Nov 13 What do you do to take time out for yourself?
I nap. I've written about this before, but it is truly the best thing I do for myself.
My energy peaks shortly after I wake up, holds steady until about 11 a.m., then drops off precipitously in the afternoon. With the 3:19 dismissal bell, any neurons still firing go cold. I can't complete a sentence. I can't dial a phone. I can't read anything more complex than the back of a cereal box.
So I take my nap. Note my choice of determiner. The nap is mine.
Falling asleep while listening to an audiobook is perhaps the most delicious three minutes of my day. Two hours later--TWO HOURS!--I wake up and start my second day (two for the price of one, I tell the nonbelievers). The nap sweeps away the flotsam and jetsam and gives me a clear head for evening hours.
I would now like to draw a picture to illustrate my day's energy cycle:
CLICK HERE! (Hint: adjust replay speed to fast)
Friend, I am so tickled to read that we share a preference in nap length time. Who are these people who can sleep for 20 minutes and be satisfied?
ReplyDeleteI love Joseph Epstein's essay "The Art of the Nap," (http://books.google.com/books?id=e8ecSrshsDMC&pg=PA62&lpg=PA62&dq=joseph+epstein+on+naps&source=bl&ots=nhDNuhROBN&sig=1wmTosLQn5O6OmEqaOw4RhGiooY&hl=en&sa=X&ei=ncBmVPHIBJedygSw9IG4Bg&ved=0CCQQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=joseph%20epstein%20on%20naps&f=false) but he completely misses the "new day" that a 2-hour nap provides!
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