Foundations 1

Sleep is not the preferred nomenclature, Dude

I and two fellow nap aficionados have spent years discussing the basics of napping — we actually have a Signal group dedicated entirely to napping, named after our napping hero (more on all of this later).

Nap vs. sleep

Key differences

• Assuming you’re not a vampire or graveyard shift worker (I hope I’m not inadvertently offending anyone with that lingo — seriously, my alma mater maintains a list of apparently offensive language that makes me feel decidedly un-woke), a nap occurs during the day, sleep at night.

• A nap clocks in under an hour. A two-hour nap is not a nap: it’s a sleep.

Loss of consciousness

The sound of one hand clapping?

Hotly debated, but we ultimately say you don’t have to lose consciousness for an eyes-closed session to constitute a nap. That said, a nap is almost always better with loss of consh.

Nomenclature

Common language

• Length/quantity - we describe naps in terms of length and number of increments. That might sound like “2x20 + 10,” which means two 20-minute naps, followed by a 10-minute nap (I often repeat my iPhone timer if the first nap isn’t enough).

• Flex - nap that begins before noon (baller move).

• Trifecta (three-diamond day) - a day when all three of us have napped. Increasingly rare, though given that I recently left my job, I’m confident I’ll be a strong contributor to our group nap count (that reminds me — Hen, we probably need a spreadsheet).

  

  Three of these means today was a good day