Naps

Apparently, teenagers go through a phase where all they do, or want to do, is sleep. This was something I never experienced – but then again, I don’t think I experienced a lot of ‘normal’ teenager activity. In the times before, I didn’t have time to nap or feel tired enough to sleep during the middle of the day. Eventually, I reached a point where I physically couldn’t ease my body into slumber because it felt awkward and I felt like there were better things to do with my time than close the curtain while the sun was shining. 

I would still rather do a million other things than sleep my life away. Babies take naps, old people take naps, lazy people take naps – not me. Napping is only necessary when you have a headache or when you have jet lag (but even then, you should try to power through).

Whenever I did happen to nap, I didn’t like the groggy, disoriented sensation I felt upon waking up. Things felt wrong; the sun in the sky felt out of place. It felt like two hundred years had passed and everything had moved on and forgotten about me. I couldn’t even remember what day it was anymore. 

Imagine my surprise when I willingly took a nap the other day. I didn’t even have a headache; I just felt like I wanted to close my eyes. This was a pleasure nap: something I indulged in because I could, because I wanted to. When I woke up, I still felt groggy and a little disoriented but I also felt fine. I felt like I listened to my body for once instead of pretending I didn’t have one. I felt like taking a nap was the best thing that ever happened to me. 

Like a lot of things about my life, sleep was not something I did for enjoyment. It was something functional, something I did because I had to or I would certainly die. Now, I think that sleep is a luxury we all deserve: in the early hours of the morning, at midnight, or even at 2 o’clock in the afternoon.