Teach me how to nap
March 29, 2023 3:15 PM Subscribe
I am exhausted and, for the first time, I have space in my life to take naps! But I’m a terrible napper.
I’ve been a crappy napper since childhood (always too worried I will miss out on the fun). As an adult I realize there are few things more luxurious than a nice nap, but I can’t get myself there. So if you are an excellent adult napper, please show me your ways!
I’ve been a crappy napper since childhood (always too worried I will miss out on the fun). As an adult I realize there are few things more luxurious than a nice nap, but I can’t get myself there. So if you are an excellent adult napper, please show me your ways!
Don't try to nap. Just lie down and rest. Two reasons for this. One, resting is super healthy for your body whether you sleep or not during that rest time. And two, not specifically trying to nap takes the pressure off and you may very well may fall asleep if you stop trying.
Also a cool dark place to rest is ideal.
posted by CleverClover at 3:42 PM on March 29, 2023 [5 favorites]
Also a cool dark place to rest is ideal.
posted by CleverClover at 3:42 PM on March 29, 2023 [5 favorites]
Everyone's got their own formula. I'm also a poor napper and I've found it's taken some practice.
Here's what I did for my most successful adult naps:
Location: couch can be a little easier because I don't feel pressure to sleep. Bed has worked after some practice.
Light level: dim, like if it's sunny then I'll turn the blinds so there's still light.
Noise level: play a conversational podcast (Smell Ya Later, about fragrances) but turn the volume way down so it's just chatty background noise. On top of that, I play on some brown noise.
Blanket: light blanket or none at all. Definitely not under the covers.
Mindset: Nap? Naaahh, I'm just resting my eyes.
For me, it's all about trickery.
posted by meemzi at 3:43 PM on March 29, 2023 [1 favorite]
Here's what I did for my most successful adult naps:
Location: couch can be a little easier because I don't feel pressure to sleep. Bed has worked after some practice.
Light level: dim, like if it's sunny then I'll turn the blinds so there's still light.
Noise level: play a conversational podcast (Smell Ya Later, about fragrances) but turn the volume way down so it's just chatty background noise. On top of that, I play on some brown noise.
Blanket: light blanket or none at all. Definitely not under the covers.
Mindset: Nap? Naaahh, I'm just resting my eyes.
For me, it's all about trickery.
posted by meemzi at 3:43 PM on March 29, 2023 [1 favorite]
One thing that helps me sometimes is to put on some boring audio - a sleep story or a podcast I’m not madly interested in. Something about it distracts me from the “I want to sleep so much that I can’t”-ness of it and helps me drop off. Also for some reason makes me do a nice 20-30 minute dip into sleep and then bounce back up again before too long.
posted by penguin pie at 3:44 PM on March 29, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by penguin pie at 3:44 PM on March 29, 2023 [3 favorites]
If you like baseball, put on an episode of https://www.sleepbaseball.com. I usually don't make it through the first inning.
(If you don't like baseball it may take even less time!)
posted by rouftop at 3:44 PM on March 29, 2023 [5 favorites]
(If you don't like baseball it may take even less time!)
posted by rouftop at 3:44 PM on March 29, 2023 [5 favorites]
Seconding that just relaxing for 30 minutes is a great start.
My additional thoughts: Add something to make this a routine. In college, I put on the same tape/CD every time I wanted to relax. Eventually, it was a signal to my body that it was time to nap. Now, if I want to fall asleep on the couch, I have a few tv show episodes that I always turn on. My mind knows these shows, so it doesn't need to stay awake. Maybe there's a movie or one of David Attenborough's nature shows that works for you. Something lulling.
posted by hydra77 at 3:46 PM on March 29, 2023 [2 favorites]
My additional thoughts: Add something to make this a routine. In college, I put on the same tape/CD every time I wanted to relax. Eventually, it was a signal to my body that it was time to nap. Now, if I want to fall asleep on the couch, I have a few tv show episodes that I always turn on. My mind knows these shows, so it doesn't need to stay awake. Maybe there's a movie or one of David Attenborough's nature shows that works for you. Something lulling.
posted by hydra77 at 3:46 PM on March 29, 2023 [2 favorites]
When you do nap, keep in mind that if you can't set aside a few hours for the nap then you'll likely wake up groggy. This is why the idea of "power naps" exist, where you nap/rest for about 20-30 minutes before getting back up. It helps refresh you but doesn't put you into a deep-enough sleep that it's jarring to your body when you do wake up.
Nthing that for me, putting on some music or video that I've seen before or is relatively boring or calming helps me rest, but a lot of this will be experimenting for what works for you.
posted by Aleyn at 3:53 PM on March 29, 2023
Nthing that for me, putting on some music or video that I've seen before or is relatively boring or calming helps me rest, but a lot of this will be experimenting for what works for you.
posted by Aleyn at 3:53 PM on March 29, 2023
Get some old episodes of Frasier on. Ain't nothing better for napping than Niles,Roz and the Frasman.
posted by mannequito at 3:55 PM on March 29, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by mannequito at 3:55 PM on March 29, 2023 [2 favorites]
I have like a 100% success rate at falling asleep and napping by doing the corpse pose from yoga and trying to stay awake.
posted by aniola at 3:55 PM on March 29, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by aniola at 3:55 PM on March 29, 2023 [3 favorites]
I like to think about the time I was the most tired I've ever been (after driving for 18 hours straight) or other times I desperately needed to sleep and couldn't. I think about how I could have slept then, even in a car, and my comfy bed suddenly seems like the height of luxury. Ymmv, but it helps me!
posted by Eyelash at 4:10 PM on March 29, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Eyelash at 4:10 PM on March 29, 2023 [1 favorite]
Max Richter's work Sleep is wonderful as a background for a nap. There's a Spotify playlist of the full eight-and-a-half hours. I recommend it. That and A Soft Murmur, where you can make your own perfect having-a-doze background noises. I also have a fish tank in the room, which produces a constant low-level tinkle of water. Probably not worth getting a fish tank just for that, though.
posted by pipeski at 4:15 PM on March 29, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by pipeski at 4:15 PM on March 29, 2023 [3 favorites]
Ooh, welcome to the world of the well-rested!
I love naps and have done ever since I lost the capacity to be bored. I think those two phenomena are related.
One important thing for me is to be napping in my bed. Having a process of getting into the bed, lying down, covering myself, snuggling around my cat - this helps give me physical cues about it being time for sleep.
I don't tend to nap on schedule (I don't take naps, naps take me).
I may take something to read with me into the nap. I don't get a lot of reading done, though - typically, my eyes close before I turn a page (or screen).
Social media is too stimulating for my naps. Visualizations are not. Calling up a welcoming place in great, visual detail has been very helpful when I want to get to sleep. Sometimes, keeping my eyes open for long enough for them to feel dry helps ("don't blink! don't blink! don't... zzzzz.")
Post-nap care is important. I like to re-make the bed. I tell the cat where I'll be next (probably at my desk). I get dressed again. I make myself a warm drink and get back to the next part of my day.
posted by Shunra at 4:25 PM on March 29, 2023 [1 favorite]
I love naps and have done ever since I lost the capacity to be bored. I think those two phenomena are related.
One important thing for me is to be napping in my bed. Having a process of getting into the bed, lying down, covering myself, snuggling around my cat - this helps give me physical cues about it being time for sleep.
I don't tend to nap on schedule (I don't take naps, naps take me).
I may take something to read with me into the nap. I don't get a lot of reading done, though - typically, my eyes close before I turn a page (or screen).
Social media is too stimulating for my naps. Visualizations are not. Calling up a welcoming place in great, visual detail has been very helpful when I want to get to sleep. Sometimes, keeping my eyes open for long enough for them to feel dry helps ("don't blink! don't blink! don't... zzzzz.")
Post-nap care is important. I like to re-make the bed. I tell the cat where I'll be next (probably at my desk). I get dressed again. I make myself a warm drink and get back to the next part of my day.
posted by Shunra at 4:25 PM on March 29, 2023 [1 favorite]
Oh. Yes. Definitely. Ancient cats and dogs generate nap fields around them. Place an ancient pet on your lap. I have even seen non-nappers sucked into the nap fields of particularly ancient pets.
posted by aniola at 4:30 PM on March 29, 2023 [10 favorites]
posted by aniola at 4:30 PM on March 29, 2023 [10 favorites]
I like putting on a podcast with a 15 minute sleep timer and then an alarm on my phone for 20-30 minutes. This way I have a vague sense of how much time has passed and I don’t worry about missing the afternoon at work
posted by raccoon409 at 5:00 PM on March 29, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by raccoon409 at 5:00 PM on March 29, 2023 [2 favorites]
The Andrew Johnson 'Power nap' recording on the free Insight Timer app.
https://insig.ht/olNkTDBLzyb
An eyemask with a beanie/toque/your local slang for knitted hat you can pull down over your eyes over the top. I really need the dark for a nap, but with a beanie I can do it just about anywhere.
Muscle tension prevents deep rest, try wobbling/shaking/wriggling your whole body for about 30 seconds just after you lie down, it seems to alert you to where you're tense and let it go, and actually relax when you stop.
The recording, while called power nap, doesn't actually need you to fall asleep - it will guide you through some progressive relaxation during which you may or may not fall asleep, but you gain a *lot* of the benefits of a nap from a short period of eyes closed, lying down, deep rest.
And if your brain starts to try to squirrel, and get obsessed with something, the recording is there to remind you to keep coming back to the progressive relaxation. The thoughts can wait half an hour.
posted by Elysum at 5:29 PM on March 29, 2023 [2 favorites]
https://insig.ht/olNkTDBLzyb
An eyemask with a beanie/toque/your local slang for knitted hat you can pull down over your eyes over the top. I really need the dark for a nap, but with a beanie I can do it just about anywhere.
Muscle tension prevents deep rest, try wobbling/shaking/wriggling your whole body for about 30 seconds just after you lie down, it seems to alert you to where you're tense and let it go, and actually relax when you stop.
The recording, while called power nap, doesn't actually need you to fall asleep - it will guide you through some progressive relaxation during which you may or may not fall asleep, but you gain a *lot* of the benefits of a nap from a short period of eyes closed, lying down, deep rest.
And if your brain starts to try to squirrel, and get obsessed with something, the recording is there to remind you to keep coming back to the progressive relaxation. The thoughts can wait half an hour.
posted by Elysum at 5:29 PM on March 29, 2023 [2 favorites]
I nap best when I do it in a second location, not in my night bed. I prefer a guest bed but a sofa will do. For some reason covers are a hard no, but if it's chilly I will lay on top of an electric blanket or throw.
I will almost always crash if I listen to an audiobook or fairly monotone podcast while laying down, but more often than not I am already sleepy and/or I just need to lay down to rest my eyes/neck/joints, and I use the "visualize something incredibly cozy and comfortable" method and I'm out pretty easily. On the off chance I never fall asleep, that at least gives my brain something to do instead of rabbiting around so I can at least let my body rest.
posted by Lyn Never at 5:55 PM on March 29, 2023
I will almost always crash if I listen to an audiobook or fairly monotone podcast while laying down, but more often than not I am already sleepy and/or I just need to lay down to rest my eyes/neck/joints, and I use the "visualize something incredibly cozy and comfortable" method and I'm out pretty easily. On the off chance I never fall asleep, that at least gives my brain something to do instead of rabbiting around so I can at least let my body rest.
posted by Lyn Never at 5:55 PM on March 29, 2023
At night I sleep on my side. When I nap I sleep on my back, either on the couch or in my bed. I fall asleep reading with my laptop on my stomach, something about the weight of it. When I sleep at night I can't tolerate weight.
posted by mareli at 6:13 PM on March 29, 2023
posted by mareli at 6:13 PM on March 29, 2023
Personally I find it helps to use your nap to fill what would otherwise be a sleep debit. You get up early but you also get to stay up later - and your nap allows you to be a bimodal sleeper and still get your 8 hours/day. In terms of duration - if you can make enough time to go through a full 90 minute sleep phase cycle then that will give you the best chance of waking up in an alert state. I find an after lunch nap works best - if you can make that timing work for you.
posted by rongorongo at 7:23 PM on March 29, 2023
posted by rongorongo at 7:23 PM on March 29, 2023
On sunny days, napping outside on a patch of grass somewhere is excellent if you can get it. You get the relaxation of sun-warmth, vitamin D, and a nap. Then when it's time to wake up, nature will wake you up - the sun will get just a little too hot, a tree will shade you too much, or a fly will buzz, etc. Bring water for when you wake up. So good.
posted by aniola at 7:55 PM on March 29, 2023
posted by aniola at 7:55 PM on March 29, 2023
I often nap in mid-afternoon, after making sure I'm neither thirsty nor need to pee. My futon is my favorite, especially if the dog is willing to lay on my legs. I usually set a timer for between 12 and 25 minutes: any more and I wake up too groggy.
I definitely try not to nap after 4 pm: that late in the day, a nap screws up my time sense and I get confused when I wake up.
Dark and calm does it for me: my insomnia rarely interferes with a midday nap.
posted by suelac at 9:32 AM on March 30, 2023
I definitely try not to nap after 4 pm: that late in the day, a nap screws up my time sense and I get confused when I wake up.
Dark and calm does it for me: my insomnia rarely interferes with a midday nap.
posted by suelac at 9:32 AM on March 30, 2023
I've become an excellent napper in the last five years or so, and take one nearly every day.
I have one of those fabric bags filled with dried corn that you stick in the microwave for muscle aches ... I sleep with it every night because I find it soothing, and so I heat it up for naps, too. Lying under a blanket with a small, warm weight on my chest/stomach now triggers sleep whether I want it to or not!
I also take what I call "snooze button naps," where I set a timer for between 5 and 10 minutes and reset it every time I goes off. (You can push a single button on the locked iPhone screen to start the time again; you may need to use the actual alarm setting on other phones? I feel like this wouldn't work as well if you actually had to open your timer app and reset it.) I do this for anywhere from 20 minutes (break between intense work meetings) to 2 hours (weekend treats). So you're really dozing, not fully sleeping. I SWEAR by it -- I feel so rested afterward, but you never fall deeply enough asleep to feel groggy.
posted by leftover_scrabble_rack at 9:55 AM on March 30, 2023
I have one of those fabric bags filled with dried corn that you stick in the microwave for muscle aches ... I sleep with it every night because I find it soothing, and so I heat it up for naps, too. Lying under a blanket with a small, warm weight on my chest/stomach now triggers sleep whether I want it to or not!
I also take what I call "snooze button naps," where I set a timer for between 5 and 10 minutes and reset it every time I goes off. (You can push a single button on the locked iPhone screen to start the time again; you may need to use the actual alarm setting on other phones? I feel like this wouldn't work as well if you actually had to open your timer app and reset it.) I do this for anywhere from 20 minutes (break between intense work meetings) to 2 hours (weekend treats). So you're really dozing, not fully sleeping. I SWEAR by it -- I feel so rested afterward, but you never fall deeply enough asleep to feel groggy.
posted by leftover_scrabble_rack at 9:55 AM on March 30, 2023
Rest is resistance is a great tool for putting napping to rest for you.
posted by parmanparman at 11:21 AM on March 30, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by parmanparman at 11:21 AM on March 30, 2023 [2 favorites]
I am a champion napper. I picked up the skill when I had post-concussion syndrome, but that approach might be too extreme for some. I think of myself as a napper, I sometimes schedule my day to include a nap, my friends know I am someone who naps; I honestly think this helps. Positive mindset and all that.
Key features: after lunch, early afternoon, white noise (I use a fan), dark room, comfy clothes, routine occurance, no cats allowed (she thinks she is a great napping companion; she is wrong). If other people are home: earplugs, or a pillow over my ears. I used to listen to a podcast to fall asleep but no longer need that. I naturally wake up after 30 minutes, usually, but if the nap goes longer I figure it's a sign I needed it. I announce to everyone in the house that I'm taking a nap so they don't try to find me. Phone etc set to "do not disturb." Hope for the best about the doorbell.
I'm not always that picky. Sometimes I have what I think of as a "TIMBER!" nap, where I find a vaguely horizontal surface and pass out.
posted by The corpse in the library at 2:01 PM on April 2, 2023
Key features: after lunch, early afternoon, white noise (I use a fan), dark room, comfy clothes, routine occurance, no cats allowed (she thinks she is a great napping companion; she is wrong). If other people are home: earplugs, or a pillow over my ears. I used to listen to a podcast to fall asleep but no longer need that. I naturally wake up after 30 minutes, usually, but if the nap goes longer I figure it's a sign I needed it. I announce to everyone in the house that I'm taking a nap so they don't try to find me. Phone etc set to "do not disturb." Hope for the best about the doorbell.
I'm not always that picky. Sometimes I have what I think of as a "TIMBER!" nap, where I find a vaguely horizontal surface and pass out.
posted by The corpse in the library at 2:01 PM on April 2, 2023
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posted by wittgenstein at 3:30 PM on March 29, 2023 [11 favorites]