BellaOnline Forums Health and Fitness Geriatrics Napping

A friend of mine just told me that when she gets up in the morning around 7:00am she always feels tired. So she does a few necessary chores around the house and then takes her nap around 10:00 am! She says then she can get on with the rest of the day and enjoy the better part of an evening before she wants to go to bed. It seems that napping at any hour is good if it helps us feel rested.

A lady friend just told me that she takes a dose of Melatonin on an airplane and "naps" her way to any destination, near and far. I guess a cocktail could work but she says Melatonin is the way to go...it is cheap and can be used at any time.

Has anyone tried napping along with aromatherapy? A friend of mine lights a votive candle on her dresser with lavender scent and sprays her pillow sometimes with sandalwood scent before she takes her nap. Sounds delicious.

I put my house up for sale and some days after trying to choose what I should keep, what to get rid of, etc. I am stressed out and disgruntled. I found that picking up a good book and laying down on my bed and resting for about half an hour to an hour is a great escape. Sometimes I fall asleep and sometimes not, but getting my mind away from all of the decision making and having a rest have been real pluses and enabled me to keep going and keep up my energy level.

I have been taking a mid afternoon reading break on some days when I feel particularly tired. I find that sometimes I doze off and take a nap...other times I just read, but the relaxation and escape is good for me and makes me feel rejuvenated.

I do the same thing with TV...I will watch a show mid-day while on the couch, and sometimes I'm able to fall asleep. I think when we are on the go so much, we need the breaks and the rest, and napping can be a positive result of the time outs.

I think nice smells may have been mentioned earlier on, but I just had a lady friend tell me that she goes out to her garden and cuts some lavender and brings a sprig to bed when she takes a nap. She rubs it on her hands and on her neck and cheeks so she can smell fresh lavender. She says the scent is so delightful that she smiles and falls right to sleep. I'll be this would work with vanilla on a kleenex or other nice scents that we enjoy rather than scented candles which can be dangerous if we are going to sleep. There are many ways to use scents with aromatherapy, but my friend's use of her own lavender was a quick and no cost fix!

A friend was talking to me about her napping. She claims she doesn't feel refreshed afterwards and will often sleep from one to two hours mid afternoons. She asked if anyone had the same problem and if we had any suggestions for her.

When looking on line I found a study that suggested the shorter the naps the better (no more than an hour.) One study showed that long naps can cause a higher mortality rate and higher respiratory disease rates in older adults. Whether we accept these results or not, I think the rule would be not to take long regular naps, but to keep them within less than an hour.

As for my friend, I'm not sure what makes a nap refreshing. Any ideas for her?

For me, lying down in my bed is sleeping, not napping; and I find it hard to get up again. Better by far is to nap in my recliner. It's perfectly comfortable, but I think my mind is always aware that this is just a temporary fix! So I nod off, but not for too long.

Gordon, that's good advice which I passed along to my friend. She read it here too and told me she is planning to try the sofa as she doesn't have a recliner to use. She also said she will try an alarm even though that is not what we think of using when we nap. She wants to try napping but doesn't want to continue to oversleep, so I'm thinking whatever works would be fine. Pat