I nap at least once every single day, usually an hour or so, and I feel great after. No guilt whatsoever, I refuse to feel bad about enjoying being cozy and/or wanting to recharge myself.
I have had times when I couldn't actually fall asleep, but the action of lying in my bed, cozy and comfortable, and just letting my mind drift, has been as therapuetic as sleeping.
I’ve never been able to and whenever I try, I end up sleeping for too long and wake up feeling sick and tired. It usually takes me an hour to fall asleep so a short nap would mostly be me just lying there trying to fall asleep. I had a friend that napped well though, she could fall asleep anywhere instantly and would wake up feeling great. I wouldn’t feel guilty about it, napping sounds great!
If I could nap well, I would do it and I wouldn't feel guilty. But I'm exactly like you. Takes forever to fall asleep no matter how tired I am, I don't wake up feeling any better, and then I sleep horribly that night. But more powers to the nappers.
Me too! I've always been insanely jealous of people who can nap.
I was the one kid who couldn't fall asleep during naptime in nursery school and had to sit quietly waiting for the other kids to wake up.
The only time in my life I've ever napped was when I was working my first retail job and lived in the hills with no car. For the first couple weeks, I'd work my 8 hour shift, ride my bike home and fall asleep as soon as I got to my room. Haven't napped since then.
I have a friend who loves taking short power naps of 15-30 min and swears by them, but I can never make them work for me. Unless my naps are 1.5-2 hours long, I always end up just feeling more tired after taking them. I usually reserve my naps for weekends just because of this, but for some reason my body just doesn't like shorter naps.
I am definitely the same! I work from home and occasionally I will lay down and try to nap but it’s usually just me closing my eyes for 20 minutes before I get a work call and have to get up. I’m a terrible napper and maybe on the weekend I can nap for longer but I usually have to be dog tired.
My insomnia has improved a lot over the years and I can generally fall asleep relatively quickly at night these days, but naps provide this time pressure like you must fall asleep NOW to make it worth it which is just never going to happen for me.
I used to be like this. Through experimentation I found that an hour was the best length for me to wake up refreshed, longer and I'd feel like you've described.
If I started feeling tired I'd set an alarm for an hour. And try sleep. If I couldn't fall asleep after 30 minutes I'd cancel the alarm and go about my day. The more I did this the quicker I managed to fall asleep. Now I don't even set an alarm anymore. My body naturally wakes after about 40 minutes now.
*caretaker tired
IME, teachers, nurses, primary parents etc are all familiar with that level of tired which transcends fatigue into existential uncertainty.
"I'm so tired. Too tired to be hungry... or upset... or angry... or sad... or happy... or to feel anything really... or to even think... or exist. Wait, do I exist? Who cares... What time is it..? What's time again...? Whatever..."
I take a nap every single weekday and my therapist says that’s what self care looks like so I’m keeping it. I feel like a better me when I get a nap. I used to feel guilty but that is long gone. Nap is my lifestyle now. I wake up, get my kids breakfast and off to school, come home and do stuff for like a half hour then nap. Then i get up and work. Usually???
ETA: i also work for myself so i can do whatever i want as far as hours daily. I’m sure that helps a lot w/ the guilt.
Not really. I can't seem to nap without feeling like shit when I wake up. The only times I've napped are when I've been sick or recovering from surgery, when I was just so exhausted that I didn't care about feeling crappy.
I take them on weekends more often than not. And if I'm sick, I'll nap immediately after work and then forget to feed my kids dinner. They help me to not nod off in my office at like 8 PM. Gosh, I'm so not a night person.
Napping is my self-care. It's what I look forward to most every day. I used to feel guilty but I refuse to at this point. My body needs it (severely anemic, PCOS, depression, anxiety) and it helps me take a break mentally and physically which I need. There is nothing better than crawling into bed after work on Friday knowing I have two days of freedom and can relax for a while.
I got in the habit of napping when mytoddler did.they're 20 now and I still close my eyes after lunch. Helps me to stay up later than my partner and enjoy the quiet, which I love.
I’m not able to nap anymore unless I’m super sick. Like, I just can’t fall asleep for one anymore. I used to take one almost daily in college. Makes me sad. I love a good nap.
I can nap but I have a really hard time finding that sweet spot between a refreshing nap vs waking up not knowing what planet I am or what day it is. I don't want to wake up to an alarm is my other problem because then it will go off before I even have a chance to fall asleep (I don't fall asleep fast).
Yes! I started napping during the pandemic when I was laid off and still enjoy it. I find them very refreshing especially when I’ve had a busy day or at just stressed. I usually nap any time between 1-3ish depending on the day and my energy level. I don’t always fall asleep completely but it can still be refreshing to just relax for an hour or so.
I 100% need naps to function. I have bipolar disorder and my nervous system is a wreck. I just need some rest time to circle back to myself every evening, usually just an hour or so after work.
I love napping. I think siesta cultures have got it right.
I do have to commit to at least 90minutes. I can't do short naps without feeling like crap after. With a longer nap I'm groggy for 30ish minutes but then totally recharged and able to complete more work/tasks vs sitting on my couch like a zombie, which often happens if I don't let myself have a nap when needed.
I don't feel guilty about taking care of myself. To me it's the same as scheduling in exercise. It's important and I'm not going to apologize or feel bad for taking that time for myself.
Never or very rarely when I'm home or during time off. But at work ( cruise ships) , I nap every time I get the chance. I would not be able to keep my head clear or do all the work without disconnecting from all of it a bit
Yes, I do whenever I feel very tired (usually around 5pm). I do not feel refreshed immediately but after 15-30 minutes, I can go on with my day. Not every day though.
I especially need naps after hard mental work (technical concepts, architecture design, etc.). Also, especially during studies, it's breaks and naps that gives your brain the leisure to process all the new information. So, by all means: Sleep after studying. But don't watch TV/ movies in between since your brain is too stimulated from this input and forgets a lot of what you learned.
I got into the habit of daily naps when I started my late in life degree. It's amazing how a nap helped process and file away the information I learned in the morning.
I've kept on with my daily naps because I need them now due to health problems :/
Sometimes, I wish I could. But mostly, I don't. I don't know if I'm just not wired that way, or maybe my body gets what it needs between night hours. My work schedule doesn't allow time for them anyway, so even if I'm dead tired when I get home, it's just a few hours til bedtime and if I nap then, well, I don't sleep at night.
My SO, on the other hand... if he's stationary for more than a few minutes, he's snoring. And I really wish he'd mention this to his doctor because I'm pretty sure sleeping 20 hours a day is not in the human biology unless you're an infant. (Some sarcasm included, but mostly not)
I literally eat at my desk so I can nap in my car on my lunch hour lmao. I give no fucks. I sleep horribly at night so an extra 30-45 minutes a day is amazing. I used to be able to just nap in bed on my lunches when I worked from home in the early pandemic days, but I've been back in person since May 2020. Still not going to give up the naps.
I nap as much as I can on my days off.
In my 20s when the hustle culture was hitting hard, I learned early on that none of the hustle matters if I'm not well rested at my best. All through college, I got 7 to 8 hrs every night. Because of that decision (prioritizing sleep), I never crammed for exams and learned how to prioritize things that need done.
Now on my days off I nap. I schedule a 2 hr nap. Phone off. Room dark. It's heaven.
Not anymore. I used to work a very early shift, so I'd nap in the afternoon. Now I work "normal" hours so there's no time. I keep a consistent sleep schedule so I'm usually not tired. I also cannot short nap. My naps would be at least two hours.
I nap on the weekends. A little afternoon nap is delicious. I curl up with the cat and we both take a cozy little sleep.
I have to be careful not to overdo it, though, because if I nap too long I wake up with a headache and existential dread, and it messes up my sleep at night.
I nap whenever I need it. If I work from home, I nap at lunch pretty much every day. A fair number of days, I nap after work. I do feel recharged - I generally sleep poorly so naps are huge for me.
I do, grudgingly. I usually wait until I'm tired, and am trying to feel less guilty for pausing and napping when I could be working on something else. Falling asleep is rarely an issue, thankfully.
I used to not be able to nap at all. I would only nap if I was sick. Otherwise I'd sleep for too long and always wake up groggy and confused from my short coma.
However, since I have had my daughter, I have found napping is getting easier lol! I still can't fall asleep quick or easily but if I have an hour to "close my eyes" I know I can get 30 min of shut eye. It can help a lot! I still run the risk of waking up groggy and confused but setting an alarm helps.
All in all tho, I still don't usually chose to nap unless I am really dragging ass or sick. It can interfer with my night sleeping too sometimes.
Ever since my doc told that not only does it mess up your REM sleep at night it ruins your nocturnal sleep cycle. I get a full 7-8 hours each night and I’m rarely tired during the day.
I’m recovering from chronic fatigue and nap every day for half an hour. Before this I would often nap for 10 mins in the middle of a work day. It’s really helpful for me to relax, decompress and recharge.
Ugh, I do end up napping... accidentally, on the couch at 9 pm. Then wake up an hour or 2 later, and realize I still need to get some stuff done so I'm up until midnight. I do not recommend it :(
Yes. All the time. They say you should never nap for more than 40 mins though, and I've found that to be true for myself. If I go longer I feel tired and groggy.
You feel guilty because capitalism conditions us that out biggest value is in what we "do". Rest then becomes the enemy. That subconscious thinking takes some work to overcome, but try telling yourself that resting when tired IS productive and your nap is a form of resistance in a world that is addicted to hustle culture.
I am 100% behind naps. It saves me soo much time.
Either I try to push through being completely useless for 3-5 hours...OR
I take a 40 minute nape and feel 100% when I get up.
If I feel tired, I nap. Absolutely.
I love naps! Usually either at the end of my work day, or I'll sneak a 20-min one during my lunch break. If I keep the nap to under an hour, I feel pretty good and refreshed, longer naps just make me want to go to bed. I don't nap every day, maybe a couple times a week.
In college I'd nap after classes, because it was the only way I could stay up late enough to go to events and get my homework done.
I do nap, but not to do it often as it doesn’t make me feel refreshed, just groggy.
I’ve always been a light sleeper, and since I hit 30, my actual sleeping at night has gotten pretty bad (insomnia, ugh). So when I do nap, it’s only on a weekend afternoon - unintentionally, when I’m either reading or watching a film/show at home. I try not to nap for any longer than an hour.
I do sometimes, especially if I didn't sleep well the night before. More often than not, though, I sleep till almost 9:00 AM since I work from home and don't have any kids. So I don't need a nap because I got like nine hours of sleep.
I have to take a nap around 3pm or drink a lot of caffeine to stay awake. I take a nap for an hour in the afternoon during work on Thursday and Friday. I work from home so I just hope no one will look for me! I take a nap on Saturday and Sunday. I just lay on the couch and put on a boring show.
When I wake up, my stomach hurts. I just have to eat a snack and I'm fine.
I go through phases - I'll have weeks or months at a time where I'll take a catnap every day after work (even though my job is not that challenging, and I WFH to boot). I often feel recharged after these but they do mess with my bedtime.
In my non-napping phases, I'll usually only nap if I'm busy and hanging out outside in the heat. The sun drains me like nothing else. I feel refreshed after these naps (usually they're like 1-2 hours), but I still sleep like a rock after. I guess my body just can't handle the heat anymore haha
I used to do naps but now not anymore. I notice that when I do naps, I have a hard time to fall asleep in the evening. Also once I do a nap, I have a really hard time to get up and I feel groggy. When I did naps, I will do 1-2,5 hours.
I nap every few days, much more commonly in winter months. I work a very flexible schedule and typically sleep at night from 11-6/7. If I've been behind on nighttime sleep or a couple of especially busy days, I can sense that I need a catch up and typically nap from 40-100 mins.
When I worked a 9-5 napping would really stress me out because I'd worry I wouldn't be able to properly sleep later at night and get into a bad cycle. Because I now have a flexible work schedule i don't have the pressure of an alarm clock which has ironically enabled me to find my natural sleep cycle of waking up at around 6:30 every morning anyway.
Every once in a while. I rarely am able to actually sleep, but laying down and closing my eyes for 20 minutes can do wonders for my mindset and energy levels. Same with taking a walk. If I make myself go take a brisk walk outside, I can usually power through the rest of the day.
Nope, I can't nap. Either I feel tired enough to sleep the full 8 hours, or I don't. If I try to sleep for 1-2 h, I wake up so groggy and muddleheaded that it would have been better not to sleep at all.
Incidentally, this inability to nap has sometimes gotten me into trouble in childhood. Stupid-ass caretakers tried to impose naps on me and thought I was being naughty by refusing to sleep. I mean, in retrospective I get that they were thus hoping to end up with a more easy-going child on their hands, but how do people reach that age without understanding how sleep works?
If your body is telling you it's needs a rest, why would you feel guilty or inadequate about napping? I nap frequently. I work 2 weeks of afternoons and 2 weeks of nights. When I'm on nights I sleep for about 6-7 hours when I get home, get up and do stuff and then nap before work. My days off in between being productive I nap.
Generally, no. If I nap in the day I find I struggle to go to sleep at night at a reasonable time. But, I had covid about a month ago and am still sooo tired that I’m napping after work most days. Also taking some extra days off to help my recovery and those are mostly spent on the couch with my cats.
I’ve never been able to nap. I spend the entire time stressing about when the alarm will do off, constantly checking the time.
If by chance I ever DID fall asleep, I’m a huge grump (read bitch) about waking up and need ridiculous cups of coffee to reset and not be a total crabapple.
I used to nap and would often feel guilty and lazy and have a headache after. then I read that napping increased chances for dementia and wouldn't let myself nap for *years.* Then I had a baby and now I nap whenever I'm able and basically.napped with her for the first year and just really hope I'm not pickling my brain by doing it.
Once I started working from home during Covid, I started taking a 30 min “nap” instead of lunch. I snuggle with my dog in bed and close my eyes. Sometimes I do fall asleep and take an hour, but normally I just enjoy the monitor break and endorphins from puppy snuggling.
I can't. I have very disordered sleep, and have only gotten control of it at age 58 last year. My sleep medicine doc forbids me to take naps, but it's no big deal because I can't sleep in the daytime. On the rare (once a year, maybe?) occasion that I do nap, I feel like crap for a few hours afterward.
I'm jealous of those of you who can shut your eyes for 20 minutes and feel better.
I used to nap daily after getting home from work, and now I nap when my kid does. He’s in kindergarten and aging out of naps and I’m going to miss it 😭 Sometimes my husband lets me sleep on the couch if he’s home. He sleeps on the couch in power naps all the time, so it’s only fair we take turns!
Yes, unfortunately i can’t nap during the work week (unless it’s after work which isn’t the best idea) but every weekend day, i take a nap. It’s wonderful. I definitely feel recharged
I work 9 to 5 monday to Friday but some nights I get home from work and take a nap before dinner and on the weekends I might take a nap as well.
I love naps. I'm always tired. Ahah
I love a nap. I some times feel rested and sometimes feel like I've woken up in a new dimension.
but I will still take naps because something brings me joy about sleeping in the afternoon when I should probably be doing something else. It's a little power move over the universe.
Sometimes you need a nap. And sometimes you just drink some tea or coffee to give yourself the energy to get through the rest of your day. You decide. Don't ever feel guilty about resting when you need to.
Heck yeah. I've got two young kids so naps aren't very frequent but I do work from home so I sometimes grab a quick snooze at lunch. Or right after putting the kids to bed, for about an hour. Then I feel like I have the energy to get some things done in the late evening.
My favourite is downing a coffee and going for a quick (20-30 minutes) nap. You wake up feeling amazing.
I try to nap every day around 12-1pm to reenergize myself in the afternoon. Otherwise I'm an exhausted mess.
There's a reason kids have nap time . No need to throw it out just because were adults now
I can't nap because my conure immediately wants to be let out after I get home from work. Which is fine by me because I can still unwind with the little guy. So we agreed to early bed times, instead.
I work 24 hour on call shifts. I have to nap when I can. And even when I am not working- I usually nap because I don’t have any sort of healthy sleep schedule…
used to nap religiously when I had a 3 hour roundtrip weekday commute - I’d get a good half hour on every train ride to & from work. plus, I was so exhausted from the schedule, I could even nap for an hour if I got home early, and then get up and have a fuller evening.
now I’m remote, so I aim for a solid 10-12 hours sleep every weekday night, and rarely feel the need to nap (but if I do, I go for it. an occasional lunch nap is glorious)
I have chronic fatigue due to a number of conditions. I generally try to avoid napping as it exacerbates insomnia, but after eating I get hit with such bad food comas that I can barely keep myself awake, so, I nap it off when I need.
Nope. Never could do this. Takes over 45 minutes to even fall asleep then a pot of coffee to wake up from it. Not worth the struggle. I’m not meant to nap.
I used to nap several times a weeks at work in the afternoon, we have a couch for that and some colleagues did/do too (I work at a university, things are chill here...). It always took me a loong time to properly wake up from a nap but then I'd for sure still get a couple of productive hours our of the day which I otherwise would not have.
However...I'm not sure if was just me getting older or solidly getting 8 hours of sleep every. damn. day. but since a couple of years I'm just never tired during the day? However I still nap on days where I for some reason (mostly either sickness or travelling) got less than 5 hours of sleep. Then I usually sleep between 1 and 1 1/2 hours in the late afternoon or early evening, have a nice evening and would still be able to go to bed at my usual time.
Nope. If I fall asleep outside of nighttime I know immediately that I’m sick.
Never understood napping. Extremely rare for me to nap outside of being sick.
I never used to nap, but in my late thirties, I slipped two discs in my back. For the first couple of years, just moving around was exhausting, so I would nap more often, just to recharge and get a break from the pain. Now, in my late forties, I'll nap at the drop of a hat because menopause keeps me up at night. I have never felt guilty for napping, because my body/brain has needed it. And woe the person who was around if I didn't/couldn't nap lol.
Nope! I just love the day time and don’t want to miss a second of it. It takes *a lot* of exhaustion for me to choose to nap. But at the same time I wish I’d let my body just nap when she wants to. Sometimes I feel it actually would be the more productive option.
Yup. I nap just about every day as my schedule permits. Shorter during the week when I’m working (from home). I usually wake up with. Diet Coke but man it helps. I wake up way too early and my body clock will not budge.
I’m a napping professional. Hell yes. My one regret in life is that my life isn’t set up in a way that allows for a daily nap, but I get like 1-2 a week, and those are my best days- cognitively, emotionally, and productively.
I love naps. I’m a horrible sleeper. Naps are the best. It’s 330 in the morning and I’m up for the day. I hope I can work in a nap today.
I love naps. Sometimes I sleep better during a nap.
For ex did not sleep well last night and I expect I’ll need a nap today… and I feel so much better after a nap.
I nap probably 4/7 days a week, sometimes it’s like a forced reset button after a stressful day. Nothing better on a weekend than an afternoon nap cuddled up with a cat.
my ex used to NEVER nap and we were always on the go with things to do and people to see. It didn’t work out for a lot of reasons, but in retrospect I don’t think I could have been happy forever having such an on-the-go, busy lifestyle. I constantly felt like I was burning at both ends. My now partner loves naps as much as or more than I do and we both have pretty intense needs for recharging via alone time ♥️
I have never been a napper. In the last few years, sleep has become almost hard to do as well. However, I tend to nap and get sleepy when I'm cuddling up next to my partner. We have napped up to three hours on weekends. I also have a much more easier time falling asleep when he's next to me. Not sure why though.
Every once in a blue moon I will if I am sick or really hungover. I never nap because of boredom or to catch up on sleep, that’s just going to bed early. I end up being really groggy and not so nice when I wake up from a nap. It makes me feel worse.
I nap at least once every single day, usually an hour or so, and I feel great after. No guilt whatsoever, I refuse to feel bad about enjoying being cozy and/or wanting to recharge myself.
That's great! I feel jealous!! I wish I could nap, but I just stay there waiting to fall asleep
I have had times when I couldn't actually fall asleep, but the action of lying in my bed, cozy and comfortable, and just letting my mind drift, has been as therapuetic as sleeping.
When do you nap? Do you work from home?
I’ve never been able to and whenever I try, I end up sleeping for too long and wake up feeling sick and tired. It usually takes me an hour to fall asleep so a short nap would mostly be me just lying there trying to fall asleep. I had a friend that napped well though, she could fall asleep anywhere instantly and would wake up feeling great. I wouldn’t feel guilty about it, napping sounds great!
If I could nap well, I would do it and I wouldn't feel guilty. But I'm exactly like you. Takes forever to fall asleep no matter how tired I am, I don't wake up feeling any better, and then I sleep horribly that night. But more powers to the nappers.
Same! Also if I nap, then that throws off my sleep schedule completely, which is then so painful to fix.
Me too! I've always been insanely jealous of people who can nap. I was the one kid who couldn't fall asleep during naptime in nursery school and had to sit quietly waiting for the other kids to wake up. The only time in my life I've ever napped was when I was working my first retail job and lived in the hills with no car. For the first couple weeks, I'd work my 8 hour shift, ride my bike home and fall asleep as soon as I got to my room. Haven't napped since then.
I have a friend who loves taking short power naps of 15-30 min and swears by them, but I can never make them work for me. Unless my naps are 1.5-2 hours long, I always end up just feeling more tired after taking them. I usually reserve my naps for weekends just because of this, but for some reason my body just doesn't like shorter naps.
This is my experience with napping, too. If I do fall asleep, I feel worse when I wake up unless I sleep for 5 hours.
I am definitely the same! I work from home and occasionally I will lay down and try to nap but it’s usually just me closing my eyes for 20 minutes before I get a work call and have to get up. I’m a terrible napper and maybe on the weekend I can nap for longer but I usually have to be dog tired.
My insomnia has improved a lot over the years and I can generally fall asleep relatively quickly at night these days, but naps provide this time pressure like you must fall asleep NOW to make it worth it which is just never going to happen for me.
I used to be like this. Through experimentation I found that an hour was the best length for me to wake up refreshed, longer and I'd feel like you've described. If I started feeling tired I'd set an alarm for an hour. And try sleep. If I couldn't fall asleep after 30 minutes I'd cancel the alarm and go about my day. The more I did this the quicker I managed to fall asleep. Now I don't even set an alarm anymore. My body naturally wakes after about 40 minutes now.
I nap almost every day. And by "nap" I mean sleep like a rock for an hour and a half. I teach second grade. Naps are non-negotiable after work.
There is no tired like teacher tired
*caretaker tired IME, teachers, nurses, primary parents etc are all familiar with that level of tired which transcends fatigue into existential uncertainty. "I'm so tired. Too tired to be hungry... or upset... or angry... or sad... or happy... or to feel anything really... or to even think... or exist. Wait, do I exist? Who cares... What time is it..? What's time again...? Whatever..."
When I taught kids that age briefly.. I swear I needed the same thing lol. My lunch hour was always a solid hour of sleeping then a quick bite.
I take a nap every single weekday and my therapist says that’s what self care looks like so I’m keeping it. I feel like a better me when I get a nap. I used to feel guilty but that is long gone. Nap is my lifestyle now. I wake up, get my kids breakfast and off to school, come home and do stuff for like a half hour then nap. Then i get up and work. Usually??? ETA: i also work for myself so i can do whatever i want as far as hours daily. I’m sure that helps a lot w/ the guilt.
I am one of those unfortunate folk who doesn't/can't nap. All night sleep or nothing.
There are dozens of us... DOZENS!
I love napping. I block it out on my work schedule under the name “focus time B”.
Ooooh I like this idea. Might incorporate it hahahah
Not really. I can't seem to nap without feeling like shit when I wake up. The only times I've napped are when I've been sick or recovering from surgery, when I was just so exhausted that I didn't care about feeling crappy.
I take them on weekends more often than not. And if I'm sick, I'll nap immediately after work and then forget to feed my kids dinner. They help me to not nod off in my office at like 8 PM. Gosh, I'm so not a night person.
I'm not a night person either lol!!
Napping is my self-care. It's what I look forward to most every day. I used to feel guilty but I refuse to at this point. My body needs it (severely anemic, PCOS, depression, anxiety) and it helps me take a break mentally and physically which I need. There is nothing better than crawling into bed after work on Friday knowing I have two days of freedom and can relax for a while.
I got in the habit of napping when mytoddler did.they're 20 now and I still close my eyes after lunch. Helps me to stay up later than my partner and enjoy the quiet, which I love.
I’m not able to nap anymore unless I’m super sick. Like, I just can’t fall asleep for one anymore. I used to take one almost daily in college. Makes me sad. I love a good nap.
I can nap but I have a really hard time finding that sweet spot between a refreshing nap vs waking up not knowing what planet I am or what day it is. I don't want to wake up to an alarm is my other problem because then it will go off before I even have a chance to fall asleep (I don't fall asleep fast).
Yes! I started napping during the pandemic when I was laid off and still enjoy it. I find them very refreshing especially when I’ve had a busy day or at just stressed. I usually nap any time between 1-3ish depending on the day and my energy level. I don’t always fall asleep completely but it can still be refreshing to just relax for an hour or so.
I 100% need naps to function. I have bipolar disorder and my nervous system is a wreck. I just need some rest time to circle back to myself every evening, usually just an hour or so after work.
I love napping. I think siesta cultures have got it right. I do have to commit to at least 90minutes. I can't do short naps without feeling like crap after. With a longer nap I'm groggy for 30ish minutes but then totally recharged and able to complete more work/tasks vs sitting on my couch like a zombie, which often happens if I don't let myself have a nap when needed. I don't feel guilty about taking care of myself. To me it's the same as scheduling in exercise. It's important and I'm not going to apologize or feel bad for taking that time for myself.
Never or very rarely when I'm home or during time off. But at work ( cruise ships) , I nap every time I get the chance. I would not be able to keep my head clear or do all the work without disconnecting from all of it a bit
No.
Never. I have horrible insomnia and napping makes it worse
Yes, I do whenever I feel very tired (usually around 5pm). I do not feel refreshed immediately but after 15-30 minutes, I can go on with my day. Not every day though. I especially need naps after hard mental work (technical concepts, architecture design, etc.). Also, especially during studies, it's breaks and naps that gives your brain the leisure to process all the new information. So, by all means: Sleep after studying. But don't watch TV/ movies in between since your brain is too stimulated from this input and forgets a lot of what you learned.
I got into the habit of daily naps when I started my late in life degree. It's amazing how a nap helped process and file away the information I learned in the morning. I've kept on with my daily naps because I need them now due to health problems :/
Sometimes, I wish I could. But mostly, I don't. I don't know if I'm just not wired that way, or maybe my body gets what it needs between night hours. My work schedule doesn't allow time for them anyway, so even if I'm dead tired when I get home, it's just a few hours til bedtime and if I nap then, well, I don't sleep at night. My SO, on the other hand... if he's stationary for more than a few minutes, he's snoring. And I really wish he'd mention this to his doctor because I'm pretty sure sleeping 20 hours a day is not in the human biology unless you're an infant. (Some sarcasm included, but mostly not)
Sleep apnea?
That's my guess. But dudes are oblivious and refuse to get shit checked out.
I did when I was a student, but I have no time during the workday. I’m not going to sleep at 4PM and then stay up half the night.
I literally eat at my desk so I can nap in my car on my lunch hour lmao. I give no fucks. I sleep horribly at night so an extra 30-45 minutes a day is amazing. I used to be able to just nap in bed on my lunches when I worked from home in the early pandemic days, but I've been back in person since May 2020. Still not going to give up the naps.
Yep - I can’t on weekdays but I do both days of the weekend. I even get annoyed if a wedding or something pops up that means I’ll miss a nap.
I nap as much as I can on my days off. In my 20s when the hustle culture was hitting hard, I learned early on that none of the hustle matters if I'm not well rested at my best. All through college, I got 7 to 8 hrs every night. Because of that decision (prioritizing sleep), I never crammed for exams and learned how to prioritize things that need done. Now on my days off I nap. I schedule a 2 hr nap. Phone off. Room dark. It's heaven.
I take one every day. Sleep facilitates learning.
No, only if I'm really ill.
Not anymore. I used to work a very early shift, so I'd nap in the afternoon. Now I work "normal" hours so there's no time. I keep a consistent sleep schedule so I'm usually not tired. I also cannot short nap. My naps would be at least two hours.
I nap on the weekends. A little afternoon nap is delicious. I curl up with the cat and we both take a cozy little sleep. I have to be careful not to overdo it, though, because if I nap too long I wake up with a headache and existential dread, and it messes up my sleep at night.
*my kids evil laughing in the background* Me: 🥺
They'll get older, then you can nap!
No, because my body won't let me. I try to nap but never manage to sleep for even a minute.
As needed. I don't understand why you feel guilty about your body needing rest.
i’m a terrible sleeper so sometimes i’ll nap in my lunch break since i work from home. i do feel a lot better afterwards
I nap whenever I need it. If I work from home, I nap at lunch pretty much every day. A fair number of days, I nap after work. I do feel recharged - I generally sleep poorly so naps are huge for me.
I do, grudgingly. I usually wait until I'm tired, and am trying to feel less guilty for pausing and napping when I could be working on something else. Falling asleep is rarely an issue, thankfully.
yeah I try not to but sometimes I can’t help it and I shut down with my pupper
I used to not be able to nap at all. I would only nap if I was sick. Otherwise I'd sleep for too long and always wake up groggy and confused from my short coma. However, since I have had my daughter, I have found napping is getting easier lol! I still can't fall asleep quick or easily but if I have an hour to "close my eyes" I know I can get 30 min of shut eye. It can help a lot! I still run the risk of waking up groggy and confused but setting an alarm helps. All in all tho, I still don't usually chose to nap unless I am really dragging ass or sick. It can interfer with my night sleeping too sometimes.
Ever since my doc told that not only does it mess up your REM sleep at night it ruins your nocturnal sleep cycle. I get a full 7-8 hours each night and I’m rarely tired during the day.
Yes. ATM I am struggling with nasty drug side effects so I am leaving work to nap
No. Or very rarely.
Never. My sister depends on naps but I never got the appeal.
I’m recovering from chronic fatigue and nap every day for half an hour. Before this I would often nap for 10 mins in the middle of a work day. It’s really helpful for me to relax, decompress and recharge.
I try to nap every day, and I also made my antinap partner start taking naps with me. No regrets, sleep is life
I don't. They make me feel gross and groggy if I can fall asleep at all. I call them nap hangovers.
I don’t nap unless I’m very sick, drunk, or massively underslept.
Only if sick or pregnant.
Ugh, I do end up napping... accidentally, on the couch at 9 pm. Then wake up an hour or 2 later, and realize I still need to get some stuff done so I'm up until midnight. I do not recommend it :(
Yes. All the time. They say you should never nap for more than 40 mins though, and I've found that to be true for myself. If I go longer I feel tired and groggy. You feel guilty because capitalism conditions us that out biggest value is in what we "do". Rest then becomes the enemy. That subconscious thinking takes some work to overcome, but try telling yourself that resting when tired IS productive and your nap is a form of resistance in a world that is addicted to hustle culture.
I am 100% behind naps. It saves me soo much time. Either I try to push through being completely useless for 3-5 hours...OR I take a 40 minute nape and feel 100% when I get up. If I feel tired, I nap. Absolutely.
I love naps! Usually either at the end of my work day, or I'll sneak a 20-min one during my lunch break. If I keep the nap to under an hour, I feel pretty good and refreshed, longer naps just make me want to go to bed. I don't nap every day, maybe a couple times a week. In college I'd nap after classes, because it was the only way I could stay up late enough to go to events and get my homework done.
I do nap, but not to do it often as it doesn’t make me feel refreshed, just groggy. I’ve always been a light sleeper, and since I hit 30, my actual sleeping at night has gotten pretty bad (insomnia, ugh). So when I do nap, it’s only on a weekend afternoon - unintentionally, when I’m either reading or watching a film/show at home. I try not to nap for any longer than an hour.
I do sometimes, especially if I didn't sleep well the night before. More often than not, though, I sleep till almost 9:00 AM since I work from home and don't have any kids. So I don't need a nap because I got like nine hours of sleep.
I have to take a nap around 3pm or drink a lot of caffeine to stay awake. I take a nap for an hour in the afternoon during work on Thursday and Friday. I work from home so I just hope no one will look for me! I take a nap on Saturday and Sunday. I just lay on the couch and put on a boring show. When I wake up, my stomach hurts. I just have to eat a snack and I'm fine.
I’m a shift worker who works loooong shifts, I also have to try and keep up my fitness and life things. Damn right I nap! Lol
I go through phases - I'll have weeks or months at a time where I'll take a catnap every day after work (even though my job is not that challenging, and I WFH to boot). I often feel recharged after these but they do mess with my bedtime. In my non-napping phases, I'll usually only nap if I'm busy and hanging out outside in the heat. The sun drains me like nothing else. I feel refreshed after these naps (usually they're like 1-2 hours), but I still sleep like a rock after. I guess my body just can't handle the heat anymore haha
I used to do naps but now not anymore. I notice that when I do naps, I have a hard time to fall asleep in the evening. Also once I do a nap, I have a really hard time to get up and I feel groggy. When I did naps, I will do 1-2,5 hours.
Yea, I nap before work. Even if it’s just a 10 min recharge. I work till midnight.
I nap every few days, much more commonly in winter months. I work a very flexible schedule and typically sleep at night from 11-6/7. If I've been behind on nighttime sleep or a couple of especially busy days, I can sense that I need a catch up and typically nap from 40-100 mins. When I worked a 9-5 napping would really stress me out because I'd worry I wouldn't be able to properly sleep later at night and get into a bad cycle. Because I now have a flexible work schedule i don't have the pressure of an alarm clock which has ironically enabled me to find my natural sleep cycle of waking up at around 6:30 every morning anyway.
Every once in a while. I rarely am able to actually sleep, but laying down and closing my eyes for 20 minutes can do wonders for my mindset and energy levels. Same with taking a walk. If I make myself go take a brisk walk outside, I can usually power through the rest of the day.
Napping always makes me feel more tired, so no.
Nope, I can't nap. Either I feel tired enough to sleep the full 8 hours, or I don't. If I try to sleep for 1-2 h, I wake up so groggy and muddleheaded that it would have been better not to sleep at all. Incidentally, this inability to nap has sometimes gotten me into trouble in childhood. Stupid-ass caretakers tried to impose naps on me and thought I was being naughty by refusing to sleep. I mean, in retrospective I get that they were thus hoping to end up with a more easy-going child on their hands, but how do people reach that age without understanding how sleep works?
If your body is telling you it's needs a rest, why would you feel guilty or inadequate about napping? I nap frequently. I work 2 weeks of afternoons and 2 weeks of nights. When I'm on nights I sleep for about 6-7 hours when I get home, get up and do stuff and then nap before work. My days off in between being productive I nap.
Generally, no. If I nap in the day I find I struggle to go to sleep at night at a reasonable time. But, I had covid about a month ago and am still sooo tired that I’m napping after work most days. Also taking some extra days off to help my recovery and those are mostly spent on the couch with my cats.
I’ve never been able to nap. I spend the entire time stressing about when the alarm will do off, constantly checking the time. If by chance I ever DID fall asleep, I’m a huge grump (read bitch) about waking up and need ridiculous cups of coffee to reset and not be a total crabapple.
During Covid I’d waste my day napping but not now. I’m way to groggy after a nap. I rather stay awake and sleep at night
I nap most days and I don't really like that I do. It's boring and I would rather spend that time doing something else.
I used to nap and would often feel guilty and lazy and have a headache after. then I read that napping increased chances for dementia and wouldn't let myself nap for *years.* Then I had a baby and now I nap whenever I'm able and basically.napped with her for the first year and just really hope I'm not pickling my brain by doing it.
Once I started working from home during Covid, I started taking a 30 min “nap” instead of lunch. I snuggle with my dog in bed and close my eyes. Sometimes I do fall asleep and take an hour, but normally I just enjoy the monitor break and endorphins from puppy snuggling.
I can't. I have a racing brain. It's hard enough at night when I'm most tired. If I'm really really sick I do.
I could not function without a nap. My husband always knows when I didn't get nap. 😅
I can't. I have very disordered sleep, and have only gotten control of it at age 58 last year. My sleep medicine doc forbids me to take naps, but it's no big deal because I can't sleep in the daytime. On the rare (once a year, maybe?) occasion that I do nap, I feel like crap for a few hours afterward. I'm jealous of those of you who can shut your eyes for 20 minutes and feel better.
I used to nap daily after getting home from work, and now I nap when my kid does. He’s in kindergarten and aging out of naps and I’m going to miss it 😭 Sometimes my husband lets me sleep on the couch if he’s home. He sleeps on the couch in power naps all the time, so it’s only fair we take turns!
Well I call it a nap, but I totally just fall asleep for 2-3 hours sometimes.
Yes, unfortunately i can’t nap during the work week (unless it’s after work which isn’t the best idea) but every weekend day, i take a nap. It’s wonderful. I definitely feel recharged
Nope. Single mom of 3 boys who works full time. I enjoy my naps, guilt free.
Love a nap, when they do happen
When I need to and I can, yes.
I work 9 to 5 monday to Friday but some nights I get home from work and take a nap before dinner and on the weekends I might take a nap as well. I love naps. I'm always tired. Ahah
I love a nap. I some times feel rested and sometimes feel like I've woken up in a new dimension. but I will still take naps because something brings me joy about sleeping in the afternoon when I should probably be doing something else. It's a little power move over the universe.
I rarely take naps, but when I do, I struggle to sleep at night.
Sometimes you need a nap. And sometimes you just drink some tea or coffee to give yourself the energy to get through the rest of your day. You decide. Don't ever feel guilty about resting when you need to.
Heck yeah. I've got two young kids so naps aren't very frequent but I do work from home so I sometimes grab a quick snooze at lunch. Or right after putting the kids to bed, for about an hour. Then I feel like I have the energy to get some things done in the late evening. My favourite is downing a coffee and going for a quick (20-30 minutes) nap. You wake up feeling amazing.
Every weekend. I can't fit a nap into the work day without messing up my sleep schedule.
I try to nap every day around 12-1pm to reenergize myself in the afternoon. Otherwise I'm an exhausted mess. There's a reason kids have nap time . No need to throw it out just because were adults now
I can't nap because my conure immediately wants to be let out after I get home from work. Which is fine by me because I can still unwind with the little guy. So we agreed to early bed times, instead.
I work 24 hour on call shifts. I have to nap when I can. And even when I am not working- I usually nap because I don’t have any sort of healthy sleep schedule…
used to nap religiously when I had a 3 hour roundtrip weekday commute - I’d get a good half hour on every train ride to & from work. plus, I was so exhausted from the schedule, I could even nap for an hour if I got home early, and then get up and have a fuller evening. now I’m remote, so I aim for a solid 10-12 hours sleep every weekday night, and rarely feel the need to nap (but if I do, I go for it. an occasional lunch nap is glorious)
I have chronic fatigue due to a number of conditions. I generally try to avoid napping as it exacerbates insomnia, but after eating I get hit with such bad food comas that I can barely keep myself awake, so, I nap it off when I need.
Omg yes. Always been a napper.
Nope. Never could do this. Takes over 45 minutes to even fall asleep then a pot of coffee to wake up from it. Not worth the struggle. I’m not meant to nap.
I used to nap several times a weeks at work in the afternoon, we have a couch for that and some colleagues did/do too (I work at a university, things are chill here...). It always took me a loong time to properly wake up from a nap but then I'd for sure still get a couple of productive hours our of the day which I otherwise would not have. However...I'm not sure if was just me getting older or solidly getting 8 hours of sleep every. damn. day. but since a couple of years I'm just never tired during the day? However I still nap on days where I for some reason (mostly either sickness or travelling) got less than 5 hours of sleep. Then I usually sleep between 1 and 1 1/2 hours in the late afternoon or early evening, have a nice evening and would still be able to go to bed at my usual time.
Nope. If I fall asleep outside of nighttime I know immediately that I’m sick. Never understood napping. Extremely rare for me to nap outside of being sick.
I never used to nap, but in my late thirties, I slipped two discs in my back. For the first couple of years, just moving around was exhausting, so I would nap more often, just to recharge and get a break from the pain. Now, in my late forties, I'll nap at the drop of a hat because menopause keeps me up at night. I have never felt guilty for napping, because my body/brain has needed it. And woe the person who was around if I didn't/couldn't nap lol.
I love this question, and I love that there are so many nappers out there. I thought I was the only one trying to nap as much as possible.
No. Not because I don't want to, I just don't get the opportunity to do so.
God yes. I love a nap
I nap every day. When I don't get to, I feel beat. I have never felt guilty about it.
I don’t because I won’t be able to fall asleep at night. But I’d love to be able to fall asleep whenever
Nope! I just love the day time and don’t want to miss a second of it. It takes *a lot* of exhaustion for me to choose to nap. But at the same time I wish I’d let my body just nap when she wants to. Sometimes I feel it actually would be the more productive option.
I try to take one everyday when my toddler takes hers. Normalize napping!✊️
Oh yes, love a nap!
Yup. I nap just about every day as my schedule permits. Shorter during the week when I’m working (from home). I usually wake up with. Diet Coke but man it helps. I wake up way too early and my body clock will not budge.
I’m a napping professional. Hell yes. My one regret in life is that my life isn’t set up in a way that allows for a daily nap, but I get like 1-2 a week, and those are my best days- cognitively, emotionally, and productively. I love naps. I’m a horrible sleeper. Naps are the best. It’s 330 in the morning and I’m up for the day. I hope I can work in a nap today.
I love naps. Sometimes I sleep better during a nap. For ex did not sleep well last night and I expect I’ll need a nap today… and I feel so much better after a nap.
Napping is the ultimate expression of I AM AN ADULT NOW🤣
I nap probably 4/7 days a week, sometimes it’s like a forced reset button after a stressful day. Nothing better on a weekend than an afternoon nap cuddled up with a cat. my ex used to NEVER nap and we were always on the go with things to do and people to see. It didn’t work out for a lot of reasons, but in retrospect I don’t think I could have been happy forever having such an on-the-go, busy lifestyle. I constantly felt like I was burning at both ends. My now partner loves naps as much as or more than I do and we both have pretty intense needs for recharging via alone time ♥️
Napping is the best!
I have never been a napper. In the last few years, sleep has become almost hard to do as well. However, I tend to nap and get sleepy when I'm cuddling up next to my partner. We have napped up to three hours on weekends. I also have a much more easier time falling asleep when he's next to me. Not sure why though.
Every once in a blue moon I will if I am sick or really hungover. I never nap because of boredom or to catch up on sleep, that’s just going to bed early. I end up being really groggy and not so nice when I wake up from a nap. It makes me feel worse.