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Home » Mom Life » The Art of the Power Nap

The Art of the Power Nap

Updated May 26, 2016

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Do you feel wiped out during the day and weary by bedtime? Here it is, ladies… the art of the disco nap. Post contains affiliate links.

Do you get tired and weary in the afternoon? Here's how a SAHM can master the art of the power nap.

Being a mom is exhausting.

There is the worry that makes you pray more.

There’s the endless hygiene and physical needs that we must meet for babies and toddlers.

There is the hyper vigilance of being a mom in general.

So whether you get up early in the morning to get things done (like I do) or if you stay up later at night to have some silent you time, most moms could do with a little refresh during the day. I personally am in love with power naps. Actually I call them disco naps except that is misleading because I do not disco.

What’s a power nap?

A power nap is a short nap that lasts about 20 minutes. You don’t even necessarily have to fall into a deep sleep, but rather drift off and relax your mind and body for a short period during the afternoon slump. If done right, you should wake up refreshed and more alert.

How can a busy mom power nap?

A busy mom with small children – even small children close in age – can definitely find time to get a bit of rest during the day to help make it through. I also think a power nap can be a good ideas for moms who find themself falling asleep at 8:30 pm. I get up early these days to work before the kids get up and sometimes, by 8:45 pm I am literally falling asleep.

While that’s all fine and good, it means that the majority of my day is spent busy with the kids, but I can’t even take advantage of the evening hours because I’m too wiped. The way I combat this (and have done for years) is to take a quick afternoon nap. I still go to bed early, let’s be honest, but I don’t crash and burn right after I’ve gotten them all in bed. 

1. Time it wisely. 

I’ll usually take a power nap in the afternoon when all the kids are down for naps at the same time. Because they’re all in their rooms, safe and sound and monitored, I feel comfortable taking a quick nap. I’ll do it near them so that I’ve got one ear open if they need me.

2. Use a timer.

I’ve already talked about what a great tool the timer is, but here’s another use for it. A power nap goes past the point of usefulness if it lasts longer than 20-30 minutes. If you can sleep a bit longer you might not need a timer, but if you’d sleep for hours then it’d likely become counterproductive for you. Beyond that 2-30 minutes you’ll feel sluggish and lethargic upon waking. It needs to be quick so a timer or alarm so you wake when you’re supposed to.

3. Set the scene. 

I use the term “setting the scene” often, but essentially this means make it a good environment to do whatever it is you want to do. You can’t go to great lengths for a 20 minute nap but you can lay somewhere quiet and get an eye mask. I love an eye mask. Also you can use some white noise of your own, but beware you turn it up too loud so you can’t hear if the kids call.

4. Practice relaxing. 

If you take a while to fall asleep, don’t fear. When you lay down, practice relaxing your body from head to toe. This is actually a relaxation technique from the Bradley Method of childbirth. Anyway, you just think about your head, neck, shoulders, etc. and relax them as you go down. Even if you don’t fall fast asleep you’ll have rested your body and relaxed. I often think this exact thought, “Even if I don’t fall asleep, it’s nice to lay down and rest.” That helps me from getting antsy and anxious that I won’t fall asleep fast.

5. Get up when it’s over.

When time is up, stand up quickly and get moving. This is key because you don’t want to give in to napping longer (unless you can, of course) nor do you want sluggishness to set in. Stand up and do a good stretch!

Feeling like a tired mom? Here are some more posts to help you be better rested. 

tips to help the tired mom sleep more better and longer

tips remedies and ways to cope for the tired stressed out mom

Here's the real reason why mothers are so exhausted #mother #parenting #children

If you are stressed, overwhelmed, or drained… you aren’t alone.

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Rachel

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I'm Rachel, mother of 5 young kids living in the Florida panhandle with my Australian husband. I write about family culture, family rhythms and routines, and boundaries in motherhood and life. You can see snippets of my daily life here and visit my shop for baby sleep, organizing, and routine help.

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I just wanted to say thank you for your easy peasy routine for 2 year olds! I day-weaned my 2 year old a month ago and have been trying everything to get him to go down for a nap without the nursing. Nothing was working and I was starting to think he would never have a nap again.

Anyways I started following your routine and we just sat in bed and had what I told him was “quiet time.” We sat and read and made a fort and had warm milk. Then today I told him it was quiet time again and he tried to escape the bed a couple times, but in the end he snuggled up after the warm bottle and fell asleep for 3 hours! I was almost in tears I was so excited! So thank you!

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I stumbled upon your blog one morning after praying night after night for God to fix my home! I had just had a baby this May 1st and also have a 2 and 4 year old and my home broke out in complete chaos!

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I’m a first time mom to a 15 day old baby girl. I had no idea what I was doing and couldn’t get her to sleep in her crib until I found your blog.

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“Within a week or two our little girl changed!”

I tumbled into post partum depression/anxiety and didn’t know what to do anymore. I was a mess, baby girl was a mess and I don’t even know how my husband was dealing with it all… 

I googled everything I could think about but there was never really something that felt right, that felt genuine instead of just telling do’s and don’ts. 

And then I found your website and read your pieces about sleeping and eating. I carefully read through your schedules and decided to try it.

IT WORKED!! 

And within a week or two our little girl changed from a frustrated baby into this happy dappy smiling ray of sunshine, that is able to settle herself down by sucking on her fists, even in the middle of the night. At 12 weeks baby girl slept through the night and now at 20 weeks old she sleeps a good 10 to 12 hours every night. 

I just wanted to thank you for sharing your experience online. The way you wrote your experiences made it understandable, seeing it from the babys side but also the moms side. Maybe we were lucky that your way fitted our baby, but it worked and I tell it to everyone that wants to know!

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I just wanted to thank you for your sample routine.  I’ve been using it for a week with my 13 month old and had tremendous success from day 2! Wind down time is so important and so is consistency.  Thank you so much!!!

Sam M.

“In a few short days…”

I am grateful to have found your blog, as I do a great deal of searching on Pinterest when I am up against a parenting moment that I do not feel qualified to handle.

I will say though that since reading your blog I am really focusing on remembering that every moment is a learning \ experience for my son and I try to take a breath and count to ten. In the few short days that I have been exercising this method I truly have noticed a change for the better in his response to me.

Tami K.

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Hey y'all, I'm Rachel Norman, BA, MS, Language of Listening® parenting coach, mother to 5 babies in 5 years on 3 continents, no multiples. Join me in parenting without losing your mind. Read More >>

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