how to nap

 

I SUCK AT NAPPING.  Fact.  Over the years I’ve discovered that I don’t do well with it.  If I dare to doze then I’m usually down for the count.  I close my eyes after lunch and don’t get up again until 8 or 9 in the evening at which point I figure I’ve blown the entire day so I might as well feed my little furball, Mischa, and go back to bed.  I’m pretty sure after seven hours it no longer constitutes a nap.  It’s just full on sleeping at that point.

THIS IS WHY I just don’t nap – it isn’t just an hour that I lose but an entire day….and I don’t like it.  So I decided to learn how to nap.  Yes.  Learn how to nap.  And here’s what I learned:

 

How To Nap

how to nap
 
 

To Thine Own Self Be True

how to nap

 

ARE YOU an early bird or a night owl?  I always have a hard time knowing how to answer this question because I go to sleep late and wake up early without an alarm.  So let’s break it down a bit…

YOU’RE A NIGHT OWL IF:  you’re naturally inclined (meaning not dictated by your work/life schedule) to stay up past midnight and wake naturally after 8am.

YOU’RE AN EARLY BIRD IF:  you start to wind down around 10pm and are up and at ‘em around 6 or 7am.

ALL YOU night owls will start to get sluggish around 3pm while the early birds will hit their slump around 1pm.  These are, more than likely, your ideal nap times.  If you can nap during these natural lulls in liveliness then perfect!  If not, no big deal…just get it in when you can.

 
 

Set Limits

how to nap

 

DON’T JUST lay down and hope for the best.  Go into your nap with a game plan.  Grab your phone and set the alarm to one of the following times to reap the following benefits:

20 MINUTES:  increased concentration, alertness and motor skills as well as mood improvement.

45 MINUTES:  same as above but because you’ve entered REM sleep your creativity and sensory processing get a nice little boost too.

90-120 MINUTES:  take all the good stuff from the 20 and 45 minute naps and throw in a big ol’ dose of improved memory recall.  A long nap also allows you to catch up on lost sleep – something we all need more often than not.

 
 

Maximize Your Nap

how to nap

 

MAKE THE MOST of your nap by turning the relaxation up (or should I say down) a notch.

LESS LIGHT, PLEASE:  pull the shades, close the curtains or put on an eye mask to encourage a more restful state.

LAY DOWN:  sure you can nap sitting up, but it isn’t as restful and it will take longer for you to doze off.

COZY UP:  cover up with a lightweight blanket to fend of any sleepytime chills.

I TESTED THESE last week and I had great results.  I can finally nap without sleeping the day away!  Now if I can just stop the guilt train that makes me feel unproductive from pulling into the station, Queen Mab and I can finally be bff’s in snuggly slumber.

WHAT ABOUT YOU?  Are you a napper?  Do you have any advice for us napping novices?  Share your thoughts in the comments.

 
 

Kisses & Chaos,
Alli Woods Frederick

 
 

images  ::  need to sleep – reham omar  ::  sleeping woman – mollyollyoxenfree   ::  three women in bed – dmitry shamin  ::  antique clock macro – tim clarke  ::  breakfast at tiffanys  ::
Posted in TIPS + TRICKS, WELLNESS | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

 

“Part of me suspects that I’m a loser, and the other part of me thinks I’m God Almighty.”

– John Lennon

 

I'm not alone

 

Kisses & Chaos,
Alli Woods Frederick

 

image  ::  i am nature – valeria trasatti  ::
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Ignite Your Creativity

 

EVERY SINGLE artist, no matter what their medium, suffers from occasional creative constipation.  It sucks.  Our mojo gets clogged.  Our creative cogs get gummed up and stop turning.  There’s no getting around it.

RATHER THAN WAITING, hoping the muse returns, why not be proactive?  Take control of your creative constipation and give that brilliant congested noggin of yours a big ol’ dose of inspirational prune juice by trying one of these…

 

25 PROMPTS TO SPARK YOUR IMAGINATION AND IGNITE YOUR CREATIVITY.

Ignite Your Creativity

1.  Have you ever sacrificed or given up on a dream?  How did it feel?  Is it too late to give it another shot?

2.  Where do you feel most at home?  Where do you feel most alive?  The mountains?  The swamp?  The seaside?  The city?  The country?

3.  When you were 5 years old, what did you want to be when you grew up?  How did that dream evolve?

4.  Every family has it’s own customs and traditions.  What is your favorite family tradition?

5.   We’ve all said or done something we would take back if we could. So what’s your greatest regret? And don’t give me some bullsh*t answer about having no regrets because it made you who you are today. I’m not buyin’ it.  Use this opportunity to make amends by being honest with yourself.

Ignite Your Creativity

6.  If you could change one thing about yourself or your life what would it be and why?

7.  Most of us, at some point, created a life plan for ourselves, an idea of how we wanted our life to turn out, a timeline to try and achieve our goals.  How does the life you envisioned vary from the life you have?  Is it better than what you imagined or does it fall short of your goals?

8.  Have you ever experienced a bizarre synchronicity?  What was it?

9.  How do you feel about porn and/or strippers?  Is it empowering to females or does it objectify women?  Does is create unrealistic expectations of what sex and/or the female form should be like?

10.  Do you have unresolved issues with someone who has passed?  If you had them back for 5 minutes what would you say to them?

11.  What is the weirdest, wildest, craziest, over the top thing you’ve ever done?

12.  If you knew you wouldn’t get caught, would you rob a bank?

Ignite Your Creativity

13.  Nature versus nurture – which do you think is more responsible for shaping us?

14.  Choose a color.  Now describe it to someone who has never seen it before.

15.  What is the greatest challenge you’ve overcome in your life?  How did it impact you?

16.  Is there a talent you wish you had?  If you could trade all of your gifts for that one talent, would you?

17. What’s the meanest thing someone has said or done to you? How did you handle it? How did their behavior and/or your reaction change/define you?

18.  Be a fortune teller.  Make 5 predictions about what the world will be like in 20 years.

Ignite Your Creativity

19.  If you had a time machine that only made a one way trip, would you use it even though you knew you’d never get to go home again?  If so, what time would you travel to?

20.  You go to sleep and wake the next day inside your favorite book.  What do you do?

21.  Is love at first sight possible or is it really lust at first sight?

22.  How do you know when you’re in love?

23.  What was the scariest nightmare you ever had?  What was your best dream?

24.  We’ve all been on a bad date…the ones we can’t believe are happening…the ones that seem like they’re out of an episode of Seinfeld.  You know the one.  Now tell us about it.

25.  If you could create one new law what would it be and why?

NOW GO.  Write.  Paint.  Shoot.  Create.  The world is waiting for your brilliance.  And so am I.  I want to see how you used these prompts so I fully expect you to leave links to your genius in the comments.

 

Kisses & Chaos,
Alli Woods Frederick

 

images  ::  day seven – drew anne  ::  source unknown  ::  regret – camography  ::  30 minutes or less  ::  scooby doo  ::
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ballet pointe

ballet pointe

ballet pointe

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Kisses & Chaos,
Alli Woods Frederick

 

images  ::  ballet dancer – paul hagius  ::  ballet – pavel levchuk  ::  via the winger  ::  ballet shoes – eduardo gd  ::  sources unknown
Posted in CULTURE, PHOTOGRAPHY | Tagged , | 2 Comments

 
May I have this dance

May I have this dance

 

 

Kisses & Chaos,
Alli Woods Frederick

 

image  ::  dance production – neo wei  ::
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