Mr. Churchill's Naps

You must sleep sometime between lunch and dinner, and no halfway measures. Take off your clothes and get into bed. That's what I always do. Don't think you will be doing less work because you sleep during the day. That's a foolish notion held by people who have no imaginations. You will be able to accomplish more. You get two days in one -- well, at least one and a half.

— Winston Churchill

Winston Churchill, even during the worst of the Blitz, took a daily nap. Now sleep researchers are verifying naps are a healthy way to add some extra rest to our sleep-deprived lifestyles.

I never used to nap, even when our son was born. All those people who said, "Sleep when the baby sleeps"? Yeah, I'd smile and nod, but really, I thought were crazy. Didn't they know how much I had to do?

Somewhere around my son's first birthday, though, I gave in and embraced the nap. Wow, what a difference it made!

My son's four and a half now, and while he'll nap at home, he's given it up at pre-school. I realize that the days of his napping are numbered.

However, I hope that, somehow, I'll be able to keep up with mine.

As a parent, I can attest that it's far easier to "Never, never, never give in" when you've had a nap. Winston Churchill was onto something.

(The photo above is Winston Churchill's bedroom, in the Cabinet War Rooms.)