A tribute to naps

I’ve become someone who naps. I napped before, but sporadically. Now that I’m on chemotherapy, my naps are as necessary as those of a frustrated toddler. I’ll do a 3 km walk (I used to run up to 10 km three times a week), or mow the lawn, or go and get groceries, and then I’ll hit the wall. This trend has made me think about napping patterns through our lives, and the different types of naps. Here are my top ten; which is your favourite?

1. Premium nap: this is the good one, the Porsche of naps. In bed, under the covers, maybe even in pyjamas if you’re really committed. Earplugs, eye mask, fan, phone in a separate room, no alarm. The crème de la crème of napping.
 
2. Couch or chair nap: almost premium, depending on the couch/chair, number of pillows, and quality of available blankets. Easily interrupted and often short, but a quality nap experience. May occur unexpectedly while reading.
 
3. “I’ll put the kids to bed” nap: you lie down with your young child “just for a minute” and wake up 30/60/90 minutes later. Satisfying but can interfere with accomplishing anything in your evening.
 
4. Library/Study nap: back when we used textbooks, I’d sometimes rest my forehead on one while I was studying and take a quick forty winks. What do young people use now as a study-nap pillow? A laptop? Seems much riskier to drool on.
 
5. Movie nap: that long boring section that has soft beautiful music and is cinematically gorgeous (think Moonlight) can also be deadly if you’re feeling tired. Our movie theatre now has the “luxury recliners” which make action and loud noise even more important to avoid movie napping (although at some times of our lives, the $14 feels well worth it for a good nap).
 
6. Car nap: NOT WHILE YOU ARE DRIVING (Chevy Chase in National Lampoon’s vacation), but A) as the driver, you get that intense wave of sleepiness, pull over, and instantly fall asleep. Even a few minutes works well. B) as passenger: do as much napping as you like. As with Trains and Airplanes, the trip goes much faster if you can actually sleep (not one of my personal skills). Remember, as a child, lying down in the back seat, or the back of the station wagon? Side note: if you have small cranky children and your spouse is driving, your prolonged car nap may cause some marital discord.
 
7. Beach nap: self-explanatory and often occurring on vacation, thus a very helpful and guilt-free nap. Don’t forget to use sunscreen and assign someone to watch the kids.
 
8. Eyes-wide-open nap: lectures, meetings, even boring conversations with acquaintances can assist with this type of nap. Watch out for questions.
 
9. Yoga nap: Surely I’m not the only one to fall asleep during shivasana, but I’ve never heard anyone else wake themselves up snoring!
 
10. Couples’ “nap”: Come on. We all know what you’re really doing.
 
Final note: yes, napping can interfere with your sleep at night, so restrict to 30-60 minutes, unless you are on shift work, have small children, are training for an Ironman race, or are on chemotherapy, in which case you’ll probably be fine despite your nap.