What is the most sacred thing you do every day? Your morning routine? Your night routine? Your eating habits? Picking out your outfit for the day? While all of those things might be important, there is one cherished daily ritual that is part of many people’s lives that isn’t talked about enough: napping.
The topic of napping is a sensitive subject to many people. There are certain ideals and practices that are unshakeable to some people that come with the daily afternoon snooze, so to see the ultimate napping habits according to Beaver Area High School, I asked students and faculty about their napping habits.
There were six questions that ranged from “what do you wear when you nap?” to “what time of day do you nap?”; so the big question is, what are the results?
How long is the perfect nap?
There’s been a lot of research as to what is the recommended nap length for an optimal recharge, but also so that when you wake up you aren’t more tired than you were before. The CDC says anywhere between 15-30 minutes is the perfect amount, but according to Beaver Area High School, 2 hours is the best nap time.
While 2 hours isn’t a drastically surprising answer, there was a large gap in the range of responses. While some said as little as 15 minutes, some responded up to 8 hours for a nap! REM sleep is not a little snooze folks, so make sure your alarm is set before you drift off to dreamland.
What do you wear when you nap?
This question had a plethora of answers; while everyone is unique in their own way, some of these responses are peculiar to say the least. One responder said “my snooze drip” and “work clothes” . . . why are you wearing a uniform to sleep? Are you working in your dreams?
But overall the most common answer was something along the lines of pajamas, jammies, comfy clothes, etc.
And to that person who responded “shorts and a short” please clarify what that means because why do you have on two pairs of shorts?
Where is the perfect place to nap?
The responses for this question were almost unanimously either “my bed” or “couch.” Which I would assume is where most people outside of Beaver Area High School would take their naps.
There were also some that expanded on the generic answers of bed or couch and went on with details such as “on the couch with a show playing on the TV or in a bed with the fan on the highest setting.”
The outliers for this question were “my driveway,” “toiler” (yes, “toiler”, not “toilet”) and “dining room floor.” (Mr. Kissick, please stop napping on your dining room floor; people are starting to worry).
What time of day do you nap?
I think we can all collectively agree that school tires us out, so it’s no surprise that the most common answer was after school or in the afternoon.
The best way to reward yourself after a tiring learning-filled day is sleep, but did you know that there’s actually a physiological reason behind this energy dip? According to Northwestern Medicine, between 1 to 4 p.m. our circadian cycle (the physical/mental signals in our bodies that tells us when we are tired or alert) takes a dip during this span of time and makes us less alert.
Even though taking a nap is mostly harmless to ward off the symptoms of afternoon-sleepiness, excessive tiredness during this time can be caused by underlying factors such as being dehydrated or lacking in physical activity. So the next time you get unnecessarily tired in the afternoon, try drinking water and going on a walk to get your energy boost.
What are your napping essentials?
The replies to this question were all in all pretty standard. Most respondents answered pillow or blanket and even plushie; some mentioned having a certain kind of standard sleeping essential for sleeping like “a weighted dinosaur stuffed animal” or “weighted blankets.” Personally, my favorite response is someone who said “arm and dog,” keeping it simple.
What is the best napping position?
As a side-sleeping warrior, the thought of even sleeping on my back makes me fear sleep paralysis, but that was one of the most common answers. This question had a smattering of answers, the most common ones being “fetal position,” “on my back,” or “on my side.” Then there’s always the wildcards who sleep on their stomachs; keep being you, boo!
Regarding Beaver Area’s napping habits, we aren’t very different from the rest of the world, yet I still enjoyed reading all of the unique answers. Thanks to all who took the survey and maybe there will be another ECHO survey circulating in the future.