Ten Cool Things About Naps

They are like Red Bull for Old People.

Fred, aka NapsterPhoto byCartoon by Lambert-King

As I’ve gotten older my routine has changed a bit. Naps have become a staple of my afternoons. Not always by choice, but a part of my afternoons nevertheless. Generally speaking, they are not unwelcome. Unless I’m driving. Just kidding. I was checking to see if you were nodding off. So, here are some cool things about naps.

1: If you fall asleep in less than five minutes you are sleep deprived.

Either that or you are a guy trying to watch a Lifetime movie with your wife.

2: You can actually sleep with your eyes open.

It is possible to catnap in that fashion. The sleeper may not even be aware of it. More importantly, the sleeper’s boss might not be aware of it.

In some cases, it takes medical supervision to determine if a person is asleep. So, if you tend to nap at work, be on alert if your boss seemingly inexplicably hires a medical expert.

3: If you are sleepy, you might blame Thomas Edison.

Before the invention of the light bulb, Americans slept, on average nine hours per night. They now sleep less than seven.

I would have thought that would have gone up again since Johnny Carson retired.

4: Lack of sleep can cause you to eat more.

I can attest to that. If I sleep through my midnight snack time I eat less.

5: Just knowing a nap is coming can lower blood pressure. At least that’s the finding of a British survey.

I wonder if being close to the end of a workday has the same effect?

6: Taking a catnap can help you retain information.

To clarify, you can retain information better when waking up after a catnap. You are unlikely to retain information presented to you while you are catnapping.

7: Does your mind race? If so, researchers suggest saying random words such as “the” can block your mind from racing.

Of course, I don’t know that my mind races anymore. Aging has sort of put a restrictor plate on it.

8: In Japan, sleeping on the job is acceptable. It’s even viewed as showing commitment.

The Japanese term for sleeping at work is “inemur,” which means to be asleep while present.” Some Japanese workers even fake like they are taking a nap so as to be dedicated workers.

Why am I just now finding this out now, after I retired? Japanese businesses would have loved me.

9: Most mammals (85%) sleep for short periods throughout the day whereas humans have two distinct periods of sleep.

Those periods of sleep are when they are at work and when they are home. Wait, I’m being told that’s not right. No wonder I had so many different jobs.

10: Babies really do result in a lack of sleep for parents

It seems that during a child’s first year, parents lose from 400–750 hours of sleep. I would guess those hours of sleep missed may not be evenly distributed between mom and dad which can become another issue.

So, what do you like about naps?