I wonder, sometimes, if it’s OK to love sleep with such a passion. Is it normal to wake up in the morning looking forward to my nap? Is it acceptable to sneak in a quick sleep in the afternoon, even when I’m not especially tired?
After all, I don’t really need a daytime sleep, not any more. When the kids were young, my naps were a necessity. They kept me sane. They were medicinal! These days, my naps are entirely an indulgence. I could do without them. I could pull an all-dayer if I had to.
But I don’t have to. I work from home, and I can nap during the day if I so choose. And taking a little break from being an adult – from having to get through my to-do list, make decisions, consider other people, perform, parent, think! – is so deeply restorative that I do.
My family understand my fondness for naps, and know to keep a wide berth when I am on the couch.
“Are you having your nap now, Mum?” my daughter asked me today as I headed downstairs to my bedroom.
“It’s nine in the morning!” I said indignantly. “I’m just getting my walking shoes!”
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She shrugged. My daughter finds it exciting to be awake at 2am. I find it exciting to be asleep at 2pm. We are at very different stages of our circadian journeys.
I remember what it was like to be 16, and to consider sleep a complete waste of my time. And, to be fair, my kid has a point. Life is short, and it ends in the longest sleep of them all. I could be using my limited time much more productively; I could learn a new language, or do yoga, or bake sourdough, or do absolutely anything other than lying prone.
But napping helps me to be a better person. It is my therapy, my sanctuary, my self-care routine. It makes me more tolerant, more cheerful, and more energised when I’m awake. What’s more, it is free, it is portable, and it requires no special equipment. (Honestly, I can nap anywhere, at almost any time, and I don’t even have to be lying down!)
Napping is my hobby, and a fine one at that. And I am headed to the couch to work on it right now.
Kerri Sackville is an author, a columnist and a mother of three. Her new book is The Secret Life of You: How a bit of alone time can change your life, relationships and maybe the world.
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