[Bacon] Breakfast

One of the best feelings in the world...

Waking up in the morning and smelling bacon cooking.  This is one reason why I love to travel with my dad.  He LOVES making breakfast and usually goes all out doing so.  Bacon, eggs, toast, fruit, hasbrowns, and chocolate milk is a typically breakfast for him.

So while I sleep...he cooks! What a great combination. 

[In Flight] napping

This past weekend, I traveled to Colorado for a family wedding.  I love flying because I think it's fascinating that you can quickly get from one side of the country to the next!  However, my flight left for Denver very early the morning, and I had been up packing late at night.  Therefore, I already had plans to nap as soon as I boarded the plane.  However, once we were in the air, I just couldn't get comfortable.  I would snooze for a minute or two and then be woken up from some noise on the aircraft.  It just wasn't going to happen for me. 

Then when I got to Colorado, I googled tips for sleeping on an airplane. and this is what I found! How to Sleep on a Plane

They offer some great tips!  If you ever have travel plans, check this out before you go and you might have better luck napping than I did.

Sleepy [Facebookers]

I ran across this site on Facebook for those of you who love sleeping in on rainy days like me!! They really have a fan page for just about everything out there.  If you love sleeping on rainy days, then you should definitely check out this link !

Sleeping in on a [RAINY DAY]

With all of this rain the past two weeks in beautiful Ohio, it's becoming increasingly difficult to get out of bed in the morning.  Laying awake after my alarm goes off...listening to the pitter patter of the rain on the roof...is just so relaxing. 

With no schedule over Easter weekend, I was able to enjoy a lazy day in bed listening to the rain.  Sometimes the simple pleasures in life are the best :)

[Polyphasic] Sleep

A new sleep schedule has emerged calling for six 20 min naps a day.  After the first week, your body can get used to this little amount of sleep.  It trains your brain to enter REM sleep (when you dream) as soon as you fall asleep.  It is crucial not to skip any of these 20 min naps throughout the day because it can cause your body to crash.  However, if you stick to the schedule, people find that they have more energy and more free time!  Check out this blog on Polyphasic Sleep !

Aromatherapy Sleep Mist?

Bath & Body Works offers a new product! It is a mist that you spray on your pillow before sleep.  The lavendar aromatherapy scent soothes and calmes the nerves to relieve tension and the vanilla scent gets rid of stress.  Sounds pretty nice!! And only $10...maybe a good mother's day gift??

Planned Napping

If you know there will be a change in your schedule that requires you to be up later...there is a technique that can help!  According the the National Sleep Foundation, "planned napping", also called prepatory napping consists of taking a short snooze before you actually get tired at night.  This will allow your body to stay refreshed for longer so you can complete more activities before you get tired at night.  Check out the link for other napping tips from the National Sleep Foundation

[Nyquil] sleep

I could feel the onset of a cold as I was getting ready for bed last night.  I always sleep terribly when I am sick, so just to make sure I slept soundly, I popped in a couple nyquil pills for good measure.  I failed to realize that it was 2am when I did this.  Waking up at 7:30am the next morning was awful.  I was so groggy and tired.  I'm assuming it was because I didn't allow for enough time to pass for the medicine to wear off.  I was "out of it" all day until I had time to take a 2 hour nap.  While I did feel better after that, I still lost 2 hours of doing something productive.  So, PLEASE don't make this same mistake.  Leave the recommended 8 hours to let the medicine work it's magic.

 

Take a [Nap], Lose Weight

My mother often clips out articles that she thinks I should read and mails them to me.  Sometimes they are "not so interesting" but one in particular caught my eye.

The title of the article is..."Take a Nap, Lose Weight!"

It talks about how skinner people on average sleep more! The study was done at Eastern Medical School and found that thin people sleep on average 2 hours a week more than overweight people.  People that sleep less have higher level of an appetite-boosting hormone, ghrelin.  So sleep an extra 17 minutes a day (2 hours more a week) and see if you see a difference!

Who knew losing weight could be so easy!

Walgreens [treasure]

You never know what you will stumble upon when looking around Walgreens.

On my latest visit, I was on a mission for milk and cereal.  While waiting in the check-out line, I stumbled upon a stand of special drinks.  It  was "Marley's Mellow Mood".  The title and colorful jamaican colored bottle intrigued me enough to then read it's label.  This is what found...

-It's the opposite of a energy drink...instead a relaxation beverage!
-Ingredients such as melotonin, chamomile and passion flowers and more make up this calming cocktail
-Takes the stress away and puts you to sleep!

Considering how much I love to relax/sleep, I obviously bought one.  Each bottle has 2 servings and it comes in different flavors such as citrus, berry, green tea, and black tea.  Green Tea was delicious.

If you want to know more about this product check out the MELLOW MOOD website!

 

Naps on a [RAINY] day

Cuddling up in your favorite comfy spot while avoiding the dreary rainy weather is a great feeling.  I think that listening to the rain while falling asleep is so relaxing.  Makes me appreciate my warm, dry bed!  So on this cold, wet day in March, I will attempt to not step foot out of my house! I'm up for a challenge...

Cats also love naps on rainy days!  Look at this cute kitty I found taking a cat nap

happy.napping.

Waking up on the RIGHT side of my bed

The Sleep Cycle Alarm app is AMAZING!
I've used it about 3 times within the past week and have waken up feeling refreshed everytime.  You can also view a chart which shows how long you are in the different cycles of sleep (deep, REM, light).  It was totally worth the 99 cents. 
Try it out if you've got an iPhone!
Happy napping :)

Apple iPhone

After purchasing an Apple iPhone over the weekend, I have no become obsessed with searching for the perfect apps.  I stumbled across one that is called "Sleep Cycle Alarm".  What is claims to do is sensor your body movement as you sleep and then recognize when the best time to interupt your sleep cycle is to wake you up to feel the most rested.  It requires one night to calibrate which involves placing the iPhone under your sheets so it can monitor movements.  Then on the next night, you set your alarm as usual and it will follow your body movements to determine when the body is in a shallow sleep.  It can wake you up anytime within a half hour before the set alarm. 

Now I'm not sure about this app...it could be a complete hoax.  But it effectively suckered me in and cost me 99 cents so I'll give it a shot.  I plan on calibrating it tonight so I'll let you know if it works!

Check out other cool apps that may sucker you in! iPhone apps
happy napping!

Sleeping away the [COLD]

I've slept a lot these past few days and for a couple of reasons.  First off, I was struck with the common cold for the first time this winter.  I though that I was going to be able to make it out clean this year but that definitely didn't happen.  And as we all know, sleeping helps to speed the recovery process so I took as many naps as my schedule would allow.  With the help of a couple shots of Nyquil, I slept great at night and still woke up for my classes!
Check out this guide on how to use Nyquil effectively...  Quick Guide 
The other reason that I slept a lot these past few days is because the weather snapped back into winter mode.  This caused me to once again enter hiberation and refuse to leave to comfort of my warm bed.
Now that I'm feeling normal again, it's back to the daily grind!
Maybe I'll have time for a quick snooze tomorrow....
happy napping! 

Little did I know....that there are businesses that encourage their workers to sleep on the job!
Sleep is an important part of productivity.  Companies such as Ben and Jerrys, Continental and Nike are all starting to offer their employees a chance to take a power nap on the job.  This article from Businessweek talks about all of these and also gives a few tips for a successful nap.

Happy Napping!

Nap Friendly Companies

A little bit about myself

Since I failed to tell you about myself in my first post, I'll have to catch you all up.  I'm a junior in college majoring in communication studies with a minor in PR.  I have absolutely no idea what i want to do with my life.  For now, I'm interning at WVIZ./PBS/ideastream and I really like it.  It's not what i expected but I'm learning a lot about radio, tv, programming, and promotion.
In my free time I enjoy exercising, napping, eating, and hanging out with friends and my family. 
After a ski trip to Holiday Valley this past weekend, I woke up on Sunday morning feeling like I got run over by a snow plow.  I was so sore and had to drag myself out of bed to get to church.  Later that day, I took one of my amazing naps.  I layed down on my bed and my body melted into the mattress.  I'm pretty sure I didn't move for the entire 2 hours because I woke up in the same position.  I woke up feeling refreshed mentally! Unfortunately my body still felt like an 80 year old man...
Oh well!
Happy Napping!  

Where it all began...

When I told my mom that I was creating a blog about napping, she wasn't surprised.  She reminded me that when I was a baby she had to wake me up to feed me.  I always knew I was the PERFECT baby...
Since then I've always been a pro when it comes to sleeping in general.  Sneaking in a quick 20 min power nap can make my day so much better!
happy napping!