# Why do people like to take naps? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 3, 2014, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-like-to-take-naps/685257 "2014-04-03T15:20:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2014, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-like-to-take-naps/685257/41 "2014-04-04T13:14:43Z")
Let’s see, why do I nap? (Wish I got more opportunities to do so. But with an energetic 6 year old in the house…) Because sometimes I get tired during the day, and it feels good to give in to the tired, rather than fight it. Really complicated, huh? > [@Blackberry](#): > > And eating, wtf? Why do people like to eat? It’s bizarre. Win. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2014, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-like-to-take-naps/685257/42 "2014-04-04T13:29:19Z")
> [@Kimballkid](#): > > “Sleep, those little slices of death — how I loathe them.” > > ― Edgar Allan Poe This would have been an odd quote for Poe, seeing as how he was not just into little slices of death, but the entire Death Cake. _So much to do, there’s plenty on the farm I’ll sleep when I’m dead Saturday night I like to raise a little harm I’ll sleep when I’m dead_ “His was a great sin that first invented consciousness.” ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2014, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-like-to-take-naps/685257/43 "2014-04-04T13:36:09Z")
> [@Shakes](#): > > Some of my best dreams come from mid day naps. This is really my reason for napping. I love my nap dreams and often nap just to see what kind of a dream I’ll have. But also, it’s a luxurious, nice thing to do for yourself. Sometimes I even take a bath because it feels good, even if I’m not filthy dirty. I go for a walk to listen to the birds and smell the flowers even if I’m not going anywhere in particular. I think there is a temperamental component to this. Some people just do not nap and don’t want to. Some of us enjoy napping. My mother never made me take a nap as a kid, so I don’t have a built-in resistance to it. It doesn’t feel like wasting time or taking time from other things. Napping is a destination activity in itself. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2014, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-like-to-take-naps/685257/44 "2014-04-04T14:20:41Z")
> [@Dallas\_Jones](#): > > That must be horrible! His girlfriend joins him in his nap!?! Like sleeping together in the middle of the day? Has anyone had “The Talk” with the OP? They’re probably not sleeping. Or if they are, there’s a very specific reason why they’re tired. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2014, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-like-to-take-naps/685257/45 "2014-04-04T14:37:33Z")
As a 50yo working parent, my advice is: Never pass up a chance for a nap. You never know when there will be another chance. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2014, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-like-to-take-naps/685257/46 "2014-04-04T16:05:37Z")
> [@Kimballkid](#): > > “Sleep, those little slices of death — how I loathe them.” > > ― Edgar Allan Poe > [@steveroo](#): > > Poe didn’t say that. It’s a mangled quote from _Journey to the Center of the Earth_ (1959). > [@Jackmannii](#): > > This would have been an odd quote for Poe, seeing as how he was not just into little slices of death, but the entire Death Cake. > > _So much to do, there’s plenty on the farm > I’ll sleep when I’m dead > Saturday night I like to raise a little harm > I’ll sleep when I’m dead_ > > “His was a great sin that first invented consciousness.” OK, from looking around I see you are right. It seems to have been attributed to Poe in one of the _Nightmare on Elm Street_ movies. ---
**Author:** ![mage-girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cc9497/32.png) [@mage-girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mage-girl)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2014, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-like-to-take-naps/685257/47 "2014-04-04T22:43:31Z")
I have to take a nap in the middle of the day because I tend to get exhausted and overstimulated. I know, those two should not go together, but they do for me. When I have a bad day, I actually take two naps - one about mid-afternoon, the other in the evening (waking up by 8pm). Then I stay up until midnight. (Since I am disabled this does not upset my work schedule.) However, I have psychiatric issues, chronic fatigue, sleep apnea, and asthma. So I may not be the best example of a regular, “healthy” person. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2014, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-like-to-take-naps/685257/48 "2014-04-04T22:51:02Z")
A Nap refreshes me and I’m able to concentrate better on my work afterward. I’ve started getting sleepy in the afternoons as I get older. I wouldn’t get anything done in the evening without a nap. ---
**Author:** ![Carmady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f04885/32.png) [@Carmady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carmady)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2014, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-like-to-take-naps/685257/49 "2014-04-04T23:00:43Z")
I don’t take naps during the middle of the day, but you might be able to consider sleeping in a “nap”. I’ll wake up normally in the morning, but then I’m happy to lie in bed drifting between sleep and consciousness for hours. Also, it’s fun to remember your dreams, which seems to happen a lot more this way. ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2014, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-like-to-take-naps/685257/50 "2014-04-05T03:14:10Z")
For fans of napping, here is a site that might help 😃 > **[Air Freight - Simplifying Your Logistics with Air Freight Solutions -...](https://www.googlenaps.info/)** > > Air freight, also known as air cargo, refers to the transportation of goods or cargo by air using dedicated cargo planes. Redefining logistics with speed and precision. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2014, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-like-to-take-naps/685257/51 "2014-04-05T04:28:07Z")
Because napping feels GREAT!!! ---
**Author:** ![jabiru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@jabiru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jabiru)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2014, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-like-to-take-naps/685257/52 "2014-04-05T04:44:13Z")
I’m not so much a fan of naps, as a fan of how I feel having taken one, as opposed to walking around, barely able to put two words together and with my eyes feeling like they’ve been in a sandstorm. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2014, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-like-to-take-naps/685257/53 "2014-04-05T05:18:44Z")
> [@Roland\_Orzabal](#): > > I honest-to-God cannot tell whether this is a parody. Yes, it seems like a very poorly-written comedy routine. And if the OP is serious, my guess is that he’s relatively young. ---
**Author:** ![randompattern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7993a0/32.png) [@randompattern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randompattern)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2014, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-like-to-take-naps/685257/54 "2014-04-05T05:35:51Z")
To avoid wasting time I prefer to eat all my meals, and take all my naps while sitting on the toilet. Eating and shitting make me drowsy anyway. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![jabiru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@jabiru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jabiru)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2014, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-like-to-take-naps/685257/55 "2014-04-05T05:38:58Z")
> [@randompattern](#): > > To avoid wasting time I prefer to eat all my meals, and take all my naps while sitting on the toilet. Eating and shitting make me drowsy anyway. > > :dubious: How very organised of you. A time-and-motion expert would be proud! ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2014, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-like-to-take-naps/685257/56 "2014-04-05T06:02:57Z")
I don’t like naps particularly, but the desire to nap, when I have it, almost always occurs during a time when I can’t actually take a nap. Two key times: about an hour after lunch, when I am just falling asleep at the computer. Can’t nap, at work. And then about six in the evening, when I’m cooking dinner. Can’t nap, nobody would get fed. But then, when I actually could take a nap, I’ve almost always got something better to do. And I think almost anything is better because first of all, I have a hard time falling asleep (well, not at the computer, at work, then it’s easy). And then I have a hard time waking up. So two more rounds of two things I don’t like to do? No thanks. No naps. Oddly enough I think I would do well on the following cycle: Go to bed around 10, drift into a light doze for a couple of hours, wake up at midnight, get up, do stuff until 2 or 3 am, then back to bed until the \ alarm goes off. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2014, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-like-to-take-naps/685257/57 "2014-04-05T07:03:54Z")
I believe the OP’s roommate is only pretending to nap to avoid the tedium of litening to the OP’s opinions. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2014, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-like-to-take-naps/685257/58 "2014-04-05T13:02:57Z")
> [@jabiru](#): > > How very organised of you. A time-and-motion expert would be proud! You mean a time-and-_ **movement** _ expert. 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-like-to-take-naps/685257.md?page=2)