Napping is often seen as a lazy or impracticable behaviour, but have you ever stopped and considered the times when napping helps? When done responsibly, napping can produce productivity and restore energy. A power nap is a short nap that improves a person's ability to get through a day. Napping too much for long periods of time can create grogginess or deplete a healthy sleep schedule. This is why when napping for self-care, it's important to consider time management and be aware of how your naps affect you. Although this certainly isn’t a viable self-care technique, everyone's body is different and responds differently to short periods of sleep, for some napping is a vital part of looking after yourself.
Just like how some of the pillars of self-care can interconnect, power naps can contribute to multiple pillars in a spectrum of ways. Occupational wellness is a great example of this. On the job, a power nap is a great way to recuperate and refocus. If viable, it can be a great relief from work stress and a good way to relax on break. Power napping during a work day can be the rest needed to get you through the day! Another pillar is emotional wellness. As stated earlier, a nap can be a refresh, almost like breathing exercises. Naps bring us to a state of calm and refresh our minds. Most obviously, power naps affect our physical wellness. People these days do not get enough sleep. We often go through our days exhausted due to the necessities of modern life. It’s unhealthy, and naps bring a way to fit something so important into our busy schedules.
Power napping is all about taking care of your mind and body. Moderation is so important. It’s important to know your body and how sleep will affect you. Understand when it’s the right time to take a nap and when it will mess with your sleeping schedule. Understand when you need to wake yourself up to avoid getting groggy. Plan and schedule naps into your routine. Napping isn’t a good tool for self-care if it negatively impacts your time management. Use sleeping aids to help: relaxing music, blindfolds, etc. Power napping is all about figuring out what works best for you and napping appropriately.
For me, napping is not something I usually plan around, but it has definitely improved my wellness in the past. Getting comfortable and having some rest after a long day of exhausting work can be such a nice way to improve your day. Naps are rarely talked about positively, but I really do believe they can be important. Life is so busy and everyone deserves some time to themselves where they can just take a break.