My father was an excellent napper. He could fall asleep in a brief amount of time and wake refreshed and ready for more activity. I can remember him lying flat on the floor with all kinds of family activity surrounding him. He’d nod off for a few minutes, then get up and get on with his day. He was a big fan of his recliner chair, where he would take a brief nap after dinner, which was our noontime meal, when he had the time.

I am like my dad in that way. Unless I have appointments or other reasons that don’t allow time, I enjoy a nap most days. I can sit in my chair for 15 to 20 minutes and sometimes more. The pause gives me a feeling of renewed energy. I guess it would be fair to put my naps into context. I don’t have very normal sleep patterns in the first place. I rise in the middle of the night most nights and then go back to bed for a second sleep, often after having been awake for an hour or more. Most of my journal entries are written after having slept for 3 to 4 hours before returning to bed for a second, sometimes shorter, period of sleep. Add in my nap and I think I get the recommended eight hours of sleep every day. I just don’t get it all in one stretch.

Both my father and I managed time with short sleeping hours during our working years. My father would rise at 4 or 4:30 am and go to work at the airport, taking advantage of the cool air for small craft mountain flying. After 3 or 4 hours completing a flying job he would be at his shop serving customers. Most evenings he worked later than his employees. Whenever possible he took an extended break at mid day, coming home for the big meal of the day and getting in a nap before returning to work when possible. For most of my working life, I would go to the office early in the day, before people expected a pastor to be in the church. I would prepare for worship, write articles for the newsletter, plan meeting agenda, and complete desk work before turning my attention to the people who came to the church. For most of my working life I was on call for a variety of emergencies and got used to getting up in the middle of the night to respond to a community death, a crisis at the hospital, or some other need.

Now that I am retired, I don’t receive those calls in the middle of the night. There is really nothing that would prevent me from sleeping all night long except my own habits.

I’ve read quite a few articles and studies over the years about sleeping patterns. I’m aware that sleep is a factor in all kinds of health challenges and that sufficient sleep is necessary for the prevention of a number of diseases. What I have not seen is much science around when sleep is most useful. Experience, however, has taught me that different people have different rhythms to their days and that there is no “one size fits all” sleep pattern.

Part of my experiential understanding of sleep comes from the simple fact that I have enjoyed a long and meaningful marriage with someone who doesn’t got to bed at the same time as me or get up at the same time as me most nights. Our differing sleep patterns are so much a part of our life that neither of us is bothered by sharing a bed part of the time and being alone in the bed at other times. When we were newly wed and students, we realized that she was able to do good work late at night and often stayed up to complete projects. I, on the other hand, was inefficient late at night and could accomplish more by getting up early in the morning.

We also have very different patterns when it comes to napping. I nap more often than she and when I nap about 20 minutes seems right. I don’t fall into a deep sleep, but rather enjoy a restorative rest period. When she does nap, a longer time seems to work better for her and she often falls into a much deeper sleep. 90 minutes seems to be a good amount of time for her. Neither of us would be better rested or happier if we tried to follow the other’s pattern.

I think that napping is probably more art than science. Tuning into your individual needs and circadian rhythms is something that develops over time and also changes as time goes by. One trick that I have for napping is to either set an alarm or to ask a family member to wake me if I have a commitment after a time of sleeping. Worrying about waking on time can prevent me from relaxing into restorative sleep. Knowing that I will wake in time for an important meeting or event allows me to relax. It is common for me to wake before the alarm or wake up call feeling refreshed and ready to get on with my day. It seems as if I don’t need the alarm to wake up as much as I need knowing it will be there to allow me to relax and go to sleep.

I don’t know if it is because I nap or if it is just the way that I am, but I rarely have trouble falling asleep. I don’t seem to need much of a bedtime ritual. I simply lie on the bed and go to sleep. Conversely, when I am awake I get up from the bed. I rarely spend any amount of time lying awake in bed. Others, however, find it difficult to go to sleep and often lie awake.

The bottom line is that if you have made it to the end of this journal entry, you probably haven’t learned anything that you didn’t already know. I don’t have advice to give to others when it comes to napping and sleeping. It is something we all do, but we seem to have many different ways of doing it. And that, it seems to me, is not a problem. And if it was a problem, I’d probably want to sleep on it before tackling it anyway.