<p>I’d really like some high school and college perspective on “the glory of naps” ( not to be confused with sleeping at night, for example). I’m posting here because I know my place…So many kids seem to think it’s “fun”. Any insights about that? At what developmental stage do naps transition from punishment to pleasure?</p>
<p>Well Freshman year Naps saved my life (HS)… Then Soph year, I went back to avoiding them… This past year however; I loved them. I looked forward to them, a lot. They were def. fun… I don’t know why I ever stopped taking them… If only I always had time for them!</p>
<p>Twenty minute naps are better than a pot of coffee.</p>
<p>I’ve worked too many 14-20 hour days where such things were the difference between success and failure.</p>
<p>Not a kid but…what can beat a nap on a rainy day after you read a few chapters of a great book and just close your eyes to rest and zzzzzzz…</p>
<p>kayleigh, what would you say is your optimal number of hours of sleep, and optimal time of day for it?</p>
<p>I love going to class in the morning, eating lunch, taking a nap and then going back to class and studying for a few hours or going to work for the rest of the afternoon. I don’t know what it is about naps, but they’re great. Very refreshing.</p>
<p>I’ll be a junior this fall and never took naps, my parents say I was the worst of me and my brothers when it came to naps. Now I take one every day M-F, and usually one or both weekend days.</p>
<p>Cards4life; how many hours do you sleep at night?</p>
<p>Saturday afternoon naps are one of my greatest pleasures in life these days. Pathetic, I know.</p>
<p>I was never a big napper, but during the past year or so the practice has definitely grown on me. During the school year sometimes I’ll end up with a schedule where I’m never getting more than six hours of sleep a night. Getting five hours of sleep day after day is just not enough, but things improved a lot once I threw in an hour or so nap in the afternoons. Obviously it’s best to get a full night’s rest every night, but when that’s not feasible, naps become more necessary.</p>
<p>Sometimes I take naps even if I’ve been sleeping well, but those naps are usually just 20-30 minutes long or when I’ve been exceptionally busy.</p>
<p>Naps also sort of change the way you look at your day. If you nap semi-regularly, you start to see your day split up a bit more. If you only nap every once in a while, you’ll find that after a nap you can look at things from a different, more refreshed point of view.</p>
<p>Scientific proof that 20 minute naps on occasion improve work productivity, esplly if you get less than 7hours or so of sleep at night. From Newsweek:</p>
<p>[TipSheet</a> : Take a Three-Martini Nap](<a href=“http://www.blog.newsweek.com/blogs/tipsheet/archive/2008/06/21/take-a-three-martini-nap.aspx]TipSheet”>http://www.blog.newsweek.com/blogs/tipsheet/archive/2008/06/21/take-a-three-martini-nap.aspx)</p>
<p>Usually 7-8. If I can pull 10-11 hours I usually won’t feel the need for a nap–this is why weekends are sometimes nap-free. </p>
<p>In the fall I usually work until 8pm (some nights 11pm) during the week, go study for 2-3 hours, go to bed around 11 and get up at 7. If I work till 11pm, I try to shorten my nap that day and do some studying before work.</p>
<p>in college, naps are completely cool again!! last sem. i took a planned one every tues/thurs after my 8am and before my other one started at like 10. they tended to happen when i was studying on my bed too…</p>
<p>For kids, I think it becomes more of a pleasure than a punishment, when it becomes a “choice”…and that happens when the parents no longer control how many hours of sleep kids get! And, my guess is that most teens/adults do not get enough sleep, so it not only becomes enjoyable but also beneficial to grab a few winks here and there…</p>
<p>I <em>wish</em> I could nap. I have trouble deliberately going to sleep if I know that I am going to have to wake up in less than an hour. I just lie there with my eyes closed (which feels good, but is not quite the same). If I’m tired enough, I might accidentally fall asleep and take a nap while watching a movie in a dark room or something.</p>
<p>My H can nap for 10 minutes and feel refreshed. Everyone knows that if I take a “nap” it will be atleast for an hour or two, or I will wake up grumpier than ever.</p>
<p>However, I need a lot of sleep - at least 8 hours at night. And I sleep deeply - nothing wakes me. My kids never fought bedtime or naps. When they were little - especially when I was pregnant, I would sleep when they did. I don’t think they ever thought of it as punishment. We used to joke that kids pick up on what is valued by Mom.</p>
<p>Years ago when I used to take naps in the afternoon, I noticed a really odd phenomenon – the dreams I had when I slept in the afternoon were almost always really weird, much more so than my nighttime dreams! They were much more vivid and were just extremely strange compared to the dreams I had overnight. I really miss being able to nap like that nowadays but I don’t really miss those scary dreams!</p>
<p>a new phenomenon in my house this summer – with D home from freshman year. Not only does she now take naps – if a friend is over, they’ll nap together. She happens to have a lot of guy friends, and more than once, I’ve knocked on her door to find D sound asleep with a different guy. This generation seems to give a whole new meaning to “sleeping together.” They really sleep!</p>
<p>Patsmom, I tend to have weird dreams when I nap too.</p>
<p>I love naps. Is there anything more miserable than being really sleepy in a place where you have to stay awake or more lovely than being really sleepy in a place where you can just drift off?</p>
<p>“I have trouble deliberately going to sleep if I know that I am going to have to wake up in less than an hour.”</p>
<p>ditto!</p>
<p>“Is there anything more miserable than being really sleepy in a place where you have to stay awake or more lovely than being really sleepy in a place where you can just drift off?”</p>
<p>I agree! Fortunately the first scenario is rare for me (unless I eat the “wrong” lunch) and passes quickly. Unfortunately the second scenario seems rare as well!</p>