As I have done in the past, I am alerting my blog readers ahead of time so they don’t miss a celebration. March 14 is National Napping Day.
To say I have always been fond of naps would be a lie, and I won’t tell it. Mama enforced one when we were growing up, which I now realize was probably because she wanted to take one. She had read somewhere that children should have eight hours of sleep at night along with an hour in the afternoon which was way more than I needed then or now. Still, I must confess I gave my children naps when I became the mother. They had cost me enough nighttime sleep that I needed one!
In the next segment of my life when I became a teacher, naps came only on weekends. I knew better than to try to squeeze one in with a class of kindergarteners or second-graders. Then those junior high students – I shuddered to think what they might have done if I had even thought about closing my eyes.
One of the benefits of retirement has been making my own sleep schedule. Nighttime with six or seven hours gets a nice boost with a twenty-minute nap after lunch. My napping place on the couch is supplemented by a well-worn afghan and a “napping pillow,” a gift from a daughter-in-law who knows about my love for a siesta. This is strictly personal opinion and not science, but I think a nap should have its own special place rather than the bed used at nighttime to reinforce its brevity.
Scientists have discovered that naps lower stress, have memory benefits, and provide other aids for physical and mental health. Without their research, I know that twenty minutes gets me enough energy to make it through the rest of my day. To tell the truth, I may even like the nap better than my night’s sleep.
Here’s hoping you get to celebrate National Napping Day properly in your own special place, maybe even make it a habit.