The art of napping - it's not as harmless as it seems.

I keep wanting to take a nap these days, days that should be filled with stress and studying for finals and really late midterms. I think the reason I’m taking more naps is because, first of all, it’s easy to take a nap (at least in my opinion it is), secondly, naps are the sources of carefree-ness and escape from such stressful, real worlds that I’ve gotten myself into, and thirdly and finally, I’d rather have the excuse that I suddenly found myself napping and so that’s why I wasn’t studying than having the excuse that I was playing tennis or the drums or watching TV. Nap is something natural that I assume and take advantage of my body needing to have. It’s not an excuse, it’s a reason.

But still, naps have their regrets. Last night I fell asleep from 9:30pm to 12:10am. You know how much reading I could have done in those two hours and forty minutes? At least I’m better rested now.

The bright side is that naps can be prevented but I, being the weak soul that I am at times when I am the lowest, do not follow through with the prevention. I indulgently read on beds, recumbent on my stomach or back. For the first ten minutes it’s heaven: an interesting book, comfy position, nerdy enthusiasm reading across the pages, pen in hand busily underlining. But then after about twenty minutes, I’m off sleeping, dreaming, no longer in front of my book, which is physically on my face having fallen there.

And then hours later, no work done, and the stress begins. No thank you to energy drinks – just not a big fan. Nor am I a fan of coffee.

Here is the definition of a nap, according to www.dictionary.com:

Nap
Show IPA /næp/ verb,napped, nap•ping, noun
–verb (used without object)
1. to sleep for a short time; doze.
2. to be off one's guard: The question caught him napping.
–verb (used with object)
3. to sleep or doze through (a period of time, an activity, etc.) (usually fol. by away): I napped the afternoon away. He naps away most of his classes.
–noun
4. a brief period of sleep, esp. one taken during daytime: Has the baby had her nap?

Guilty as charged; I did all of the above. Give me my shackles and tie me to a desk. Turn on the light and I gotta get some studying done.

(oh summer, please come; I need you so bad!)