Dear LPG,

I have developed a habit that so many people do at my time of life and, like many of the friends I have talked to about it, I feel that we have earned the right to nap during the day now that we don’t have to work anymore.   I know that Covid-19 gets blamed for so many things, but I think in my case that the general boredom of being at home all the time, which has been the major fall-out factor of lockdown, really has also contributed to an occasional habit that is becoming far too frequent.

I know that different people’s ‘times of life’ don’t only depend on their age and that there are a lot of other factors involved.  I would like to site a few such factors at this point; how many things you have found to fit into your day now that you have retired, how many of your family and friend circle depend on you to do those little things that they believe you can do to help them now that you have all the time in the world, how many life ambitions you are trying to fit in before it is too late (writing your autobiography, learning to play an instrument or a new language etc.), how many hospital appointments you need to attend and so on.

I like to think that I have chosen to keep my life pretty full, but I wonder if I should swap those ever-more-regular two or three mid-morning/early-afternoon seconds when the sudden drop of my head wakes me up from one of those nodding-off moments, for a planned 40 winks.  I have always thought of those as an activity for people who do nothing else, so you can appreciate the dilemma.  I also have to say that on the few occasions I have tried the planned 20-minute power nap; I find it really hard to wake out of it.

I took a look on line for help and found that quite a bit of research has been done into this question and even though I have lived through quite a few ‘times of life’ without the need for an afternoon snooze, it appears that today’s modern-life stresses may well be getting to people of all ages.

I have learnt a little about the science behind the pros and cons of the afternoon nap and I have even discovered a little evidence that suggests playing with your ears can help you waken and be more alert after any sleep session.  I feel this to be information that all readers with similar issues might need to hear….

JN, Croydon.

JN shares her findings…

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