Thursday, January 18, 2018

The Nap


Above: Daydreams by Paul Gustave Fisher

Do you remember when your mother advised you to take a nap during the day, possibly in the afternoon, to rest your eyes or get away from too much busyness?  

The art of the nap is not something we hear much about, in comparison to nutrution or excercise, and yet, those few minutes of sleep in the afternoon can aid nutrution and excerise and other aspects of health.

I don't like to nap in the bedroom because it seems too far away from the center of the house in the afternoon, so I retire a few minutes on my old wicker couch in the living room.  I may not feel tired but when the nap is over, there is such a nice feeling of renewal,

Napping in the day is said to aid in clear thinking, help you get over illness,  and reduce anxiety. To learn more advantages to a nap, do a search on natural health benefits to napping. There is a bank of knowlege about this. If you have ever felt down and discouraged, you might find that a nap changes your mood and makes you feel more assured and hopeful.
Couch on the Porch by Frederick Childe Hassam

If I owned a business with employees, I would require naps after lunch. All chairs in the employees individual work areas would be designed to recline comfortably for naps, and screens and fluorescent lights would be turned off. Window shades would be pulled down.  This would result in greater health and productivity at work, reduce illness, accidents and injuries, and there would less need for medication and hospitalization. It may even improve home life, as employees wouldn't be in such cranky moods when they went home to their families.

The work place needs to learn from the afore-time farmers, who took naps after lunch in the hottest part of the day. The custom of resting or napping in the heat of the day is quite ancient and you can even find such an activity recorded in the Bible. It is natural to sleep in the day, and it is really a disadvantage that we gave up our naps in childhood. We thought it was so grown up to give up the nap, but we might have had better health if we had not!

(My napping place)

 Ladies at home today tend to keeping going from one task to another til they are exhausted. A little nap in the middle of the day or in the afternoon is so health-giving.

Mr. S. who is from a farming family, takes a short nap each day in his office, and has done so since he was a young man.  By doing this, he gets an extra day out of a day, because he revives after a nap and feels a new lease on life. He has more energy than I do and rarely gets a headache, and hardly ever gets colds or feels sick when all that illness is going around. 

 He gets things done because he doesn't try to do everything  in one fell-swoop. He paces his tasks with regular intervals of rest and putting his feet up.  While I run perpetually behind, because I want to get it all done at once, he is always far ahead of me, more organized and his memory is much better. 

A Golden Daydream by Emily Mary Osbourne

Napping for ladies has a kind of art to it.  The napping area has to be as pleasant as possible, with a cool temperature. You are supposed to use a blanket and a pair of socks for warmth, instead of heating the room too warmly. The pillow you rest upon should be very comfortable. In my opinion there should be a special napping outfit to wear, (I say this tongue-in-cheek). Nap clothing for ladies should be comfortable. 



 

9 comments:

Kimberly said...

P Lease pray for me. I have a lot of anxiety due to a mammogram call back that can't happen until Monday.

Emmarinda said...

Kimberly, I've had a couple of scares like this, and it turned out to be a whole lotta nothing! We'll pray!

Maggie said...

Kimberly, I've had a call back on one of my screens too. It's usually just an angle they didn't get a good shot for and they just need to redo the screen to make sure they didn't miss anything due to a fuzzy pic. Try not to worry about it.

Lydia said...

Dearest Lydia,

the Peace of our Lord jesus Christ be with you. I trust that this missive will find you well and in good spirits. It has yet again been an age since I last corresponded with you. As Australia swelters through 40 degrees plus heatwave conditions that sap energy and viggor, your post is a fantastic reminder for us to stop, take stock, and rest for awhile in the heat of the day. My husband and I frequently take naps in the afternoon (I find even ten or fifteen minutes offers me a little recharge). We need a rest from constant ‘go, go, go’ and the clammour of externals (quiet is healing). Especially as we women grow older, the change of life can interupt our natural sleep rhythms making for all the more need for a nap in the afternoon (even if sleep evades us, simply resting quietly allowing the mind to relax and wander does the soul good). Thank you for your healthy and wholeistic approach to Christian womanhood, it is sound, down to earth and gentle as we all walk the pilgrim’s path together.

May you and yours be richly and wonderfully blessed,

Love and God’s peace always,

Sarah Eliott.
PS: for those who may be naysayers, I remember an Oprah episode (which aired around twenty years ago now) that focused upon the importance of the nap.

PPS: in my time with a Christian university here in Australia some years ago now, a quiet room was established with low lighting (often turned off altogether), comfortable sofas, chairs and a lovely ambient temperature in which students and staff could retire for a rest or nap.

Lydia said...

Dearest Lydia,

the Peace of our Lord jesus Christ be with you. I trust that this missive will find you well and in good spirits. It has yet again been an age since I last corresponded with you. As Australia swelters through 40 degrees plus heatwave conditions that sap energy and viggor, your post is a fantastic reminder for us to stop, take stock, and rest for awhile in the heat of the day. My husband and I frequently take naps in the afternoon (I find even ten or fifteen minutes offers me a little recharge). We need a rest from constant ‘go, go, go’ and the clammour of externals (quiet is healing). Especially as we women grow older, the change of life can interupt our natural sleep rhythms making for all the more need for a nap in the afternoon (even if sleep evades us, simply resting quietly allowing the mind to relax and wander does the soul good). Thank you for your healthy and wholeistic approach to Christian womanhood, it is sound, down to earth and gentle as we all walk the pilgrim’s path together.

May you and yours be richly and wonderfully blessed,

Love and God’s peace always,

Sarah Eliott.
PS: for those who may be naysayers, I remember an Oprah episode (which aired around twenty years ago now) that focused upon the importance of the nap.

PPS: in my time with a Christian university here in Australia some years ago now, a quiet room was established with low lighting (often turned off altogether), comfortable sofas, chairs and a lovely ambient temperature in which students and staff could retire for a rest or nap.

Polly said...

I just woke up from a lovely nap, so I heartily agree with this post!

For years I refused to rest during the day, but having babies helped me slow down and accept that I needed a break. Now that I've hit 40, I realize I just feel better when I nap--usually about 30-45 minutes, no longer. It really is so refreshing and revitalizing!

Specific clothes for napping? Sounds great to me! :)

Lynn said...

I love the idea of a daily nap...and the pretty painting of the lady on the porch with a book ....your idea of a business that allows napping is wonderful...too bad America doesn't adopt the practice!

D said...

Having most recently tried to be daily serious about 'naptime', the thought of a specific nap outfit seems just-the-ticket. A seriously fluffy robe for this cold weather will do for now, but I am designing in my mind a pretty cotton print blouson 'dress' for springtime/summer. Day rest has begun to settle me. Dear Lord, I so need it. Thank you for the reminder, Lydia. D. from Home and Harvest.

Lynn said...

I had my nap this afternoon....it lasted 50 minutes. Now I have the energy for the church meal and Bible class tonight at 5:15.