I spent most of my life not thinking much about sleep.
I was an easy sleeper for decades. I just went to bed, put my head on the pillow, got into my comfy position and nodded off.
I always slept through the night. If I did wake up for some reason, I quickly went right back to sleep. I never had any sleep problems that flipping the pillow over to the cool side couldn’t fix.
All that changed right around when I turned 49 or 50 – which (not coincidentally) is also when I went through menopause. Interrupted sleep became a regular thing for me.
I now wake up almost every night around 3 am. Sometimes it’s because I get way too hot and sweaty in bed. Most nights, I wake up to go to the bathroom because I drink so much darn water all day long.
Getting back to sleep was never an issue for me pre-50. Now, it’s far harder. Suddenly, I’m wide awake in the middle of the night with crystal clarity about some issue I’ve been worried about.
Other nights, I might spiral into a series of worries and negative thoughts. This is so unlike the daytime me!
I tell you all this as a preface for sharing my three favorite types of sleep. My old favorite type of sleep used to be just regular nighttime sleep – but now, that feels choppy and somewhat unsatisfying. Instead, I have three new favorite kinds of sleep:
- Post-walk nap. Okay, this might sound a little weird, but sometimes after our 5:30 am sunrise walks at the dam, I get back into bed. You see, I come back home and my whole house is still sleeping. It’s still pre-7 am. So I think to myself: “I’m not sweaty, I’m going to lie down and rest for a bit.” I never think that I’ll actually fall asleep, but sometimes I do and it’s the most DELICIOUS hour of rest. I wake up feeling like a million bucks.
- Quiet Sunday afternoon nap. This one is rare – we typically don’t take weekend naps. But once in a while, if the house is quiet and we don’t have a lot going on, I’ll crash on the couch for a pack nap with the dogs. I’ve also caught surprise naps while reading out on our screened-in porch (aka the lemon room) in one of our swing chairs. These naps are short, usually under an hour, and they are magnificent. I’ve found it’s not the length of the nap that matters; often shorter is better.
- “Cancellation” sleep. Okay, talk about guilty pleasures: once in a while, either my walking partner or I will cancel on the other last minute. It can happen if we’re not feeling well, have a sick kid or got a lousy night of sleep. When we get that 5 am text, “sorry, can we cancel for today?” it means only one thing: we’re going back to sleep, baby!!!! And that extra, surprise, found morning sleep is like liquid gold. I never have trouble getting to sleep then – I just close my eyes and slip into it like honey. Oh man. I love our sunrise walks so much, but these cancellation sleeps are also truly spectacular.
I refuse to feel guilty about these or any other types of napping I may do. Sleep is essential, just like fresh air and good food to fuel us. Sleep and naps are a form of self-care. I fully embrace my newfound nap habits.
Do you recognize any of these naps or types of sleep in your own life? I’d love to hear about your favorite earned, stolen or otherwise fabulous nap habits.
