This may not have anything to do with being green, but does have to do with ENERGY - saving it and renewing it. I'm talking about NAPS.
Constant struggles can wear a person down. It can make you stronger in some ways by revealing abilities that have not been employed or were thought to be long forgotten...but constant physical stress is weakening. Even body builders must STOP what they do and rest between sessions.
I remember . . . back in my commuting days when I got up before 4 AM to get ready and go 30 miles to work by 6 AM it was so hard to get to bed early enough to get sufficient sleep and it wore me down. I was on the verge of tears at one point and told my husband that I just needed to go to sleep and sleep until I woke up by myself - no alarm, no dog, no phones, nothing. So I announced my intentions to him and my mom, got a glass of water to have by the bedside in case I woke up and felt like having a drink. That way I wouldn't have to get up and wake up even more by walking to fill my glass. I closed all the blinds to block out light and went to bed. My husband did not awaken me for anything, Mom tended the dog & kept him downstairs. The phones upstairs were unplugged and the ones downstairs were on low or the ringers turned off. I actually slept for almost 9 hours and when I awakened I felt like a different person. I wish I could tell you I had revelatory dreams or something fantastic like that, but I was just able to shut my brain off and reboot it. I didn't sleep for 2 days straight like one might think, just a little over 8 hours and that was all I needed. The fact that I was able to do it in my own bed was great. I don't know if it would have been so good in a hotel because it usually takes me a few nights to get used to a different bed. I went for months and months with 5 or fewer hours of sleep in a row and it almost ruined me.
I read back in the 70s about a guy who trained himself to sleep for 30 minutes or less at a stretch, but he did it every couple of hours through-out the day. He ended up having more awake hours because his total sleep time was about 4-6, so he was more productive. For him it worked, but he had to train himself to do it. I just wonder what his cholesterol levels and other things that they measure now a days would be. He said his heart rate and blood pressure were fine. I know that a "Power Nap" (15-20 minutes) is refreshing to me, but I could not live off them like he basically was doing.
Are you able to take "Power Naps"? My dear friend was complaining to me that she was not getting enough sleep due to her bruxism and her husband's nighttime noises and early risings. I told her that she is at home most hours of the day and if she is tired she should go to her room, kick out the cats, close the door and take a nap. I told her not sleep for more than 30-45 minutes because when you get up to the 1 hour range it is harder to awake, or you might feel drugged upon awakening, but shoot for 20 minutes only and see how you feel. I have known her for 25 years and she ALWAYS said she could NOT take naps. Well, she discovered that SHE CAN! Maybe it is being over 50 now. Maybe it is being DOG tired. Whatever the case is, it worked for her. I think she was EMBARRASSED to be caught sleeping in the middle of the day. . .I was like that when I was younger, but NO MORE - I would rather lie down for a little while with my eyes closed and maybe dream for a few minutes than chew off my husband's head because I am tired. Now I just grab my little doggy - sometimes she leads me to the bedroom when she knows I am ready for a nap. She would let me sleep all day, but I don't need that much, just a little while with my eyes closed and in prone and motionless position helps me. It's not the same dozing off in front of the TV or laptop. . . not for me anyway - my husband does that all the time - he has done that as long as I've known him. I used to have a pretty little couch in my downstairs office that I would employ for power naps more than anything else. It was right there behind my computer chair and if I started feeling a little droopy, I would stretch out, close my eyes, and snooze. There was one time when I was on hold with tech support and their recording said to expect long waits, so I put the phone to my ear and laid down. When the music stopped and a voice awakened me it had been 2 HOURS!!! I felt like it was a new day.
I used to work with a man that had a cot set up in the basement of the big building he worked in where he would lie down for the last half of his lunch hour. Sometimes he dozed, sometimes he just daydreamed. His feet were elevated and his eyes were closed or focused at a different distance than usual and all that put together gave his mind a chance to unwind, and his body a chance to relax. He destressed. I think the Mexicans & Germans have the right idea - give your employees extra long lunch breaks so they can take a little siesta or a Schläfchen before returning to work. That makes happier, more productive employees.
If you're dozing off at the computer and have a place to do it - take a nap. Find a place with little or no light that is cool, but not COLD, & quiet, and put your feet up - level with your heart is best, but if you can just recline with your feet propped up, that works, too. Set an alarm - like on your cell phone to awaken you in 25 minutes or so, or get a friend to do it for you. See what happens. I'll bet you will be so recharged you could get all that work done that was putting you to sleep before!
