Is having a daily nap a bad thing?

[Member869894]

Im 60, happy and active. I work from home in a stressful job and nearly every day I go to bed for an hour at lunchtime and sleep. I mentioned it to a friend who told me in no uncertain terms that she thinks that is weird . I've never really thought about it before and now I'm wondering if it is? I dont tend to do it at weekends and wonder if its my body's way of dealing with the work stress? I'd welcome any thoughts

My SIL has napped pretty much every day since I've known her for 27 years. But she is pretty active, doesn't sit still for long. I'm rubbish at sleeping during the day but you can bet your life I'd be napping every day if I could. Your body is obviously telling you you need it so go for it

How I wish I could have had a little sleep around 6pm when on an evening shift in an office. Little camp bed somewhere. Had to fight through it and was probably worse at my job for it. Enjoy your nap!

Possibly an hour is quite long - certainly a 30 minute nap is supposed to be very beneficial

I have a little nap (from 20 mins to 2 hours) about 4 times a week. It would be like an alternative to reading or watching TV. I have 4 kids and haven't woken naturally in the morning for 14 years so I need every moment I can get 😂

40 winks. Perfectly normal maybe even necessary for some (me)

There's nothing weird about it - it's a luxury and if it works for you, you should continue to do it.

I work full-time outside the home in a role which requires me to be fully alert at all times. Colleagues initially implied that I should spend my 30 minute break in the staff room chatting. I really, really need to be alone for those 30 minutes so I find a quiet space, ideally outside. To me chatting to colleagues isn't a real break, but to some it apparently is what they need.

There will always be people telling you that your choices are weird because they have different ways to relax.

I'm with you OP. A little nap does wonders for me and I feel so refreshed after 😊

Grew up in a militant sleep is for night time house, and alarms to be set no later than 7am. Always thought naps were bad.

Once had a sleepover at a friend's house and overslept. Went downstairs and apologised profusely for my lay in and my friends mum said no need to apologise if you need to sleep longer or more often it's because your body needs it. Just hearing that changed my whole perception on sleeping and naps.

That said, I'd love to have a nap that lasted 30-60 minutes. I just can't. 3 hours or nothing at all. I don't understand how to go to sleep so fast that anything less feels refreshing.

Sooooo jealous. Would love to be a napper but if I do, i'm up all night.
Enjoy 😴

Some people can nap more easily than others. DH could nap standing on one leg whereas I have to be undressed, in bed with blinds down. Even then I only do it if I'm quite ill, in fact it's a sign I am ill.
I think it would be good for me and help me stay up later than 10pm.

I always feel so gross after having a nap but feel I need them I’m not sure if it’s still beneficial if you feel gross after ?

I love a nap

It's bliss! I'm up most days at 6/6.30 so by 2pm it's siesta time for a good two hours. Up at 4pm and bed again at 10.30/11. Perfect.

Exactly what I was going to say. In my rat race days in the 1990s, my Spanish colleagues were uncontactable from 2pm until at least 4pm every single day.

You are napping too long.

Sounds perfect. I used to nap daily before I had kids and it was great. I’m now in the trenches with two young children and I am not ok!!!!

If it works for you then why not? As long as you can sleep at night i cannot see the problem. A friend of mine finds it hard to sleep at night and has been told by the health care professionals not to sleep during the day as he will not sleep at night, that's understanderable but if you have no problem with your sleep at night at your body is asking you to sleep to recharge your batteries during the day then why not? In a lot of hot countries they have a siesta during the day and work later into the day. 😁

I nap. Health conditions that cause fatigue
sometimes I get in from work and sleep 5.30pm - 7.30pm, get up and then eat, shower, have an evening
otherwise I find the tired feeling passes and I’m still awake at 1am

DH often takes a nap in the afternoon on the sofa. Perfectly fine imo.

My gran used to nap every day, even when she was in her 50s. She grew up in India and even after moving to the UK she was always up at 5.30am and got all her housework done by 10! Then she'd be cooking and after lunch she'd lay down on the sofa for an hour and nap. There's nothing wrong with napping, in a lot of hot countries it's the norm!

Im mid 30s and quite often need a nap.

My mother has also done this all her life. She grew up in the tropics.

It’s not a bad thing, as long as you can wake up without feeling groggy. I have always napped at some point in the day if I’m home, since my whole existence, not an age thing, sometimes even a short nap if I’ve got home early evening and I can still sleep later on. Your body repairs itself through sleep, if your body needs it then do it.

I do this and worry about it but not enough to keep me awake 😂

You can spend your break doing whatever you want and if this works for you then great.

I work from home and am only 39 but have felt the need for this in the past. Also stressful job, some times you just need your brain to totally switch off before getting stuck back into it