I am such a big fan of naps during the day, but some people find it very difficult to do this. I don’t care if I actually sleep. What I am trying to do is down regulate my system. Things can be very go, go, go! Without even noticing we can constantly be working hard and holding a bit of stress. That is why I try get at least a 30 minute nap. This way I get a chance to tune out, restart, and go again. The science is there to show that this improves productivity. This means you gain time by napping or meditating rather than waste it.
My key for napping is that I just put something on a podcast that I find mildly interesting but don’t care in the slightest if I zone out (Nerd Soup Game of Thrones reviews are one of my choices at the moment ). I set my timer for between 30 and 45 minutes, depending on the time I have. I just close my eyes, focus on breathing into my stomach, and see what happens. Sometimes I sleep, sometimes I don’t, but just having my eyes closed allows for that ‘reset’ time. You might just focus on your breath. Breathe into your nose and out of your nose. Just focus on the bridge of your nose with your eyes closed. If you feel your mind wonder just come back to the breath each time.
Don’t say you don’t have time. That is quite frankly nonsense. You can eat a (pitta bread ) sandwich really quickly and be ready to go. I often do this in my car when lecturing. I move my car to a quiet spot and recline the seat, or if a quiet spot is not available I just hop in my car.
Wherever you are, close your eyes, and focus on your breath for 10 minutes to down regulate your system. Nobody will miss you. Life is easy when you live it the hard way and hard when you live it the easy way. It’s easy just to scroll on Facebook, or make stupid small talk in a canteen, or watch Home and Away. But unless these things give you energy you might be much better off going to your car and meditating or napping if possible. See if it doesn’t make a big difference to your energy levels in two weeks or so.
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