I’ll admit it: I’ve never really been a nap type of person before college. Sometimes it just felt like a waste of time that could be spent doing something a lot more productive, and at other times I just felt like it was a bit more draining than replenishing. But of course, that was before I arrived on campus and realized how much naps are a life savior to the daily struggles of college life. Let’s face it, being at college just automatically takes napping to a whole other level—so much so, in fact, that there are different complexities and varieties of different naps you begin to take when you become a college student (and an expert napper by default).
1. The Power Nap Before Class:
A 30 minute break in between classes? It’s definitely a little risky to fit a snooze in and still make it to class on time, but these types of naps are definitely up there in terms of the best types of naps you can ever get. I mean, who doesn’t need a quick energy recharge before you have to go to that 4pm class and listen to your professor drone on about the history of Europe? Which brings me to...
2. The In-Class Doze:
Sometimes learning about physics or European history or whatever you’re learning (who knows, really—you’re too busy sleeping to even know what class you’re in) isn’t as important as your urgent need to catch some Z’s at the moment, and you can’t help but start to doze off in the middle of class. These types of naps take the most skill, of course, given the stealth level necessary not to get caught by the professor, especially in small-sized classes—but it’s all worth the risk for a nice, refreshing snooze.
3. The Procrastination Nap:
These types of naps are extremely handy when you’re feeling particularly overwhelmed and stressed out with all the school work that’s piling up on you. I mean, why work on that five-page essay due the next day when you can just be in denial for a little while longer and procrastinate with a nice, refreshing nap?
4. The Accidental Snooze:
You swear you’re just going to close your eyes for 5 minutes, but before you know it you’ve completely dozed off. End result? You bolting up out of bed in a sudden burst of panic, swearing profusely, when you finally wake up and realize what time it is--and how much time you’ve accidentally wasted on sleeping.
5. The “5 More Minutes” Nap:
Let’s face it; these types of naps happen to even the best of us. We’re all guilty of hitting that snooze button on our alarms in the morning and thinking to ourselves, “Five more minutes and I swear I’ll get up.” But before you realize it, you’ve hit that snooze button about ten times and five more minutes have turned into a half an hour. Oops.
6. The Did-I-Just-Wake-Up-From-A-Coma Nap:
We all know this one, maybe some of us a little too well: It’s the one when you fall asleep after barely getting any sleep the past week, and then waking up feeling completely groggy and confused, with your hair all over the place and drool dried down the side of your face. When you glance at the clock and it reads 6:00, you’re not entirely sure whether it’s 6am or 6pm (or even what day of the week it is) because you literally feel like you’ve been in a coma for at least three days straight.
7. The Collapse:
This type of nap is probably the most satisfying; after an intense few hours of physical exercise or an exhausting, emotionally-draining day or night out, you just collapse onto your bed (or the most comfy surface nearest you, if you can’t even make it to your bed) and enter a deep sleep as soon as your head hits the pillow. You don’t even caring about undressing or changing in nap-appropriate garb—all you need is sleep, and gosh darn it if it anyone or anything is going to stop you.
