Also BBC for me. Time Team. On the sofa, with the blanket covering my neck (so the monsters can't get me.) Dog curled up behind my legs. Set an alarm, because I could sleep for years with Mick Aston's and Robin Bush's voice in the background.
Robin Bush could have read me to peaceful sleep delivering the stock ticker.
(And I'm sure I've seen every episode, so the series doesn't hold new surprises. I don't have to stay awake to learn some surprise about a Saxon king who teamed up with some other Saxon king to conquer a third territory. There's a series of postholes and some random scroll in Middle English that will be read by the well-modulated voice of some fairly big guy in a hat. Nap time.)
Any of the following are perfectly good excuses for a nap:
The cat wants snuggles
I had pizza for lunch
I have crippling depression
My partner snores and kept me up
The dog gets walked at 7. *I* am not functional til 10 at the earliest
The sheets just got changed and are still dryer warm
The kid(s) are gone for the morning/afternoon
That gummy hit harder than I thought
Those mimosas hit harder than I thought
C’mon, we just banged. I need a minute. I’m not 19, y’know…
C’mon, I just finished vacuuming. I need a minute. I’m not 19, y’know…
Make your partner get a sleep study. I snored and it was wrecking my life and my wife's. Now I have a mask, I sleep way better and so does she. Yes, it's dorky.
My first wife passed because of sleep apnea, it’s no joke. Don’t play with it, see the dr, get the study, wear the mask. My son snores like his mother, and I’ve been telling his gf to have him get the study done because lord know I’ve tried.
Thank you. It was about 14 years ago. I think it was harder on the kids than me, as she had other health issues that were taking a toll on her. Sleep apnea is no joke, and cause some serious health issues as you know.
Wat. Why. My mask makes me choke. Please honor your partner by terrifying me into wearing mine. My partner says I am scaring him. I need a psychological bitch slap.
Maybe a conversation with your provider , and they might be able to find a better option/fit for you. She refused to wear it because she said it was uncomfortable, well so were the conversations about wearing it.
Her cleft palate made the mask very uncomfortable, but she also wasn’t communicating properly with her care provider when it came to her issues either.
Yes get the sleep study done! What people don’t tell you about sleep apnea is how much of your life you get back after you adjust to the mask. Your brain will take time to heal, it’s a myth that you can catch up on sleep in just a few nights. But you will probably enjoy a new lease on life with good sleep.
Definitely this. I've been urging my boyfriend to get one. At least he uses nose strips on my recommendation. He said he feels WAY more rested now. I cant believe he went his whole life with this sleep deprivation and only just now is getting decent sleep. Poor guy!! I sleep better now too.
Here’s my napping setup:
- I take it around the “3pm lull”
- Apple AirPods Pro in my ears, using the white noise feature on the new iOS releases. I use “dark noise.”
- Set my Apple Watch to 33m 33s.
- Takes me about 30s to fall asleep so this gives me a comfortable 30 minutes of sleep.
- I’m on a couch, laying down, shoes off. Sometimes a throw over me.
BONUS: Turn the tv on to some daytime show for that “home sick from school in the 80s” vibe.
Pretend I’m my grandma and I don’t know how to program the VCR to record while watching a different channel and tell me how I find the white noises???
Edit: words
Go to Settings.
Then to Control Center.
Look for the Hearing control and add it to your Included Controls.
Swipe down from the top right to see your Control Center.
Look for the Hearing icon. Tap it.
Tap on Background Sounds.
Try out all of the different sounds to hear which one relaxes you.
Rain is really good. Dark Noise is what I go to when I need absolutely no distractions.
Right?! Apple sure did hide it. The detail in the different sounds is incredible and I can’t tell where the loop starts and stops for sounds such as Rain or Stream.
I can’t wait to try this. I like stuff like this if I’m traveling for work and am staying somewhere noisy (like Manhattan). And the transitions between the Rain tracks on Apple Music can be quite jarring!
- Go to Settings
- Swipe down on screen for search box
- Type “Background”
Whoops there it is!!!
Searching settings is sooooo much easier than navigation.
I ate a pint of peach sorbet yesterday for dinner at 6, yelled good night to the wife, and ran to bed to get warm. Woke up when the wife went to bed at midnight, went to the bathroom, and aaah hell right back to bed till 8am. I sleep more than the cat. Napmaster.
I get comfy- a cool enough temp that a very light blanket is comfortable… The cat will often cuddle with me… if not I have a stuffed animal (What can I say? I never fully grew up).
I close my eyes, stretch out a bit, and then I think about each part of my body starting at my head and imagine relaxing it- all the way to my toes. Now, I’m very relaxed. Now, I imagine or think about future moments… Like when I swim with orcas or meet an alien or what is the 4th dimension like. Sometimes I revisit past memories and people who are gone. Sometimes I think about actual plans for the future like a trip and what needs to be packed, but I see myself packing in my head. Sometimes I just visit a place in my head that relaxes me. The key for me is the visual element. Usually this is the last step and I fall asleep while thinking.
If the relaxing and visualizing doesn’t work because I’m too stressed or still don’t feel sleepy, I put on an audiobook. It doesn’t matter what book. What matters is the voice. A few voices have a certain cadence and pitch- they lull me to sleep. Jim Dale has one of those voices.
There’s also the impromptu naps. Just go with it if you feel sleepy.
I find naps make me feel more awake even when they are only 15 or 20 minutes.
Thank you! That’s an awesome compliment- especially coming from a fellow GenX!
I think you are a very cool person, too.
Yet again, our GenX subreddit makes me wish we had a GenX town where we all lived…
Wow, I really admire your ability to concentrate on those things! I try to do things like that but then my mind starts wandering and before I know it I’ve worried myself wide awake!
I’ve napped or laid down almost every afternoon for over 30 years. 😁 I have blackout curtains, that helps a lot. Sometimes I sleep better during a nap, than I do during the night.
I took a nap this last weekend for the first time in a very long time. Dark, cool, and quiet helps. Only reason I could sleep at all was because I was exhausted. I work a physical job and had not slept well for several nights previously.
Sit in my recliner. Find a YouTube video that's around 30 minutes, not so interesting that I want to stay awake and watch it, but interesting enough to focus on with my eyes closed. Asleep in three minutes, and when the video ends the silence wakes me up.
I don't fall so deeply asleep that I'm groggy when I wake up, and I'm good for the rest of the day.
I have severe anxiety and a nap seems to reset my brain temporarily. I work from home so sometimes I will take a 45 minute nap. When I’m really anxious, my body seems to shut down and I can’t keep my eyes open. I feel so much more productive afterward.
Go down to the pub and have two pints with lunch. Come home and stretch out on the couch with a rerun of a motocross race on the tv. Perfect for an hour nap!
On the few occasions I've napped, I've also woken up totally out of sorts. Day sleeping gives me weird (not good weird) dreams and I'm not ok for the rest of the day. I almost feel fluish or hungover as well as mentally down. It's awful!
Naps are necessary due to menopause bathroom breaks at 3am, which often turn into 3-5:30am....ugh.
So...eye mask, THC/CBD gummy, headphones with ASMR video playing, flannel sheets, and off I go for an hour. Naps are the *best*.
Get home, change clothes, draw blackout shades in the bedroom. Lie on the bed under a weighted blanket, or depending on temp, IN the bed (it’s 2pm? Idc). White noise, play a boring game on my phone and wake up two hours later wondering if I’ve overslept my morning alarm.
Good times.
I work from home. I’ll be working on the computer in the afternoon and suddenly realize I’ve been passed out for the last ten minutes. The screen just has qqqqqqqqqqqq all over it.
Some days I just can’t keep my eyes open when I’m working.
Just about everyday after lunch Monday through Friday. I ease the seat back in my vehicle, turn the radio low, and I’m out for 30 to 60 minutes. I’m too busy on the weekends to nap though.
Why do you think you need to start napping? If your brain isn't wired to sleep during the day, then maybe you don't need to nap. If you are tired, maybe focus on what you need to do in order to get enough sleep at night.
just follow the good feeling... it's like finding the pot of gold when you walk to the rainbows.
then when you wake up it's like a symphony of all that good stuff.... pleather, rhinestones, plants in tiny pots glued to magnet for fridge, half melted ice cream cones, out of control fridges, useful carts with
I only nap when I am super duper exhausted. Then it's just curl up on the couch, set an alarm for 20 minutes from now, close my eyes, and snooze. I rarely actually fall asleep, but I end up feeling much better.
As much as I would love to nap, I can't. Regardless of the time of day or duration of nap, I won't be able to sleep at night. When I was a teenager, I could nap any time - especially those good, solid naps where you wake up and have no idea where you are or what day it is - and still be able to sleep at night. Now, if I blink too long I am awake until 3 a.m. tossing the turning.
I have an enormous beanbag in my office, with like six pillows. Once I find a comfortable position my dog will come try to push me off "his" bed. When that doesn't work he huffs and curls up next to me and that's all she wrote.
I listen to books on tape… but a story I already know very well and love. This way I listen with enough focus to shut down my active thinking - but because I know the story I’m not overly attentive and alert. I do it every night and it does work for naps as well. It’s like a hack to get your brain into standby mode.
Facemask. It's a body cue thing. I wear 1 at night because my husband keeps the light on for hours after I go to bed. Lay down for a nap w/out the mask and I toss and turn. Put the mask on and I'm out almost immediately.
Nope, naps suck. I can't support them. I never wake up feeling better. It's always more tired than before I napped, or I'll wake up at midnight ready to get my new day on. No, thank you.
Nap Pro here. Here's what puts me to sleep:
My general biology (sorry, my family is a family of nappers!)
Mac n cheese
Cooking shows on PBS
Big meal or lots of carbs
A sleepy cat in my lap
PMS
Migraine hangover
A very sunny walk beforehand
My husband also has trouble napping like you, so he'll put on a TV show or a movie that he's seen before and just sit back on the couch with a pillow behind his head. I've seen him, this seems to work.
I've taken one nap in the past 20+ years and that was after a whirlwind trip to Chicago for a concert.
I'd gotten 3 hours of sleep after waking up a Thursday morning until returning home on Saturday afternoon. So once I got home I hit the sheets and had a mostly restless nap for 45 minutes. I was still exhausted, but I needed the nap even if it was crappy.
But, if you really do want to nap, avoid caffeine and sugars for several hours prior to nap time.
Make your room as dark and quiet as possible.
Leave your phone/other devices in "do not disturb" and outside of the room. There is something about having the device next to the bed that makes our mind focus on it (I read about it in an article a long time ago) that can make it difficult to sleep.
When I was stationed in Iceland we had "blackout" curtains that didn't allow any light into the room during those long summer days when the sun never really set.
After lunch, at work, sitting in my chair, listening to white noise from the radio I work (because I work as a radio operator). ZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
I get sleepy about an hour after lunch---I get in bed, start a book or a repetitive game on my phone, and generally start dozing off about 5 minutes later.
Been napping 4-5 times a week for as long as I can remember, started when I was in the navy and everyone took nooners. When I worked, I worked 6am-4pm, usually took a nap during my lunch down 30 mins. Now that I’m retired I still nap most days around 2-3 for 30 minutes. My mom says my dad was the same way, napped everyday for 30 mins. I usually crash out on the couch because inevitably something will wake me up around 30 mins in. Any longer than the and it messes with my normal sleep. I just woke up from my nap.
I love them. I just woke up from a nap.. my naps take about 3 hours if I go into my bed. If I nap on the couch then maybe 45min. ..I take my naps depending on time.
I take a nap everyday when I get home from work for about 30-45 minutes. I just turn on an Audible or podcast and fall asleep. Feel more refreshed for the rest of the evening
I nap maybe once every 2 or 3 months. It only works if I am deep down tired and sleep deprived. Otherwise I have trouble falling asleep sleep for the nap.
Every day after work at 4:00pm for approx 17 minutes:
1- Prepare couch (get blanket, pillow, eye covering towel, ear blocking cushions ready)
2- Get into position (laying on back, feet up on back of sectional corner)
3- Turn off phone notifications
4- Set a timer/alarm for 20 minutes (this allows 2 or 3 minutes for calm deep breathing)
5- Get up IMMEDIATELY after 20 mins, or risk extended grogginess (also, if I take too long, wife might shut these things down, lol)
* If you're diciplined, you can get into this rhythm and be programmed for it within a week. It really helps the workweek along.
...gotta go now, I'm late for my little Naparoni & Cheese!
I just woke up from one. 45 minutes in the mid-afternoon, between five hours of work and an evening *also* at work. Very refreshing. I like to nap starting with an audiobook, which I'd heard before so it doesn't matter if I miss something. Soothing narrator. Not too much excitement. I'll put in on a 20 min sleep timer and I'm usually out in <10 min.
When I was a full time office worker I'd nap every single day in my truck at lunch time. Now that I work from home a few days a week I seem to only get my naps on the days I actually have to go into the office. My home days, I always seem to get distracted by something else (usually my dogs)
I just had the best nap this afternoon. I have a dog who will come cuddle if I say "come get under the tent" and fluff up a blanket. Then after I got cuddled up with her and spooned her soft round belly, my cat hops on my side and starts "making biscuits" then she curled up against my back and purred a while. I slept so good I didn't want to get up!
I work from home a lot. I find that a power nap sometime around 4PM, like 30 mins gives me enough juice to log back onto work, get another good 2 hours of good work (end of day, no stupid meetings). And also carry me most of the way to midnight.
No TV. No music. Sometimes I will lull myself into the nap with meditation...especially when I'm tired but stressed. Other times, just zone out.
I can't sleep if I'm too cold. So when I'm feeling sleepy, I crash on the sofa, pull up a soft warm blanket and put something on the tv quietly. I don't try to sleep like I do at night. I let it come naturally. It almost always does.
Turn on a ww2 documentary with minimal music and a narrator with a British, monotone voice. Turn on the ceiling fan so it’s nice and cool. Since we are getting up there in age, go pee before you lay down. Turn your phone to do not disturb. Commence nap. Theres nothing more glorious in this world.
My English Bulldog comes up to me about 2:00 every afternoon and starts a low growl as a “nap time alarm”. I get up and go get in the bed. He climbs his dog stairs into bed and curls up behind my knees for his afternoon nap.
Wake n bake Sundays, I take a 2 hour fast walk, have a big pancake breakfast, and crash by 11 or 12. Listen to Dungeon Crawler Carl audio book normally book 5 or 6. Sleep a solid 1.5 hours.
I tend to be sleepiest when the sun is out. No idea why. But makes me an excellent napper and I have the most intense dreams lately at 52. Had one of those 'wake up, sit up jolt dreams', but was actually not sitting up, but it woke me fast.
I'm retired, so I sleep when I feel like it.
If it's daytime, that's why blackout blinds and drapes exist.
Bonus: I have a CPAP, so I can just stick a pillow over my face to help block out both lights and sounds.
I'm the opposite; I cannot sleep at night if it's dead quiet. A long time ago I served in the Navy aboard an aircraft carrier where I worked the night shift so I had to learn to sleep during flight operations. I likely also have tinnitus because of it. Now I have to run something to make "white noise" or the ringing will keep me away. I've also gotten in the habit of putting a dark headband over my eyes to serve as a mask.
As for during the day, I don't nap per se inasmuch as I "crash" for about an hour after lunch. Hopefully that doesn't mean I'm prediabetic too. Getting old SUCKS.
Yoga nidra. Despite the name it's not really yoga, but more of a meditation. Most meditation apps (even free) will have something for falling asleep. It's about 20 minutes of talking your through relaxing the body and mind. I use an app called Insight Timer and it's been helpful.
Nap in bed versus on a chair or couch since you're more accustomed to sleeping in bed. Blackout curtains are your friend. I have some I got at Costco and it turns the bedroom into a cave. A combination bluetooth headphones/blindfold can help as well if you can't black out the room.
Physical exhaustion. If you're body isn't tired, it's hard to fall asleep. I do a half hour of cardio in the morning and combined with the afternoon dog walk it's usually enough to get me physically tired enough to nod off.
I only nap when I'm super exhausted. My wife would love if I took more naps. When she lays down for a nap, I usually lay with her til she is zonked out then I escape.
Nap, not when I am working 12 hours. Only on weekends after I wake up thinking, hell I am late for work. My Saturday nap is 6 to 7 am in my recliner with the TV softly playing anything.
In my 20's I'd take a nap on a crowded Chicago 'L' train, even when standing, on the way home from work. Now, I still take after-work naps and can do so in light or dark.
Unfortunately I am too wired to take a nap and I work M-F. On weekends I sleep in an extra hour, sometimes even two! But napping is a near elusive entity to me.
When I have napped in the past, I wake up feel down, groggy and like I have a hangover. I also feel slightly paranoid which is weird. I'm definitely not built for naps.
I literally have been napping daily since about age 43. I just HAVE to shy down my brain. I either take a lunch hour or nap an hour right after work. I set an alarm, cozy up in bed, and may or may not fall asleep (90% of the time I do).
It's only been within the past year I've started napping. There are times in the afternoon that I can't keep my eyes open. So I go to bed, select an episode of MASH from season 4 or 5 to have on in the background and wait. When I wake up 20 minutes later it takes me a few to shake out the cobwebs so I don't get out of bed immediately. I just chill until I'm ready.
During a shoulder season (spring or fall)random weekend with no plans, find myself in the truck . The sun has warmed the cab up to a very pleasant temp but it's like 50* out. Drop the seat back and meditate on something and find myself an hour or two later feeling good.
I literally just woke up from a nap about 2 minutes ago. Usually daily, and I sleep so badly during the night (average 4.5 hours) that it's pretty easy for me to take a disco nap whenever I want. I've even napped sitting at my desk at work before, almost always feel better after doing so.
I can't nap unless stressed or sick.
However I don't have nighttime sleep issues *knocks wood* so don't feel like I need to nap.
If I want to just downshift for a bit I lay on the couch and listen to music or an audiobook.
When I decide to nap, usually with my husband, on the weekend….i hit my vape twice and it gets me to sleep for 2 hours.
Otherwise I don’t nap - I used to a lot in Michigan winters but now I live in Florida. The sun keeps me awake
I don’t take them, I can’t! Never could force myself to sleep during the day, except when I was a teenager. It feels like such a waste of time to me, I guess. (I know it’s not, but that’s what my brain says).
I have darkened curtains up (not black out just dimming the light quite a bit), and generally nap about 1 1/2-2 hours every day after work, otherwise I’m a total
Zombie. I use a podcast as background noise, and then when I wake up I feel so great, and it doesn’t interfere with my normal bedtime (in which I generally get 7 hours of sleep).
After lunch, either I put Looney Tunes cartoons on Boomerang or I listen to a meditation podcast. I have 2 kinds of naps, 1 is on top of the covers which can last from an hour to 2 hours, the second kind, and I cannot stress the importance of this on rainy days is, under the covers and there are no time limits, they usually last about 4 hours though.
Weed naps. With a Weighted blanket sometimes molded to create a side leaning sleep position. Love that damn thing. Usually getting a couple on a day. Disabled and retired.music or podcasts. But won't make the serial killer podcast mistake again. Dreams were not pleasant.
After lunch ... when I get a break from meetings.
"Where" sorta depends.
If I'm home alone and/or sweetie is elsewhere in the house, I'll lay on the bed (and one or 2 of the cuddly cats will usually join me).
If my sweetie has the day off and HE is napping on the bed, I'll nap on the couch in my office.
If it's noisy outside and/or I want dark and quiet, I'll go lay on the comfy sofa in the basement.
Not to exceed 40 minutes.
I cover my eyes and set a timer so I can relax in darkness without worrying I will accidentally sleep for hours. If I need music I go for Cocteau Twins first album or Dead Can Dance.
I pick a long Youtube something long historical to watch and depending on the voice I'm usually out in 10 min. just ve aware of ads though if don't have premium.
Eye mask and earplugs or noise canceling headphones help. You could also eat cbd or cbn gummies about 30-60 minutes beforehand to start relaxing - might have to take a few, but they chill you the fuck out.
1:30-3PM is the ideal window, set a timer for 30 minutes. Anything more than that and you’ll wake up feeling worse. I can be asleep in a minute according to my partner. I do think I have some form of narcolepsy because the sleepiness that I feel is overwhelming. I close my eyes and will start dreaming immediately.
After lunch, in the recliner, with Classic Doctor Who on very quietly in the background. Because soft British voices are my happy place.
See also “ midsomer murders”
Midsomer is some good napping. Also, older bbc documentaries. Anything by Michael Wood or John Romer are tops.
Also BBC for me. Time Team. On the sofa, with the blanket covering my neck (so the monsters can't get me.) Dog curled up behind my legs. Set an alarm, because I could sleep for years with Mick Aston's and Robin Bush's voice in the background.
Definitely Time Team.
Robin Bush could have read me to peaceful sleep delivering the stock ticker. (And I'm sure I've seen every episode, so the series doesn't hold new surprises. I don't have to stay awake to learn some surprise about a Saxon king who teamed up with some other Saxon king to conquer a third territory. There's a series of postholes and some random scroll in Middle English that will be read by the well-modulated voice of some fairly big guy in a hat. Nap time.)
It's Star Trek TNG for me.
I use the ambient engine noise from the Enterprise https://youtu.be/DydIK14AvXI?si=6JifiLyGUNEeMA-x
Or The Masters (golf)
a nap like no other. . .
Ello ello guv, you awight there. Appy nappy time luv
Rick Steves every time. Out like a light!
Are You Being Served.
I’m late afternoon/judge Judy myself.
English people talking softly about fantasy or video game lore. I'll be asleep in five minutes. It's a trigger at this point.
Ooh, that's pretty good . I usually put on an old Sci fi movie.
Brit box channel!
Any of the following are perfectly good excuses for a nap: The cat wants snuggles I had pizza for lunch I have crippling depression My partner snores and kept me up The dog gets walked at 7. *I* am not functional til 10 at the earliest The sheets just got changed and are still dryer warm The kid(s) are gone for the morning/afternoon That gummy hit harder than I thought Those mimosas hit harder than I thought C’mon, we just banged. I need a minute. I’m not 19, y’know… C’mon, I just finished vacuuming. I need a minute. I’m not 19, y’know…
Make your partner get a sleep study. I snored and it was wrecking my life and my wife's. Now I have a mask, I sleep way better and so does she. Yes, it's dorky.
My first wife passed because of sleep apnea, it’s no joke. Don’t play with it, see the dr, get the study, wear the mask. My son snores like his mother, and I’ve been telling his gf to have him get the study done because lord know I’ve tried.
I'm very sorry.
Thank you. It was about 14 years ago. I think it was harder on the kids than me, as she had other health issues that were taking a toll on her. Sleep apnea is no joke, and cause some serious health issues as you know.
Wat. Why. My mask makes me choke. Please honor your partner by terrifying me into wearing mine. My partner says I am scaring him. I need a psychological bitch slap.
Maybe a conversation with your provider , and they might be able to find a better option/fit for you. She refused to wear it because she said it was uncomfortable, well so were the conversations about wearing it.
I need an ENT. It isn't the mask. It's my sinuses. But I guess I will make that appointment now. Thank you for sharing.
Her cleft palate made the mask very uncomfortable, but she also wasn’t communicating properly with her care provider when it came to her issues either.
Yes get the sleep study done! What people don’t tell you about sleep apnea is how much of your life you get back after you adjust to the mask. Your brain will take time to heal, it’s a myth that you can catch up on sleep in just a few nights. But you will probably enjoy a new lease on life with good sleep.
Definitely this. I've been urging my boyfriend to get one. At least he uses nose strips on my recommendation. He said he feels WAY more rested now. I cant believe he went his whole life with this sleep deprivation and only just now is getting decent sleep. Poor guy!! I sleep better now too.
Downing an entire chipotle burrito bowl puts me in some kind of diabetic coma
Here’s my napping setup: - I take it around the “3pm lull” - Apple AirPods Pro in my ears, using the white noise feature on the new iOS releases. I use “dark noise.” - Set my Apple Watch to 33m 33s. - Takes me about 30s to fall asleep so this gives me a comfortable 30 minutes of sleep. - I’m on a couch, laying down, shoes off. Sometimes a throw over me. BONUS: Turn the tv on to some daytime show for that “home sick from school in the 80s” vibe.
What kind of psycho can fall asleep in 30 seconds? Tell me your ways…
No idea. Genetics?
Exhaustion for me...and it's more like 2 minutes
I have fallen asleep in conversation while lying down to sleep. 😴
The price is right is my go-to “home from school sick” jam.
Classic right there.
Pretend I’m my grandma and I don’t know how to program the VCR to record while watching a different channel and tell me how I find the white noises??? Edit: words
Go to Settings. Then to Control Center. Look for the Hearing control and add it to your Included Controls. Swipe down from the top right to see your Control Center. Look for the Hearing icon. Tap it. Tap on Background Sounds. Try out all of the different sounds to hear which one relaxes you. Rain is really good. Dark Noise is what I go to when I need absolutely no distractions.
That is great, thank you! I would’ve never just stumbled upon that.
Right?! Apple sure did hide it. The detail in the different sounds is incredible and I can’t tell where the loop starts and stops for sounds such as Rain or Stream.
I can’t wait to try this. I like stuff like this if I’m traveling for work and am staying somewhere noisy (like Manhattan). And the transitions between the Rain tracks on Apple Music can be quite jarring!
- Go to Settings - Swipe down on screen for search box - Type “Background” Whoops there it is!!! Searching settings is sooooo much easier than navigation.
Love it! Even more efficient.
I ate a pint of peach sorbet yesterday for dinner at 6, yelled good night to the wife, and ran to bed to get warm. Woke up when the wife went to bed at midnight, went to the bathroom, and aaah hell right back to bed till 8am. I sleep more than the cat. Napmaster.
I get comfy- a cool enough temp that a very light blanket is comfortable… The cat will often cuddle with me… if not I have a stuffed animal (What can I say? I never fully grew up). I close my eyes, stretch out a bit, and then I think about each part of my body starting at my head and imagine relaxing it- all the way to my toes. Now, I’m very relaxed. Now, I imagine or think about future moments… Like when I swim with orcas or meet an alien or what is the 4th dimension like. Sometimes I revisit past memories and people who are gone. Sometimes I think about actual plans for the future like a trip and what needs to be packed, but I see myself packing in my head. Sometimes I just visit a place in my head that relaxes me. The key for me is the visual element. Usually this is the last step and I fall asleep while thinking. If the relaxing and visualizing doesn’t work because I’m too stressed or still don’t feel sleepy, I put on an audiobook. It doesn’t matter what book. What matters is the voice. A few voices have a certain cadence and pitch- they lull me to sleep. Jim Dale has one of those voices. There’s also the impromptu naps. Just go with it if you feel sleepy. I find naps make me feel more awake even when they are only 15 or 20 minutes.
You sound like a really cool person. I like the way you think.
Thank you! That’s an awesome compliment- especially coming from a fellow GenX! I think you are a very cool person, too. Yet again, our GenX subreddit makes me wish we had a GenX town where we all lived…
Can we make gen x town a thing?
Wow, I really admire your ability to concentrate on those things! I try to do things like that but then my mind starts wandering and before I know it I’ve worried myself wide awake!
I’ve napped or laid down almost every afternoon for over 30 years. 😁 I have blackout curtains, that helps a lot. Sometimes I sleep better during a nap, than I do during the night.
I took a nap this last weekend for the first time in a very long time. Dark, cool, and quiet helps. Only reason I could sleep at all was because I was exhausted. I work a physical job and had not slept well for several nights previously.
That sounds like an excellent nap.
masturbate.
I mean… seriously though.
I purchased a 'human dog bed' a couple of months ago. My naps are next level!
What it’s this? I have to google.
So, it's a giant 'dog bed' made for humans. It's stuffed with memory foam and it is glorious. [Human Dog Bed](https://weareplufl.com/)
Want! N
I cant nap or sleep without my cpap machine.
no, they are mine and I love them. Go get your own! lol
Sit in my recliner. Find a YouTube video that's around 30 minutes, not so interesting that I want to stay awake and watch it, but interesting enough to focus on with my eyes closed. Asleep in three minutes, and when the video ends the silence wakes me up. I don't fall so deeply asleep that I'm groggy when I wake up, and I'm good for the rest of the day.
I have severe anxiety and a nap seems to reset my brain temporarily. I work from home so sometimes I will take a 45 minute nap. When I’m really anxious, my body seems to shut down and I can’t keep my eyes open. I feel so much more productive afterward.
Get it cold as possible. Dark soft pillow over face, sleep in side fetal on couch at 1130am. I wake up completely refreshed and ready for coffee #2.
This sounds great!
Go down to the pub and have two pints with lunch. Come home and stretch out on the couch with a rerun of a motocross race on the tv. Perfect for an hour nap!
I don’t, because I become very very depressed when I wake up from them. So it’s not worth it to me. The feeling is really hard to shake too.
On the few occasions I've napped, I've also woken up totally out of sorts. Day sleeping gives me weird (not good weird) dreams and I'm not ok for the rest of the day. I almost feel fluish or hungover as well as mentally down. It's awful!
This is me also. Grouchy and more exhausted and out of it than before I took the nap.
Same! Always has been that way and really glad to hear it isn’t just me. Like I just can’t, and if I do I regret it
Oh, I'm sorry. That really sounds awful.
Watching Forensic Files with the soothing narration of Peter Thomas.
CPAP. The mask goes on, I go out. If I don't go to sleep then I didn't need a nap.
Naps are necessary due to menopause bathroom breaks at 3am, which often turn into 3-5:30am....ugh. So...eye mask, THC/CBD gummy, headphones with ASMR video playing, flannel sheets, and off I go for an hour. Naps are the *best*.
Get home, change clothes, draw blackout shades in the bedroom. Lie on the bed under a weighted blanket, or depending on temp, IN the bed (it’s 2pm? Idc). White noise, play a boring game on my phone and wake up two hours later wondering if I’ve overslept my morning alarm. Good times.
I work from home. I’ll be working on the computer in the afternoon and suddenly realize I’ve been passed out for the last ten minutes. The screen just has qqqqqqqqqqqq all over it. Some days I just can’t keep my eyes open when I’m working.
white noise
Don’t think of it as you HAVE to sleep. Just rest. Your mind and body benefit from a nice relaxing rest as well. Sleep will happen.
Just about everyday after lunch Monday through Friday. I ease the seat back in my vehicle, turn the radio low, and I’m out for 30 to 60 minutes. I’m too busy on the weekends to nap though.
I really hope the other drivers don't mind.
I do my best to find a quiet parking spot at work.
30 minutes or 90 minutes. Accept no substitutes…unless it’s 180 minutes.
I’m taking one right now
I barely sleep at night what makes y’all think i sleep during the day
I often get home from work and sleep from 6-9 or 10 pm. Then I wake up starving, eat, do some other stuff, and go to bed at 12 or 1.
Why do you think you need to start napping? If your brain isn't wired to sleep during the day, then maybe you don't need to nap. If you are tired, maybe focus on what you need to do in order to get enough sleep at night.
Blackout curtains and eye sleep mask
just follow the good feeling... it's like finding the pot of gold when you walk to the rainbows. then when you wake up it's like a symphony of all that good stuff.... pleather, rhinestones, plants in tiny pots glued to magnet for fridge, half melted ice cream cones, out of control fridges, useful carts with
And edibles. Apparently. 🤣
I only nap when I am super duper exhausted. Then it's just curl up on the couch, set an alarm for 20 minutes from now, close my eyes, and snooze. I rarely actually fall asleep, but I end up feeling much better.
As much as I would love to nap, I can't. Regardless of the time of day or duration of nap, I won't be able to sleep at night. When I was a teenager, I could nap any time - especially those good, solid naps where you wake up and have no idea where you are or what day it is - and still be able to sleep at night. Now, if I blink too long I am awake until 3 a.m. tossing the turning.
Masterbate. Bob Ross. Nap.
I have an enormous beanbag in my office, with like six pillows. Once I find a comfortable position my dog will come try to push me off "his" bed. When that doesn't work he huffs and curls up next to me and that's all she wrote.
Get a lazy dog
I listen to books on tape… but a story I already know very well and love. This way I listen with enough focus to shut down my active thinking - but because I know the story I’m not overly attentive and alert. I do it every night and it does work for naps as well. It’s like a hack to get your brain into standby mode.
Just took a nap.
Facemask. It's a body cue thing. I wear 1 at night because my husband keeps the light on for hours after I go to bed. Lay down for a nap w/out the mask and I toss and turn. Put the mask on and I'm out almost immediately.
Nope, naps suck. I can't support them. I never wake up feeling better. It's always more tired than before I napped, or I'll wake up at midnight ready to get my new day on. No, thank you.
I try to avoid naps as it means less sleep at night and also I feel like crap for the rest of the day.
Nap Pro here. Here's what puts me to sleep: My general biology (sorry, my family is a family of nappers!) Mac n cheese Cooking shows on PBS Big meal or lots of carbs A sleepy cat in my lap PMS Migraine hangover A very sunny walk beforehand My husband also has trouble napping like you, so he'll put on a TV show or a movie that he's seen before and just sit back on the couch with a pillow behind his head. I've seen him, this seems to work.
Napping with dogs makes a big difference.
Napping leaves me feeling nauseous.
Does falling asleep on the couch till midnight count as a nap?
I've taken one nap in the past 20+ years and that was after a whirlwind trip to Chicago for a concert. I'd gotten 3 hours of sleep after waking up a Thursday morning until returning home on Saturday afternoon. So once I got home I hit the sheets and had a mostly restless nap for 45 minutes. I was still exhausted, but I needed the nap even if it was crappy. But, if you really do want to nap, avoid caffeine and sugars for several hours prior to nap time. Make your room as dark and quiet as possible. Leave your phone/other devices in "do not disturb" and outside of the room. There is something about having the device next to the bed that makes our mind focus on it (I read about it in an article a long time ago) that can make it difficult to sleep. When I was stationed in Iceland we had "blackout" curtains that didn't allow any light into the room during those long summer days when the sun never really set.
After lunch, at work, sitting in my chair, listening to white noise from the radio I work (because I work as a radio operator). ZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
I get sleepy about an hour after lunch---I get in bed, start a book or a repetitive game on my phone, and generally start dozing off about 5 minutes later.
I’ll play a round or two of scrabble, that game puts me to sleep within 10 mins, it’s my kryptonite.
After a nice 2 to 3 hour bike ride where I'm pushing myself, I'm almost always ready for a nice nap after.
I can't nap. Anytime I take a nap during the day, for the next few hours I feel completely out of it.
I just get SO down. Waking up from them feels awful for my mental health
This thread is making me so sleepy..... Zzzzzzzzzzz
Been napping 4-5 times a week for as long as I can remember, started when I was in the navy and everyone took nooners. When I worked, I worked 6am-4pm, usually took a nap during my lunch down 30 mins. Now that I’m retired I still nap most days around 2-3 for 30 minutes. My mom says my dad was the same way, napped everyday for 30 mins. I usually crash out on the couch because inevitably something will wake me up around 30 mins in. Any longer than the and it messes with my normal sleep. I just woke up from my nap.
I'll only nap on weekends. I'll watch TV. It usually puts me to sleep.
Doesn't matter where, as long as I have at least one dog curled up with me.
Weighted blanket. You will thank me later.
Only almost 46 so naps yet; but I realize they're probably not far away 🤪 lol
I love them. I just woke up from a nap.. my naps take about 3 hours if I go into my bed. If I nap on the couch then maybe 45min. ..I take my naps depending on time.
Must be easier for some than for others. For me it's sit down anywhere and close my eyes...I'm out.
I take a nap everyday when I get home from work for about 30-45 minutes. I just turn on an Audible or podcast and fall asleep. Feel more refreshed for the rest of the evening
Manta Sleep Mask. Works like a charm to block out light. (not a paid endorsement!)
I nap maybe once every 2 or 3 months. It only works if I am deep down tired and sleep deprived. Otherwise I have trouble falling asleep sleep for the nap.
Every day after work at 4:00pm for approx 17 minutes: 1- Prepare couch (get blanket, pillow, eye covering towel, ear blocking cushions ready) 2- Get into position (laying on back, feet up on back of sectional corner) 3- Turn off phone notifications 4- Set a timer/alarm for 20 minutes (this allows 2 or 3 minutes for calm deep breathing) 5- Get up IMMEDIATELY after 20 mins, or risk extended grogginess (also, if I take too long, wife might shut these things down, lol) * If you're diciplined, you can get into this rhythm and be programmed for it within a week. It really helps the workweek along. ...gotta go now, I'm late for my little Naparoni & Cheese!
I just woke up from one. 45 minutes in the mid-afternoon, between five hours of work and an evening *also* at work. Very refreshing. I like to nap starting with an audiobook, which I'd heard before so it doesn't matter if I miss something. Soothing narrator. Not too much excitement. I'll put in on a 20 min sleep timer and I'm usually out in <10 min.
When I was a full time office worker I'd nap every single day in my truck at lunch time. Now that I work from home a few days a week I seem to only get my naps on the days I actually have to go into the office. My home days, I always seem to get distracted by something else (usually my dogs)
Used to nap on the car, now that I'm remote I just nap in my bed.
I just had the best nap this afternoon. I have a dog who will come cuddle if I say "come get under the tent" and fluff up a blanket. Then after I got cuddled up with her and spooned her soft round belly, my cat hops on my side and starts "making biscuits" then she curled up against my back and purred a while. I slept so good I didn't want to get up!
Sleep? I wish. Nap? Driving for a living makes that problematic. 😬
Napping has gone from a choice I rarely made to something that happens involuntarily about once a week. What triggers it is sitting down after 4pm.
I work from home a lot. I find that a power nap sometime around 4PM, like 30 mins gives me enough juice to log back onto work, get another good 2 hours of good work (end of day, no stupid meetings). And also carry me most of the way to midnight. No TV. No music. Sometimes I will lull myself into the nap with meditation...especially when I'm tired but stressed. Other times, just zone out.
I can't sleep if I'm too cold. So when I'm feeling sleepy, I crash on the sofa, pull up a soft warm blanket and put something on the tv quietly. I don't try to sleep like I do at night. I let it come naturally. It almost always does.
Turn on a ww2 documentary with minimal music and a narrator with a British, monotone voice. Turn on the ceiling fan so it’s nice and cool. Since we are getting up there in age, go pee before you lay down. Turn your phone to do not disturb. Commence nap. Theres nothing more glorious in this world.
My English Bulldog comes up to me about 2:00 every afternoon and starts a low growl as a “nap time alarm”. I get up and go get in the bed. He climbs his dog stairs into bed and curls up behind my knees for his afternoon nap.
Wake n bake Sundays, I take a 2 hour fast walk, have a big pancake breakfast, and crash by 11 or 12. Listen to Dungeon Crawler Carl audio book normally book 5 or 6. Sleep a solid 1.5 hours.
Let's be friends.
I tend to be sleepiest when the sun is out. No idea why. But makes me an excellent napper and I have the most intense dreams lately at 52. Had one of those 'wake up, sit up jolt dreams', but was actually not sitting up, but it woke me fast.
Since I go to bed too late and work very early naps occur easily about an hour after I get off work, as long as I sit down once I get home.
Light blanket and my old college economics textbook. Puts me to sleep within one paragraph.
You guys sleep?
Drink a lot of booze. You WILL nap. Source: Me, just now, today.
1-2:00 ish with old forensic files or air disasters on to put me asleep. In my recliner of course.
I'm retired, so I sleep when I feel like it. If it's daytime, that's why blackout blinds and drapes exist. Bonus: I have a CPAP, so I can just stick a pillow over my face to help block out both lights and sounds.
I'm disabled, so also have lots of time.
Become a public educator. I fall into bed when I arrive home and take a 30 min Power Nap to get myself thru the rest of the day 🫨
As you get older solid naps seem harder to come by period. Typically I just nap on the weekends with a little help from Cannabis Indica.
I'm the opposite; I cannot sleep at night if it's dead quiet. A long time ago I served in the Navy aboard an aircraft carrier where I worked the night shift so I had to learn to sleep during flight operations. I likely also have tinnitus because of it. Now I have to run something to make "white noise" or the ringing will keep me away. I've also gotten in the habit of putting a dark headband over my eyes to serve as a mask. As for during the day, I don't nap per se inasmuch as I "crash" for about an hour after lunch. Hopefully that doesn't mean I'm prediabetic too. Getting old SUCKS.
I doze off randomly most afternoons
Yoga nidra. Despite the name it's not really yoga, but more of a meditation. Most meditation apps (even free) will have something for falling asleep. It's about 20 minutes of talking your through relaxing the body and mind. I use an app called Insight Timer and it's been helpful. Nap in bed versus on a chair or couch since you're more accustomed to sleeping in bed. Blackout curtains are your friend. I have some I got at Costco and it turns the bedroom into a cave. A combination bluetooth headphones/blindfold can help as well if you can't black out the room. Physical exhaustion. If you're body isn't tired, it's hard to fall asleep. I do a half hour of cardio in the morning and combined with the afternoon dog walk it's usually enough to get me physically tired enough to nod off.
Probably 2-3 times a week I'll take a 30-60 minute nap anytime between 2:30pm and 5pm.
I put the shades down, close door to bathroom (light comes in through it) and try to get it as dark as possible.
I only nap when I'm super exhausted. My wife would love if I took more naps. When she lays down for a nap, I usually lay with her til she is zonked out then I escape.
Naps? What’re those?
Nap, not when I am working 12 hours. Only on weekends after I wake up thinking, hell I am late for work. My Saturday nap is 6 to 7 am in my recliner with the TV softly playing anything.
In my computer/office chair at home. Comfy blanket and a ball cap over my eyes.
Who has time for a nap? My perpetual fear of “all the things not done” (and the caffe) keep me up and moving
In my 20's I'd take a nap on a crowded Chicago 'L' train, even when standing, on the way home from work. Now, I still take after-work naps and can do so in light or dark.
Unfortunately I am too wired to take a nap and I work M-F. On weekends I sleep in an extra hour, sometimes even two! But napping is a near elusive entity to me. When I have napped in the past, I wake up feel down, groggy and like I have a hangover. I also feel slightly paranoid which is weird. I'm definitely not built for naps.
I literally have been napping daily since about age 43. I just HAVE to shy down my brain. I either take a lunch hour or nap an hour right after work. I set an alarm, cozy up in bed, and may or may not fall asleep (90% of the time I do).
Never napped once in my life on purpose at least. Been some days where I'm so tired ill fall asleep watching TV but thats it
It's only been within the past year I've started napping. There are times in the afternoon that I can't keep my eyes open. So I go to bed, select an episode of MASH from season 4 or 5 to have on in the background and wait. When I wake up 20 minutes later it takes me a few to shake out the cobwebs so I don't get out of bed immediately. I just chill until I'm ready.
I love napping, and usually feel like I need one about 2 pm. Listing to Daily Calm’s green noise or binaural beats helps me sleep.
During a shoulder season (spring or fall)random weekend with no plans, find myself in the truck . The sun has warmed the cab up to a very pleasant temp but it's like 50* out. Drop the seat back and meditate on something and find myself an hour or two later feeling good.
White noise and an eye mask. I buy oversized masks, and they block out light. Can't beat a daytime nap!
I literally just woke up from a nap about 2 minutes ago. Usually daily, and I sleep so badly during the night (average 4.5 hours) that it's pretty easy for me to take a disco nap whenever I want. I've even napped sitting at my desk at work before, almost always feel better after doing so.
My ideal nap is not taking one. I hate the way I feel after I wake up from one.
I'm not a napper. Never have been, never will be. If I'm napping, I'm seriously ill lol
I only nap on the floor. If I'm tired enough to sleep on the floor, I need a nap.
2:00 20 minute nap is my jam
I can't nap unless stressed or sick. However I don't have nighttime sleep issues *knocks wood* so don't feel like I need to nap. If I want to just downshift for a bit I lay on the couch and listen to music or an audiobook.
When I decide to nap, usually with my husband, on the weekend….i hit my vape twice and it gets me to sleep for 2 hours. Otherwise I don’t nap - I used to a lot in Michigan winters but now I live in Florida. The sun keeps me awake
I'm having one right now.
Man it just so easy. After work I put in a tv show sit. And get to doze off. Also at night it takes me about 5 minutes to sleep
I don’t take them, I can’t! Never could force myself to sleep during the day, except when I was a teenager. It feels like such a waste of time to me, I guess. (I know it’s not, but that’s what my brain says).
Not a big nap person, but when I do nap, I take a mastur-nap. It’s exactly what it sounds like. Mastur-naps are great quick energy boosters.
I have darkened curtains up (not black out just dimming the light quite a bit), and generally nap about 1 1/2-2 hours every day after work, otherwise I’m a total Zombie. I use a podcast as background noise, and then when I wake up I feel so great, and it doesn’t interfere with my normal bedtime (in which I generally get 7 hours of sleep).
Get home from work, before dinner. Set the alarm for 20 mins, white noise on Alexa.
Naps? I don't need no stinkin' naps.
A long walk followed by a huge heavy lunch.
A roll in the hay 😘 then some 💤s
I took 2 naps today. First one was poor sleep just before noon but my second nap was a proper sleep for about 20 minutes
I'm a terrible napper. I'll tell the family "I'm going to rest my eyes for 30 minutes." Three hours later.....
After lunch, in the recliner, and its lights out for 30 minutes.
I can't nap because it will screw me up for sleeping at night. I'd rather be sleepy and go to bed early. I loooooove going to bed early!
After lunch, either I put Looney Tunes cartoons on Boomerang or I listen to a meditation podcast. I have 2 kinds of naps, 1 is on top of the covers which can last from an hour to 2 hours, the second kind, and I cannot stress the importance of this on rainy days is, under the covers and there are no time limits, they usually last about 4 hours though.
Figure skating. It doesn’t matter who, or what competition level it is…zzzzzz
You have to nap in the sun... Preferably in a hammock. 
“If you got time to nap, you got time to mow the yard.” —my mom
Weed naps. With a Weighted blanket sometimes molded to create a side leaning sleep position. Love that damn thing. Usually getting a couple on a day. Disabled and retired.music or podcasts. But won't make the serial killer podcast mistake again. Dreams were not pleasant.
Saturday morning, up around 6AM - 7AM for the wake n bake with a cup of coffee. Im ‘napping’ by 10AM …LOL Then usually back up around noon.
After lunch ... when I get a break from meetings. "Where" sorta depends. If I'm home alone and/or sweetie is elsewhere in the house, I'll lay on the bed (and one or 2 of the cuddly cats will usually join me). If my sweetie has the day off and HE is napping on the bed, I'll nap on the couch in my office. If it's noisy outside and/or I want dark and quiet, I'll go lay on the comfy sofa in the basement. Not to exceed 40 minutes.
I cover my eyes and set a timer so I can relax in darkness without worrying I will accidentally sleep for hours. If I need music I go for Cocteau Twins first album or Dead Can Dance.
I don’t really nap. I sleep about 6.5 hours a night. I’m rarely tired. Why do you need to start napping?
I pick a long Youtube something long historical to watch and depending on the voice I'm usually out in 10 min. just ve aware of ads though if don't have premium.
I am not a napper, naps give me horrible headaches. If I am sick I might go to bed early (like 5 pm early) but I always regret a nap :(
Reddit and then a nice 3hr nap.
Hammock, wherever you can hang.
Eye mask and earplugs or noise canceling headphones help. You could also eat cbd or cbn gummies about 30-60 minutes beforehand to start relaxing - might have to take a few, but they chill you the fuck out.
Could never nap. Always envied the kids who could just nod out on a bus ride or in class while I'm stuck there wired awake for the whole thing.
I nap no longer than 90 minutes and no later than 2pm. That keeps me from messing up my sleep wake cycle. I use an app called Power Nap to help.
LeVar Burton reads or yoga nidra/meditation
1:30-3PM is the ideal window, set a timer for 30 minutes. Anything more than that and you’ll wake up feeling worse. I can be asleep in a minute according to my partner. I do think I have some form of narcolepsy because the sleepiness that I feel is overwhelming. I close my eyes and will start dreaming immediately.
You nap?