relating to the nap. So I have taken the liberty to jot down a handy guide for people to use when dealing with my naps.


I will define it by the term and then duration I should be left alone...

Quick Cat Nap = 20 Minutes (I know this is supposed to be all you need otherwise you will feel tired later but that is horse shit)

Cat Nap = 30 Minutes

Rest for "a bit" =30 Minutes

Rest for "a while" = 1 Hour

If I say I am tired and going to rest or nap without a qualifier I am to be left alone until I wake up even if it is a week from next Thursday.

I hate telling people how long I am going to be laying down for...as soon as you mutter a limit out loud you never will sleep as good. Hopefully with widely held defined terms we can leave out verbalizing the duration and waking up crabby.

Do these durations work for everybody else? Does anything need to be added or amended?

14 comments:

Maggie Moo said...

Your description of your nap conditions are perfect. I love having the ac or fan blasting and I put my down comforter over me and it's heaven.

And yeah-a 20 minute "nap" is ludacrious.

Thomas said...

I've tried to take naps in the afternoon, but am typically unable to fall asleep. I do, however, enjoy just laying on my bed and relaxing with the fan and/or A/C on. During these times, I like to try to still my mind, but, boy, it isn't easy.

Sherry said...

I love naps! They are the best part of the weekend. I call mine baby naps, not because of the size (small) but because the length is about the same as what a baby sleeps at one time (2 hours).

Sarah said...

i love naps!

Lisa said...

I love naps....I love LONG naps. I love long naps on Sunday afternoons. Usually around 1 pm to about 4 pm....I know that is more than 3 hours...but sometimes that is the only nap I get all week.

Great descriptions.

I remember once my aunt told me...why don't kids like to take naps..and me in my 7 year old head said...because there is just too much to see...and she said as you get older you will wish you had taken those naps...Boy was she right!

Dem Soldier said...

Nooooot for me. Less than two hours...my day will be sh*t. Really, I don't take nap.

*Ren* said...

I wonder if napping is a sign of aging? Have you always napped or did you just start as you are approaching 30, lol.

I can't nap b/c I wake up really really crap and then it's no fun to go out!

*Ren* said...

crabby I meant. I guess crap is jus ton my mind;)

Maggie Moo said...

I neeed a nap NOW

Jess said...

I can't take a nap that's any longer than about 45 minutes. Even an hour-long nap makes me feel all groggy afterward.

Really, I do best with a 10-20 minute nap. But I cannot take naps during the week. Even a wee, 20-minute nap will throw my sleep schedule off completely.

I suck at sleeping.

Jess said...

I can't take a nap that's any longer than about 45 minutes. Even an hour-long nap makes me feel all groggy afterward.

Really, I do best with a 10-20 minute nap. But I cannot take naps during the week. Even a wee, 20-minute nap will throw my sleep schedule off completely.

I suck at sleeping.

Ma said...

um cat nap- and rest for a bit are the same length of time.... wtf why the need for duplication? and why the need to state the length anyways... you are so right, planning a nap's length usually leads to a definite lessening of enjoyment of the overall experience.... by the way I really miss napping, Calvin hasn't been into that since he was like two - and I found that when I napped with him, I usually slept better at night too - leads me to think of the overly tired kid effect... when they seem to have a harder time getting to sleep, staying asleep and getting a proper amount of sleep when they are extremely overtired - I think the same is tru for most adults.... we seem to think that once we get older we need less sleep to get by, but I think really that we are all just overly tired and extremely lacking of good sleep patterns making it harder for us to actually enjoy sleep.... when I win the lottery I will dedicate at least 12 hours per day to total sleep enjoyment!!!!! AMEN!

Ma said...

ps I should probably not wait until I will the loto and just start doing it now - well I'll try to at least get 8 hours!!

the Book of Keira said...

I, like you, adore the nap. I would suggest us napping together but I am all too aware that there would be absolutely no sleep happening.

So... wanna take a nap with me?