Napping.

[Bizzy Lizzy]

I'm interested to know how many of us take a nap during the day either purposely or accidentally. Have you done it for years or only recently? Do you wake up feeling refreshed or groggy? Does it lead to insomnia?
I find that sitting down after lunch causes the most problems. I am suddenly tired and a little weary and I can easily just drift off for a while. Is this a power nap? Is it good or bad?

[Daisy]

BL - I think if a day-time nap leaves you feeling refreshed and energised it's great, bring it on! If it leaves you feeling groggy and spaced out, then you need to get up and do something to keep you awake. My OH and DS1 only have to sit down and they can doze off! I sometimes have a nap - late afternoon or early evening, but not often, and only ever for 5 or 10 minutes. I feel ok afterwards but feel a bit guilty because I think I ought to save sleeping for bedtime!!!

[Gemini]

Great thread BL!
I never nap, unless I am ill. I can feel quite sleepy around 4 to 5ish if I am sitting down however, and probably could nap then. If I were to nap in the day, I would feel groggy and a bit sick, not refreshed.
I have an American friend for who daytime naps are the norm. She is only in her 50's an d has done it for years. It seems more the done thing over there!
My dad napped whenever he could, and as he got older slept a lot. Mum is now the age dad was when he died, and never does and never has had a daytime nap!

[Plantaholic]

I will often sit sit down with the intention to have a nap.

[Oma]

Yep im a napper if we at home I have 15 -30 mins every day it makes me feel normal again doesn't make any difference to my night time sleep I have tried not sleeping on a afternoon and still don't sleep at night . this way if im not getting much sleep it helps me function better , couldn't do more than 30 mins mind as I think any more and I just feel sluggish after . Brian likes a nap now didn't used too but the past couple years hes felt more tired than normal and that's understandable . I took to afternoon naps when we had the boys when they napped I had 15 min power nap to get me through the rest of day

[Nanto2girls]

No napping for me.Something I have never done.

[Elisi]

Ii can't nap, I would never sleep at night! Only if I am poorly will I give in and nap in the day. But then I don't get up as early as most people, not until 8.30-9am which suits my bodyclock.

[Shemadee]

Apart from when I was expecting my DS through a stifling hot summer when DD1 and I would sleep in the afternoon and then go to the park in the evening I've never really napped in the day. Napped once when convalescing and felt terrible when I woke up. Just recently I've been dozing off whilst watching TV in the evening and missing the end of programmes. Even napped through half of the One Show recently!

[Libra Gran]

I can and often do have a good 45-60 minutes if I have had an exceptionally early start,or a very busy morning.I find after lunch around 1pm I'm inclined to feel tired ,if I'm working the next day I fight it,if I'm off I give in and do find it re charges me.I think it is the body's way of telling us to have a rest . My eldest sister is the same but in that she can have a cat nap 10 minutes a couple of times a day and is then raring to go again.

[Gemini]

Apart from when I was expecting my DS through a stifling hot summer when DD1 and I would sleep in the afternoon and then go to the park in the evening I've never really napped in the day. Napped once when convalescing and felt terrible when I woke up. Just recently I've been dozing off whilst watching TV in the evening and missing the end of programmes. Even napped through half of the One Show recently!

oh gosh, I never thought of falling asleep in front of the TV as napping. That I do do!!It can be as early as Emmerdale (7pm)

[Avo]

We are nappers. Usually after lunch, in winter in front of the log burner, in summer we go down into the garden to the summer house. Always very refreshing and doesn't interfere with our night time sleeping.

[Grauntie Mag]

No time to nap here just now. If we are going out and I am very tired I have to go to bed and sleep if I can. A friend had a technique for relaxing which gave the benefit of feeling as if you'd had a night's sleep. I wish I'd listened more carefully, but It was years ago and I didn't need it then!

[Bizzy Lizzy]

We nap sometimes after lunch but just for a short while. I have problems with my eyes and some days they can really sting, in spite of the drops I use, and closing them for a short time can be very soothing. However closing my eyes just after lunch can result in a short nap. I call it "dipping in and out" as it is not really a proper sleep but a kind of half sleep which is very relaxing. I was told to nap for a short time by my GP when expect DS1 and it worked for me. Again it was more dipping in and out rather than a deep sleep. I did it again with DS2 and now I am retired and have a fairly easy routine I will do it some days but not every day. Depends how I feel. I had a friend years ago that was so relaxed she could dose off anywhere. She once fell asleep on the sofa which sat just inside Laura Ashley in Oxford Street during a busy Saturday afternoon when we were shopping.