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In Praise of Naps (1001 Gifts: #7)

By Anita Mathias

In Praise of Naps
I remember reading this cool story about Edison. He didn’t have a firm separation between day and night and kept a bed in his office. When he was tired, in the middle of the day, he had a 15 or 20 minute nap, and then woke up, full of bounce. If he was wide awake in the night, he worked. As a result, he was usually fresh, and alert.
I am a great believer in that—and find it hard to believe that anything is worth running ragged and tired.
And so, I am also a great believer in—and practitioner of!!—naps. Generally one a day, for 13-20 minutes, but on a tired day, I might have 2 or 3 short 15-20 minute naps, just to regain bounce and read or write or think or live at full speed.
My favourite description of a nap is from Iris Murdoch’s “The Good Apprentice”—“two days for the price of one.” That’s what a long nap, 30-60 minutes gives me. The morning’s turmoils, tensions, happenings and work now seem far away; it’s like starting a new day afresh!! 

It’s exactly what I feel on resuming my day after an hour of prayer. Yesterday’s hurly-burly, this morning’s frustrations now seem far-away, past history. He has made all things new!
* * *
Napping may seem slothful to the Western mind but in the East, it’s been part of the way of life for millennia, probably. The sun streams in at 5 o’clock; the noise of life begins. And then, not surprisingly, by mid-afternoon, sleepiness overwhelms you, and a nap restores you for the rest of your day.
My father, a Chartered Accountant, was the Controller of Accounts at Tata Steel, and walked home every day for lunch, and laid down, flat on his back, his hankerchief over his eyes, and slept soundly for about half an hour. At two, he walked back for his second shift. He and my mother quite unnecessarily woke at 5 a.m. to read their newspapers, with bowls of mangoes beside them, so I guess they adapted to this biphasic sleep.
                                                        * * *
Many contemporary solutions to modern life are counter-intuitive. For instance, people often recommend that you go out for a run or garden when you are depressed. And when I do do that, I feel immeasurably better. However, the trick is getting myself to do it.
I am afraid what I do when I feel depressed is have a nap (with a timer) resting with God, telling him the Go has leaked out of me, but I do want to do this and this and that and please would He restore me. It is a quiet rest with God—I guess it’s prayer, because I certainly feel God’s closeness and enveloping—and I am restored after it, and feel happier and motivated again. Though to call it prayer feels a bit of a con. I lie down guiltily– knowing I am doing the very thing one is not supposed to when depressed or out of motivation: take to bed. And I guess it’s God’s mercy that I regain my bounce and motivation.
I am afraid I no longer resonate with the things I read about waking early, Bruce Wilkinson saying that you will stagnate and not reach spiritual heights unless you wake at 5 (in The Secret of the Vine) or Jeff Goins’ advocacy of early rising to write.
These are the verse which speak to me on the subject, from Psalm 127
Unless the Lord builds the house,
In vain do the builders labour
In vain is your earlier rising,
Your going later to bed
For he gives to his beloved sleep.
         * * *
Only a fraction of writers who write are widely read by their generation. And only a fraction of those writers will be read by successive generations.
And yet we have a mandate: To bear fruit which will last.
And how are we to do that?
It’s counter-intuitive and paradoxical. By hanging out with Jesus, resting in Jesus, remaining in Jesus, learning from Jesus, talking to Jesus, listening to Jesus, being one with him. Abiding, dwelling in him.
And my time of this rest and unity, beyond words, is often when I am dozing off on a brief 15 minute nap I’m taking because I am too groggy, too mentally tired, or simply too sad and limp and listless to do anything else.
And in the still waters of the nap, he makes me down to rest. He restores my soul. Again.
I love Him!

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Comments

  1. Anita says

    April 6, 2012 at 11:18 pm

    Goodness, I thought my 1 (or 3) brief naps a day was my guilty, slothful secret. Delighted and amazed to see it's widely shared!!

  2. Claudia says

    April 6, 2012 at 10:19 am

    If I can, on the days I work a full day, during the lunch hour I've found a nearby park with rather a comfortable tree trunk in the sun I can doze under.

    I haven't yet found a way to nap when I'm at home, since my children have long since “grown out” of wanting a daytime nap, and are on the go wanting attention all afternoon. Yay for Sunday afternoons when we can take turns to look after the children while the other parent has some “Me time” (usually involving a pillow).

  3. Miss Mollie says

    April 6, 2012 at 12:32 am

    I have been a firm believer in naps since high school days. In those days, I came home from summer school, lay flat on the cool floor, then snoozed as soon as I started to read the paper. I like a late morning nap sometimes, too, when I'm off. Followed by another one in the afternoon. And Sunday naps are the best and needed.

  4. Emma says

    April 5, 2012 at 7:36 pm

    So glad I'm not the only one who 'indulges' in a restorative nap (or three). It's amazing how much better the world looks after a pray and a bit of time out.

  5. Anita says

    April 5, 2012 at 3:56 pm

    Ah, I work from home. I really think I would flag in an office, or maybe keep running on coffee.
    Michael Hyatt who does work in an office naps in a zero-gravity chair.
    http://michaelhyatt.com/why-you-should-take-a-nap-every-day.html

  6. Denise says

    April 5, 2012 at 3:51 pm

    Practically, at the office, what do you do to take a nap?

  7. Anita says

    April 5, 2012 at 3:40 pm

    Yes, it's a wonderful gift, isn't it? And thank you for following my blog, Debbie. And welcome:-)

  8. Bluestocking Mum says

    April 5, 2012 at 3:38 pm

    I have a lot of health problems and often don't sleep well at night so there are occasions when I have to give in and have a snooze in the day time. I always feel better for it.

    But it's funny reading what Mary wrote. I think there may be something in switching the brain off when it gets a little overloaded.
    Things often seem better in the cold light of day and perhaps when things get a little too frenetic or stressed for me in the daytime, I should simply sit down, shut my eyes, block the world and the worries out and have a cat nap!

    warm wishes
    Debbie
    x

  9. Anita says

    April 5, 2012 at 3:34 pm

    Hi Mary, That's funny. I too use napping as a temporary solution to “just about anything.”

  10. Mary Perry says

    April 5, 2012 at 3:48 am

    I learned to nap first as a breast feeding mom when a book, “Breasfeeding your Baby”, suggested that when a mother became overwhelmed and alarmed about housework or just about anything, we should just take a nap! It worked and that has been my solution to just about everything since. Then, when we lived in South East Asia, it was hot and everyone else napped, so my husband and I adapted. We found it so necessary and refreshing, we've never looked back. I don't know what we'd do without a little nap everyday. Sometimes it's just lying flat for a few minutes, usually, if I sleep for more than an hour I'm groggy for the rest of the day. I believe serious napping might solve many of the world's problems. Certainly, people would be less cranky.

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anita.mathias

Writer, Blogger, Reader, Mum. Christian. Instaing Oxford, travel, gardens and healthy meals. Oxford English alum. Writing memoir. Lives in Oxford, UK

Images from walks around Oxford. #beauty #oxford # Images from walks around Oxford. #beauty #oxford #walking #tranquility #naturephotography #nature
So we had a lovely holiday in the Southwest. And h So we had a lovely holiday in the Southwest. And here we are at one of the world’s most famous and easily recognisable sites.
#stonehenge #travel #england #prehistoric England #family #druids
And I’ve blogged https://anitamathias.com/2020/09/13/on-not-wasting-a-desert-experience/
So, after Paul the Apostle's lightning bolt encounter with the Risen Christ on the road to Damascus, he went into the desert, he tells us...
And there, he received revelation, visions, and had divine encounters. The same Judean desert, where Jesus fasted for forty days before starting his active ministry. Where Moses encountered God. Where David turned from a shepherd to a leader and a King, and more, a man after God’s own heart.  Where Elijah in the throes of a nervous breakdown hears God in a gentle whisper. 
England, where I live, like most of the world is going through a desert experience of continuing partial lockdowns. Covid-19 spreads through human contact and social life, and so we must refrain from those great pleasures. We are invited to the desert, a harsh place where pruning can occur, and spiritual fruitfulness.
A plague like this has not been known for a hundred years... John Piper, after his cancer diagnosis, exhorted people, “Don’t Waste Your Cancer”—since this was the experience God permitted you to have, and He can bring gold from it. Pandemics and plagues are permitted (though not willed or desired) by a Sovereign God, and he can bring life-change out of them. 
Let us not waste this unwanted, unchosen pandemic, this opportunity for silence, solitude and reflection. Let’s not squander on endless Zoom calls—or on the internet, which, if not used wisely, will only raise anxiety levels. Let’s instead accept the invitation to increased silence and reflection
Let's use the extra free time that many of us have long coveted and which has now been given us by Covid-19 restrictions to seek the face of God. To seek revelation. To pray. 
And to work on those projects of our hearts which have been smothered by noise, busyness, and the tumult of people and parties. To nurture the fragile dreams still alive in our hearts. The long-deferred duty or vocation
So, we are about eight weeks into lockdown, and I So, we are about eight weeks into lockdown, and I have totally sunk into the rhythm of it, and have got quiet, very quiet, the quietest spell of time I have had as an adult.
I like it. I will find going back to the sometimes frenetic merry-go-round of my old life rather hard. Well, I doubt I will go back to it. I will prune some activities, and generally live more intentionally and mindfully.
I have started blocking internet of my phone and laptop for longer periods of time, and that has brought a lot of internal quiet and peace.
Some of the things I have enjoyed during lockdown have been my daily long walks, and gardening. Well, and reading and working on a longer piece of work.
Here are some images from my walks.
And if you missed it, a blog about maintaining peace in the middle of the storm of a global pandemic
https://anitamathias.com/2020/05/04/a-mind-of-life-and-peace/  #walking #contemplating #beauty #oxford #pandemic
A few walks in Oxford in the time of quarantine. A few walks in Oxford in the time of quarantine.  We can maintain a mind of life and peace during this period of lockdown by being mindful of our minds, and regulating them through meditation; being mindful of our bodies and keeping them happy by exercise and yoga; and being mindful of our emotions in this uncertain time, and trusting God who remains in charge. A new blog on maintaining a mind of life and peace during lockdown https://anitamathias.com/2020/05/04/a-mind-of-life-and-peace/
In the days when one could still travel, i.e. Janu In the days when one could still travel, i.e. January 2020, which seems like another life, all four of us spent 10 days in Malta. I unplugged, and logged off social media, so here are some belated iphone photos of a day in Valetta.
Today, of course, there’s a lockdown, and the country’s leader is in intensive care.
When the world is too much with us, and the news stresses us, moving one’s body, as in yoga or walking, calms the mind. I am doing some Yoga with Adriene, and again seeing the similarities between the practice of Yoga and the practice of following Christ.
https://anitamathias.com/2020/04/06/on-yoga-and-following-jesus/
#valleta #valletamalta #travel #travelgram #uncagedbird
Images from some recent walks in Oxford. I am copi Images from some recent walks in Oxford.
I am coping with lockdown by really, really enjoying my daily 4 mile walk. By savouring the peace of wild things. By trusting that God will bring good out of this. With a bit of yoga, and weights. And by working a fair amount in my garden. And reading.
How are you doing?
#oxford #oxfordinlockdown #lockdown #walk #lockdownwalks #peace #beauty #happiness #joy #thepeaceofwildthings
Images of walks in Oxford in this time of social d Images of walks in Oxford in this time of social distancing. The first two are my own garden.  And I’ve https://anitamathias.com/2020/03/28/silver-and-gold-linings-in-the-storm-clouds-of-coronavirus/ #corona #socialdistancing #silverlinings #silence #solitude #peace
Trust: A Message of Christmas He came to earth in Trust: A Message of Christmas  He came to earth in a  splash of energy
And gentleness and humility.
That homeless baby in the barn
Would be the lynchpin on which history would ever after turn
Who would have thought it?
But perhaps those attuned to God’s way of surprises would not be surprised.
He was already at the centre of all things, connecting all things. * * *
Augustus Caesar issued a decree which brought him to Bethlehem,
The oppressions of colonialism and conquest brought the Messiah exactly where he was meant to be, the place prophesied eight hundred years before his birth by the Prophet Micah.
And he was already redeeming all things. The shame of unwed motherhood; the powerlessness of poverty.
He was born among animals in a barn, animals enjoying the sweetness of life, animals he created, animals precious to him.
For he created all things, and in him all things hold together
Including stars in the sky, of which a new one heralded his birth
Drawing astronomers to him.
And drawing him to the attention of an angry King
As angelic song drew shepherds to him.
An Emperor, a King, scholars, shepherds, angels, animals, stars, an unwed mother
All things in heaven and earth connected
By a homeless baby
The still point on which the world still turns. The powerful centre. The only true power.
The One who makes connections. * * *
And there is no end to the wisdom, the crystal glints of the Message that birth brings.
To me, today, it says, “Fear not, trust me, I will make a way.” The baby lay gentle in the barn
And God arranges for new stars, angelic song, wise visitors with needed finances for his sustenance in the swiftly-coming exile, shepherds to underline the anointing and reassure his parents. “Trust me in your dilemmas,” the baby still says, “I will make a way. I will show it to you.” Happy Christmas everyone.  https://anitamathias.com/2019/12/24/trust-a-message-of-christmas/ #christmas #gemalderieberlin #trust #godwillmakeaway
Look, I’ve designed a journal. It’s an omnibus Look, I’ve designed a journal. It’s an omnibus Gratitude journal, habit tracker, food and exercise journal, bullet journal, with time sheets, goal sheets and a Planner. Everything you’d like to track.  Here’s a post about it with ISBNs https://anitamathias.com/2019/12/23/life-changing-journalling/. Check it out. I hope you and your kids like it!
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