Napping: A Delicious Bit of Naughty

by Sharon Kayne

I’ve been retired for a year and a half now, and I can say without reservation that I absolutely love it. I mean, I had a good job and everything, but it’s great not having to do it anymore. I still work, as I write novels and self-publish them online, but this is entirely different from doing my old job. Mainly it’s different because I want to do it. It’s also different because I’m not making any money, but that’s really the only thing that’s been disappointing about retirement.

When you go to a job, you spend way too much of your day doing things you have to do. And you have to wait until the weekend to do all the stuff you actually want to do. When you’re retired, it’s like every day is the weekend so you can do whatever you want, whenever you want. And that leads me to the thing I like second best about retirement: napping.

I am a big proponent of napping. I don’t do it every day, but I love that I now have the option of doing it every day. And many days I do. Often, my husband naps right alongside me. Part of the reason I like to nap is because I don’t always get enough sleep at night. Too often, I spend an hour or more after I’ve gone to bed tossing and turning, waiting impatiently for sleep to take me into the bliss that is unconsciousness. The longer it takes me to fall asleep, the more annoyed I get. The more annoyed I get, the harder it is to fall asleep.

Oddly enough, I can lay down for a nap and I’m not at all bothered if I don’t fall asleep. I can lay there awake for two hours and not toss or turn once. There just isn’t the same pressure to fall asleep during the afternoon as there is at night. In fact, taking a nap actually feels a bit like cheating, and that makes it more fun. It’s like I’m two-timing my nighttime sleep; getting some shut eye on the sly. In fact, a nap feels deliciously naughty; much like cheating on your diet by eating a big piece of chocolate cake in the middle of the day. And I always wake up feeling sated.

I know, I know. Isn’t it possible that napping is actually sabotaging my nighttime sleep? It is possible. But more likely, I’m napping on any given day because my sleep sucked the night before and that’s why I’m so tired. Either way, it doesn’t really matter. Except for the occasional medical appointment or social engagement, I’m free to sleep whenever the desire hits me.

The other great thing about napping is that you don’t need to prep for it. Getting ready for bed at night, however, is a full-fledged routine. First, I have to wean myself off of any sort of computer screen several hours in advance. Then, about an hour before I’m planning on going to bed, I have to remember to take my melatonin tablet. Then there is the brushing of the teeth and the changing into jammies. With a nap, I just drop into bed in whatever I’m wearing and with whatever bits of food are still stuck in my teeth.

Sadly, my nighttime sleep schedule is the opposite of my husband’s. He can go to bed disgustingly early and fall asleep on a dime. I think, in fact, he could fall asleep on a bed made up entirely of dimes. Then he’s awake with the sun. I, on the other hand, couldn’t fall asleep before 10pm if my life depended on it. And I’m generally getting my best, deepest sleep at the same hour that he’s getting up. I don’t drag my sleepy ass out of bed until much later. By then he’s already fed the cats, unloaded the dishwasher, done the banking online, and who knows what else. It’s annoying. But we nap in synchronicity, and that’s nice; it’s something we can enjoy as a couple.

In fact, he’s napping at this very moment. Of course, I’m only writing this blog because I want to, not because I have to. It’s not a job, after all. But I’m done now, so I think a short nap is in order—if not well deserved. ’Nite.

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Buy my historical romances, This Restless Sea, The Green Silk Gown, and Variations on a Romance, at Amazon.