Caught napping

Sleep, I must admit, is a wonderful state of being. In fact, I would go a step further and describe it as an inactivity that is most refreshing for our well-being. While we are sleeping our bodies are rested and rejuvenated. We wake up from our peaceful slumber, completely restored and energised, to face a new day and all the cares it brings with it. 

Unlike walking and talking, no one has to really teach us how to sleep. Like breathing, this is something that is ingrained in us from infancy itself. Babies sleep round the clock and have little concept of day or night. Their enthusiastic mothers have to, rather, train them on how to stay awake. This they do by trial and error. Sometimes they fall into an exhausted doze even while their energetic offspring are gurgling in delight. But here I digress. 

Research shows that folks who face sleep deprivation suffer a number health issues including irregular heartbeat, high blood pressure, diabetes and so on. It can make you forgetful, depressive and obese. And as if all this is not bad enough, it also leads to, what one survey describes very politely, marital strife. Since it did not expand on the last bit I leave it to your imagination, dear reader, what that might mean. 

According to Shakespeare, Julius Caesar, preferred the company of men “that are fat, sleek-headed men and such as sleep a-nights. Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look, He thinks too much; such men are dangerous”. 

So you see, how essential it was to be sleep enhanced. Even with no modern investigation to supplement the claim, from time immemorial, rulers and heads of state, kept sleep-deprived people at a safe distance.  From their selves, that is. Or suffered the fatally tragic consequences that the great Roman emperor did. 

The universal rule is that everyone sleeps at night, once the sun goes down and dinner is partaken of. But in some societies there is a concept of an afternoon nap also. For the uninitiated, this is a snooze time that follows lunch. Mostly practised in hot countries where the sun is at its scorching best during high noon, people drop off to sleep for a short period of time right after their mid-day meal. 

In these cultures, their day is divided into three parts. The pre-nap morning chunk where most of the physically challenging activity is done. The intermediary naptime, where everything comes to a standstill and the entire town, sort of, drops dead. And the post-nap lethargic pen pushing type of sluggishness, followed by hectic socialising. 

Personally, I think only physically ill people need to be found in bed during daytime. Even at the height of my sickness I sit up in a chair rather than lie down while the sun is shining. But recently I was terribly jet lagged after a trip to the United States. My body was trying to adjust to the different time zones and as soon as my head touched a pillow, I passed into oblivion. 

“What are you doing?” I heard a voice from a distance.

“Counting till hundred,” I mumbled

“With eyes closed?” the accusatory voice continued.

“They are semi open,” I said.

“In two hours how far have you reached?” the voice asked.

“I’ve been sleeping for so long?” I sat up with a jump. 

“Caught napping!” spouse grinned, ducking as a cushion went sailing over his head.