The Pitfalls of Napping 3
Crankiness
Napping is an amazing thing — so amazing that you kind of wonder why anyone would ever (hypothetically) deliberately not nap, even in the name of science. With that, to be fair, napping does impact some people negatively (not the hypothetical person in my hypothetical scenario), sometimes resulting in grogginess and, in my case, the often accompanying experience of crankiness.
The Oxford Dictionary defines “cranky” as meaning “ill-tempered” or “irritable,” and that shoe definitely fits in my experience. It’s interesting to me that when I describe grogginess as a pitfall of napping, I basically describe crankiness — this is because for me, the two often go hand-in-hand.
The Oxford Dictionary defines “groggy” to mean “dazed, weak, or unsteady,” which is how I think about it as well — and in the face of feeling that way, who wouldn’t also be ill-tempered or irritable? If I rack my brain, I suppose I can think of instances where I might feel somewhat “out of it” (i.e., groggy) but not also be irritated/annoyed about it (i.e., “cranky”). I guess it depends on the nature of the grogginess and whether I’m still tired — if I attempt a “need” nap and wake up groggy because I didn’t get what I need (whether too short or too long, usually the former), you can basically guarantee that I’ll also be cranky.
And when I “need” a nap and don’t get one, are there any other pitfalls that I subject my family to? You betcha…to be continued…