An impassioned defense of napping

It’s the middle of the semester: you feel as if all of your energy is drained and you can’t find the motivation to study for any of the seven midterms for the five classes you take.

So if you’re feeling exhausted, just nap.

It seems like the easy answer, but because of how competitive college has become, students are more and more sleep deprived each year.

Napping everyday doesn’t mean you don’t have anything better to do. Every student is involved in multiple groups, classes, and some even have jobs to balance on top of all that.  I have plenty to do, but I put my health first and you should too. Yes, college is difficult and requires a lot of hard work, but we really need to stop putting so much pressure on ourselves. Why nap when you have a million and one things to do? Because you can’t get work done to the best of your ability when your eyes are closing every five seconds.

We’ve all felt that guilty feeling after we take a nap during the day. You feel like you’re not trying as hard as your roommate or friend who didn’t nap for an hour and therefore, won’t succeed as much as they will. Waking up panicked each time you take a nap completely defeats the purpose of the nap.

Don’t let those tired, anti-nap robots laugh and roll their eyes at you like you’re this weak person who can’t handle responsibility. You’ll be the one whose work is always in on time and completed with precision and accuracy.

‘But I have to study’

Plan out your day with a nap. I find that napping makes me finish my work in a more timely manner. If you know that you want to have time to nap, then you’ll be forced to be more productive in a shorter time span. This will make you more efficient, not lazier.  

If you know you’re going to nap later in the day then waking up in the morning also won’t feel so dreadful. You can tell your bed it’s not a goodbye but a see you later. It eases the pain at least a little bit.

Your notebook can make the perfect pillow

Stop feeling guilty for napping. Seriously, if you’re a napper be fucking proud of that. You’re not weak or unmotivated, and you’re definitely not lazy. You’re just somebody who needs a break from life sometimes and is comfortable enough with yourself to admit that. Accept that the daily act of life can be stressful, and maybe you feel anxious and need to nap it off. Take all the time you need. Whether that’s 20 minutes or two hours, you’ll feel more motivated when you wake up and have had your time to decompress from the world. Napping is a release that many people can’t relax enough to do.

Embrace your sleepy-self and let it get the rest it deserves.