Am I the only one who....

[Tranquility7]

...seriously needs a nap by mid-afternoon on school days??

 

I sit down to read something to the kids around 2:30, and I fall asleep. It's laughable how often it happens. Kind of embarrassing, really.

 

I think the culprit is my late nights (I'm a terrible night owl) and early mornings (actually, they aren't THAT early, but early enough that I probably end up sleep-deprived). But trying to go to bed earlier does not work either... I either can't fall asleep and lay there (wasting time!) for two hours, or I fall asleep but then wake up at 4am and lay there for two hours (again, wasting time!). But the problem is that if I just get up at 4am, I am tired later, which is what I'm already dealing with on my preferred late-night schedule.

 

So, anyone else just keep a late night and early morning schedule, and add a "Siesta" block to their afternoon? I'm really considering it!

[Um_2_4]

I need it, I just added an extra cup of coffee to my schedule instead! I am up at 5:30 w/o fail and so are the kids (all 4). That means any "down time" is after they sleep.

[Jean in Newcastle]

When I had more trouble with insomnia then yes, I did have an afternoon nap time. But I worked on my sleep - melatonin, Cal-Mag, 5-htp are what worked for me. I'm having some trouble with insomnia again, so I'm working on tweaking my dosages etc. During the day I also take adrenal supplements which help me keep awake during the day and surprisingly helps me to sleep well at night.

[Cinder]

A friend of mine has a very regular sleep schedule and still naps daily--around 2-ish for just about 20 mins.

 

Then there's the friend from high school who slept from 9-12, was up doing homework from 12-3, then slept again from 3-6 and up at 6 to get ready for school.

 

A nap can be part of your regular sleep schedule. If it works for you just do it. :)

[mamajudy]

I almost always take a nap for about 20 minutes in the afternoon. I'm up at 6 a.m. 7 days a week and usually stay up until about 11:30 p.m. I'd never be able to get through the day without a nap.

[I.Dup.]

I have night waking issues and I'm pregnant, so yes, I definitely can take a long afternoon nap. The only way I can get one is if I have a babysitter come over but I can easily nap 3 hours a day and still go to bed around 9pm. :tongue_smilie: But again, I'm up every couple of hours all night.

[RebeccaS]

Unless I have somewhere to be in the afternoons, I typically take a short nap. Well, some days not so short if I fail to wake up. ;) I do get up at 4:25 every day, though, so I can go workout before dh leaves for work and kids get up. By 2:30 or 3 I am dragging. I also don't sleep well at night because I'm paranoid that my alarm won't go off for me to get up to workout (I have a workout buddy that I meet and my phone has failed to go off on many occasions so it's a real fear).

[walkermamaof4]

the paleo diet make an enormous difference for my afternoons. I am not starving and wigging for caffeine or sleepy. And I lost lots of weight incidentally!

[TravelingChris]

Due to my chronic illnesses, I often need a nap. I sleep a normal amount at night- usually around 7.5 hours and don't feel unrested when I get up. But many days, depending on how much I have done and whether I am having a flare, I need a nap. My naps are short but they do the trick.

[Koerarmoca]

I have sleep issues and chronic illness as well. It is very rare that I get naps but I am usually extremely ready to nap by about 2:30-3pm everyday which is about the time dh gets home from work. Every once in a while I will lay down around 1:30 and ask the kids to wake me before dad gets home. I don't always sleep but enjoy just resting my body and closing my eyes for a bit. I do take melatonin to help with sleep at night but it doesn't always work.

[Ailaena]

Between dd's brutal gymnastics schedule and a packed morning of schoolwork, I actually scheduled a brief afternoon nap into the day. Well, until gymnastics hours moved to 1:30 :( I tried to teach her to power nap. but she just can't do it.

 

I suggest that you at least try and experiment with short naps that are unobtrusive to your day. That's an egocentric suggestion because I do late, late nights and early mornings and know that *I* feel much better after a 15ish minute nap than an hour-long nap, so I'm suggesting it will help you ;)

[Melissa in Australia]

.

I fall asleep regularly while reading to the kids in the afternoon, usually right in the middle of history. I have been woken up quite a few times by giggles.

[dm379]

I take long naps in the afternoon. I get home from work at 3 a.m., sleep until 5:45 when I have to get dd up for school. After she leaves at 6:20 ds and I start with his schooling. He is usually done by 11. I sleep until 3 when I have to get ready for work. Foil over the windows helps get a good nap in.

[TraciWA]

More regular sleep would be helpful. Also something that helped me was vitamin D3 and magnesium.