Now I can afford siesta!

Thank God! I get to enjoy napping in the afternoons for at least an hour on most days of a month. This blessing of enjoying a nap came to me 12 years ago after a very busy life of day long work for 25 years. This luxury came to me after I opted for Voluntary Retirement and started my own CNC Machines related consultancy in 2001. On most days I am free and on the days I have business, I try to finish my job by noon and reach home for lunch and a rejuvenating siesta and in case there is any  other assignment I take it up in the evenings.

In contrast my father and my brother enjoyed the luxury of taking a nap in the afternoons all their lives. It was the luxury of habitual napping. My father as a Senior Officer in the Company, worked from 9:30 AM to 12:30 PM and from 4:30 PM to 6:00 PM, he came home for lunch, went through newspapers or a book and took a long nap. And my brother, a Dental Surgeon with his own practice attached to the house stuck to the same timings of my father in the mornings and after a good nap; in the evening he practiced from 4:30 PM to 7:30 PM.

A nap is said to restore alertness, prevent burnout, heighten sensory perception and make one more productive. True to some extent, perhaps more true in the case of the weak and elderly persons and those who can’t get a good night’s sleep. As for me, after a nap I certainly feel a little relaxed, fresh and energetic for the evening activities.

I am not trying to say here that everyone should take a nap; it is only for the elderly and those who can afford it or need it. Normally for the majority of working class the day is divided into two distinct periods, one for sleep and one for wakefulness. If you are a busy man with lots of work and important things to do, don’t neglect your work and think of a nap, just have a well deserved good night’s sleep. That will do, it is good enough for your health and everything else. Otherwise you would be branded as a lazy and unambitious ever napping man and as a person of low standards! And of course you would not be successful in life. You can enjoy napping after your well deserved retirement!