Today’s prompt: PAUSE
WHY ARE YOU SLEEPING?
Although my use of all caps here may imply yelling, that’s not exactly my intent.
I am thinking of my father-in-law asking me that when he lived with us.
He didn’t understand my quick day naps (I’m not sure I did either).
Napping has always been something I have needed.
Unfortunately, my tendency to get sleepy at inopportune times (think: meetings, when sitting in the choir loft facing the church) has led to me taking a pause when I least wanted to.
But, being home for the past four years made it a little easier to meet that need for the well-placed brief midday nap without annoying an employer, stealing time from their clock or embarrassing myself by falling asleep in front of a group.
Especially as it relates to the last four years, though, I guess mainly the three years of caregiving, I wonder if the napping wasn’t a response to the overwhelm.
I read someone talk about stress napping a few months ago and I rang true.
Maybe that’s what I’m doing, I thought.
(Although, to be fair, I’ve rarely gotten enough sleep at night so am probably in a perpetual sleep deficit to a degree.)
This article talks about stress napping. I’m not sure its premise applies to me, but it is another piece of (sweet) food for thought.
Side note: I’m listening to the Paus playlist on Spotify because themes matter!
I also often fall asleep before my plane takes off and wake up at landing. I actually love flying, but this pattern started when I was…
***end of five minutes***
…traveling for work while also caring for an infant at home (can we say exhaustion?) and seemed to get even more entrenched after 9/11. Maybe my need to avoid/escape any unpleasant effects of flying is deeper than I think. Maybe I don’t want to chat with my seatmate.
I just know that whether it’s a mental health thing, or a physical need, or some other drive, a pause through a micro-nap is something I seek often.
Welcome to this week’s Five Minute Friday. Our instructions, via creator Kate Motaung: “Write for five minutes on the word of the week. This is meant to be a free write, which means: no editing, no over-thinking, no worrying about perfect grammar or punctuation.” (But I can’t resist spell checking, as you can imagine.)
Wife of one, Mom of two, Friend of many. My pronouns are she/her/hers.
I’ve never been much of a napper. Loved-One naps every day. Sleep deprived or not, if I nap, I don’t sleep well at night. According to my FitBit, I’m 98% effective at sleep. Can’t say that for much else.
Ha ha ha it sounds like your FitBit is impressed with your sleep expertise!
I like my naps once in awhile. Are you an Enneagram 9; the Peacemaker? I just read a post about 9s and that they’ll fall asleep anywhere during conflict…even in the midst of an argument etc. I’m in the 35 spot.
I don’t know. I haven’t taken the test. I did read about 9s and …. maybe (they’re optimists too!).
Oh I WISH I was good at Power Napping! I give it a go from time to time because –well, because I love sleep! And somedays… am I right? However I have rarely if ever awakened feeling rested and refreshed! Usually a nap just takes me out of the game for the rest of the day! (Oh and yes… Stress Naps are a thing! Even though it puts me out of commission, I’ve been known to need one here and there myself!)
Yeah – no matter how we respond to stress, I think we can all expect it eventually. Thanks for stopping by.
I’m not sure if I nap, but I love to sit and pause for quiet moments. When I worked out of the home, I’d drive without the radio just to give my brain that quiet space and breathing room to let the day go. This is a great reminder that it is okay to hit pause.
It is okay — and necessary. Thank you for dropping by.