I generally have an innate ability to fall asleep at any time I want. On a rare occasion I can't, I cover up, daydream about sleeping in a shelter with a fire by my feet and my first two camping dogs up against me during an ice storm and I'm asleep within minutes. I play that same scenario in my head every time I have a problem sleeping and it works like a charm. When I was younger and drank a lot, I often had a hard time getting to sleep and even when I did, it was often the wrong type of sleep. I rarely drink these days and when I do, it takes about 1/10th of what it used to to drunken me up. But even a few beers affects my sleep negatively these days. I am lucky in that I haven't needed an alarm in about a decade either. I just know what time I have to get up and I almost always wake up within 5 minutes of that time. It's weird, but I tend to think most of us may have that biological ability if trained to access it.
This sounds counterintuitive, but I nap a lot less, now that I am retired. The job must have been more physically taxing than I assumed.
about 15 years ago, I was working a carpentry gig, one of the most satisfying jobs I ever had and seriously physical. I used to nap at lunch time after eating. we'd knock off around 3-4 o'clock and I'd go home. If I stayed awake to supper it was a miracle. A lot of nights I was asleep before 9. Even after that job was up I still enjoyed an afternoon nap. with this covid crap I got back in Nov, I've been napping 3 plus times a day, and still sleeping a solid 7 plus hours a night. I do wake up and get up to pee but I've been getting back to sleep more often than not. My energy level is seriously down as I recuperate from this ****. Definitely a nap club member.
I think siestas should be embraced in the workplace. I wonder about astronauts' sleep patterns. https://thenextweb.com/syndication/2020/05/09/how-to-take-better-naps-according-to-astronauts/ In hindsight, I should have used a sleepy baby picture.
