Napping is an interesting concept.

It is something that we completely resent as a young kid when all we want to do is play, but as we get older, taking a nap seems to be the ultimate goal. Napping is one of those things that I could never do (unless I was sick, of course).

I would try so hard to nap after coming home from high school, but I could just never do it: the sun was too bright, my house was too loud, and my phone was always going off. It wasn’t until I became a college student that I fully mastered the art of napping.

Since I became a college student, I have napped three times. This may seem mediocre or unimpressive, but its honestly a miracle for me. I was never able to nap before, and now my body can sleep on command. There was one particular day this semester where I just couldn’t stay up. I had finished all my classes for the day and went back to my dorm room.

I watched some Netflix, had a snack, and one of my roommates came back to the room. We were both a bit tired, so we decided to turn off the lights and take a nap. I was on my phone, FULLY expecting to remain awake for the duration of “nap time” but within minutes of hitting the pillow, I was out.

I slept for nearly two hours.

I woke up and felt like a whole new person. I was completely refreshed, made a cup of coffee, gathered my things and headed to my night class. I thought to myself, “I could get used to this” as I pondered how I finally gained the ability to take a successful nap. I have concluded that it is three basic factors that I think many people can agree with me on.

1. Dorm living

Regardless of your sleeping situation at home, dorm living is a whole different animal. You live in a shoebox with 1-3 other people, and the walls are paper thin. It’s never perfectly silent. Someone is blasting their music, your floor-mates are talking in the hallway, and your roommate keeps coughing. Eventually, your body just adapts to these constant noises and learns how to fall asleep in a setting of any volume. Needless to say, I’m impressed with myself.

2. Perpetual Exhaustion

I don’t know what it is about college that makes me constantly tired. Long weekends, mountains of homework, and haunting stress probably don’t help my well-being. However, being tired really helps with taking naps (duh).

College has introduced me to a new way of being: I can function if I need to, but I’d almost always rather be sleeping. Don’t get me wrong, I love being a productive member of society, but climbing into bed is the greatest feeling in the world.

3. Dorm living pt. 2

As stated in number one of this list, your personal space in college (if you live in a dorm room) is pretty small. Your bedroom, kitchen, and living room are all in the same place. So naturally, if you go to your room after class, your bed will be staring at you. Begging for you to come sit. And if you do, it becomes very, very tempting to nap. Your bed basically taunts you.

I recognize that napping isn’t for everyone, and people have different preferences when it comes to “resting their eyes.” Some make a point to plan their classes around their nap schedule, others nap only when they need to recharge, and some simply never nap. Also, napping isn’t necessarily a sign of weakness.

If you fall asleep at 1:30 in the afternoon, it’s simply because your body is saying “Hey! I didn’t get enough sleep last night. I need a break.” That’s totally cool. No matter what your napping habits are, or what they used to be, everyone can agree on a nice afternoon snooze once and a while.

Now that I have mastered the art of napping as a college student, I encourage those reading to give it a try. Even twenty minutes of a nice nap can change your attitude for the rest of the day. Sweet dreams!