A Nana nap

It is 4pm in the afternoon and I am contemplating going off for a little siesta. When we holidayed in Spain we learnt how to really enjoy the afternoon snooze. Here in Australia and in the UK it is often referred to as 'the Nana nap' and yet when an entire country does it they call it a siesta. Somehow a siesta sounds so much nicer than a Nana nap. It conjures up entirely different images and meanings.

When we think of the Nana nap we conjure up images of more mature ladies snoozing on their beds or in their recliner chairs for a portion of the afternoon. Should I be concerned that at the tender age of 52 I am considering a little nap myself? Clearly I have mismanaged my life and now the afternoon slump is hitting hard.

Our bodies dip in temperature in the afternoon and we often struggle through by trudging on, eating sugary high fat snacks because our brains are telling us that we are low on energy and assume that it must be a lack of sugar, and we struggle to concentrate and work effectively. When you know the science of it all it makes more sense to have an afternoon break. And by break I mean more than a cup of tea and a biscuit. I mean a real break, resting and tuning out either reading, lying there watching the world go by or sleeping.

After a siesta in Spain we would wake up refreshed and ready to enter into the rest of the day with more energy and a lightness that I don't normally experience around this time in the afternoon. When we sleep for 20 minutes we only get into the second stage of sleep and wake up more refreshed than if we had an hour. The alternative is to sleep for several hours and stay up later at night.

So I am off for a little siesta.

love
Sarah