Recently, a hairdresser asked me what I like to do in my spare time.
I pondered for a moment. “I like to read,” I said. “I walk a lot.” And then I recalled what I planned to do as soon as I got home. “Also,” I told her, “I really like to nap.”
The hairdresser sighed. “Lucky you,” she said. “I don’t get time to nap.”
“I make time for it!” I exclaimed. “It’s my favourite thing in the world!” I could hear the passion in my voice, and I suddenly winced.
Oh my god, I thought. Is napping my hobby?
Is it OK to love my daytime sleep with such a passion?Credit: iStock
I began napping during the day when my kids were babies, as a way of mediating my disturbed nighttime rest. When the kids got older, and I returned to my usual eight hours, I gave up my daytime naps. I’d still take the occasional kip on the couch when I was on holidays, or fall asleep when taking my kids to the movies (I quite literally slept through every single G-rated film from 1999 to 2019). Usually, however, I managed to stay awake for an entire day – sometimes a whole 16 hours at a stretch!
Over the past few months, however, I have been taking to my bed again (or my couch, or my partner’s couch, or pretty much any couch, really) most afternoons. I am not unwell. I am not depressed. I simply adore my naps.
A daytime rest is a joy, but it is not so much being unconscious that is pleasurable; it is, rather, the act of becoming unconscious. I kick off my shoes, put on my eye-hat (the black T-shirt I throw on my head to block out the light), and feel myself being pulled deliciously into slumber. At night, I can lie awake for an hour or more before I drop off. During the day, for reasons I cannot quite fathom, I am out like a light in seconds.
I’m not ashamed of my new hobby. In fact, it’s dreamy
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11.01.2024
Recently, a hairdresser asked me what I like to do in my spare time.
I pondered for a moment. “I like to read,” I said. “I walk a lot.” And then I recalled what I planned to do as soon as I got home. “Also,” I told her, “I really like to nap.”
The hairdresser sighed. “Lucky you,” she said. “I don’t get time to nap.”
“I make time for it!” I exclaimed. “It’s my favourite thing in the world!” I could........
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