5 ways to catch up on sleep
If you are one of the lucky ones, your children may sleep through the night 7pm-7am, but if you’re like the rest of us you are probably not getting enough quality sleep. The opportunities to sleep are few and far between because you’re most likely at work or spending time with the kids when you’re home and the only respite is that golden hour or two after they go to bed and all you want to do is have a glass of wine and sit down on the couch and watch TV. So the best you can hope for is a sneaky powernap sometime during the day – like me when I fell asleep in the dentist chair a few weeks after the birth of my first child. I wouldn’t recommend the dentist chair, but here are five of the best places I reckon you can get away with it:
1) On the throne
This is probably one of the few places at home that you will get some respite from the chaos outside that bathroom door – remember to lock the door behind you though or you’ll get sprung. To quote the Minister in ‘The Thick of it‘ : “All I do: I work, I eat, I shower, that’s it. Occasionally I take a dump, just as a sort of treat. I mean that really IS my treat. I sit there and I think – no, I’m not gonna read the New Statesman, this time is just for me. This is quality time just for me. Is it normal?”
2) In the car (as a passenger)
For the record: Doing this while driving is a no-no unless you’ve parked it somewhere, however as a passenger it might give you a few minutes of shut-eye before you reach your destination.
3) At the cinema
A nice way to spend time with your kids is to treat them to a new animated film at the cinema… also good for you because you get at least an hour of sit down time with the lights out…. make the most of it.
4) On public transport
Long train journeys are the best… perhaps on your way to work, remembering to wear your sunglasses. Set your alarm though cos the last you want is to miss your stop and end up at the end of the train line miles from anywhere… or perhaps you do?
5) At work
This is a tough one. If you work in an office there’s not too many places to hide… while technology is constantly improving, the fake glasses with eyes painted on them are not as realistic as you may think and most colleagues will probably notice they’re not your real eyes. Maybe there is a sick bay somewhere or maybe you need to resort to tip 1. The extreme is to build yourself a nice little nook under your desk like George Costanza… getting sprung could spell the end of your job though so we can’t endorse it. Check out this blog for more examples.
If you work outdoors then hopefully you can find a park or something nearby but if you’re a construction worker then don’t be tempted to do this, particularly if you’re working on a new skyscraper at the time:
