Nodding Off in the Daytime Gives Stamina That Keeps You Partying All Night
I discovered the power nap – and it’s amazing regenerative qualities – in Mykonos, the wild party place in the Greek Islands.
Mykonos is like Spring Break for adults, an afternoon beach party, followed by going wild all night. Except sometimes, the nights on Mykonos don’t end until the sun is coming up in the morning. It happens so often, when it starts to get light outside, you say, while laughing, “oh, no, not again!”
There’s no way I could survive even one day in Mykonos were it not for the power nap. The daytime-nighttime party combination is just too much for the body to absorb within the few hours of the kind-of normal sleep time.
But get up, have some lunch at that great cafe on Paradise Beach – it has the freshest Greek salad in all of Greece, I do believe – lay down for a while, and you’re good to go after a while. Australians call them “kips,” which I find cute and amusing (I also found the girls telling me that cute and amusing).
A power nap may not be the elusive Fountain of Youth, but it’s certainly the Fountain of Party Energy Replenishment.
When I take a power nap, I don’t need Monster or the 5-Hour Energy Shot, pills or any other type of bodily supplement. I’m naturally energized.
I brought the power nap back with me and now it’s a part of my daily life. In fact, I just had one before writing this article. Before, I was sluggish and now I’m full of energy, ready to see what awaits me in my next adventure.
Since I began taking power naps on a regular basis, I’ve seen all sorts of news reports and studies on how healthy they are, how they help reduce stress, how they can even help you live longer. I’ll endorse those opinions.
My power naps last between 20 minutes and an hour, and some are so powerful, when I emerge from them I’m like a bear coming out of months of hibernation. It takes me a few moments to get my bearings.
I am fortunate that I can pretty much sleep anywhere – curled up in a small space on a boat, scrunched up in airplane seats, in a hammock or stretched out on a cabana overlooking the ocean. A huge party or conversations could be all around me, and I can sleep through that, as well (though if there’s a huge party happening, I cut the nap short).
Like a toothbrush and clean changes of clothes, I take my power naps with me wherever I travel. My shipmates liked to make fun of me while I was napping on Jack Sparrow, our the live-aboard sailboat in the British Virgin Islands.
But I was always ready to go when we tied up to a mooring ball and hit the bars on the islands.
Ahh, the power nap. My secret to long-lasting nightlife.
Leave a Reply