February 28, 2007
Take a Power Nap for Energy Boost
...At 25, I wrote bar reviews and worked a 9-to-5 office job. I wasn't a morning person, so I started napping after dinner and getting up at 8 p.m. to go out. This is when the habit coalesced. I was no longer at my physiological peak, so my body wound down like a clock and I had to sack out to save my strength. What a luxurious and lavish form of laziness!
During big family events, I branched out with my endeavor and took to hitting the couch after the big meal. My family joked when I was the first to lie down, but I was staking my claim. Thanksgiving holds a unique kind of nap: The Tryptophan Coma.
The couch is a real innovation in napping technology. It's best to use a davenport for napping instead of say, a bed of spikes, a futon or a large, jagged rock. Quilts and blankets are also better than traditional bedding, shammys or newspapers.
Throw pillows and couch cushions make better head rests than standard pillows, clog shoes or avocados. If you use a regular pillow, you tend to sleep too long, and it throws your day off.
There's no designated time for a nap, but 15 minutes is a good minimum, and three hours is about as long as you can go before other people in the house begin taking vital signs.
The couch I use now is a long, blue affair with large arms at the sides. When I lie inert and watch TV like a catatonic, I rest my head on the left. When it's nap time, I downshift to the right side.
If the cat and I lie down, it's on the left with me against the back and her at the bow. I'm a heavy drooler when I sleep, so I'm glad that the cushions are stain-
resistant and that Lindsay has long hair. She makes a great sleep-bib. Lindsay's not much of a napper, but I'm bringing her around. Younger people don't have the moxie for this sport.
Cats are professionals when it comes to napping, and should be studied and dissected so that future generations can unlock better advancements in napping.
You can't take a running start into a nap, either. On days off, I take a hot bath, read a bit or do something to justify the nap. After I get home from work, I throw on jeans and a T-shirt, go into the bedroom and schedule a two-hour coma.
I'd love to expound further on the subject, but the tub and the couch are calling. If anyone in this family is destined for the gold medal in the Hour And A Half Roll Onto One Side And Change Your Mind, it's me.
I'm the Jesse Owens of napping. Just look on the back of your Wheaties box. I'm the guy with the all-day bed-head.
Labels: nap, power nap, powernap
