The Art of Napping

I don’t want to digress from the title at the very beginning of this post but after receiving such rave comments on vocabulary usage in my last blog, I find it imperative to mellow down on that front. However, that doesn’t mean I would not use certain words that some might feel abstruse because I do not use them intentionally but they just click extemporaneously to me. Readers- please understand my problem; it would save me a lot of time.

Napping- as per dictionary, means the state of not being attentive or vigilant. But quite interestingly, it has been associated with the quality of below average performers (I am afraid if it’s true) and is generally found in those who are uninterested in a certain activity or task. The incidents of napping could be encountered easily at schools, at speeches, during late night duties etc.

From the student’s perspective, how important the phenomenon of napping is? Imagine of a boring lecture potent enough to put you into the throes of hibernation for steep intervals of time. And there is this phenomenon of napping at your rescue. Think of the deadly task of studying Finance or Communication, and you find yourself in the clutches of this cardinal conqueror. So, we see that there is how it creeps into students’ lives.
But does anybody have an easy access to this savior (For a student like me)? No, because there are enough measures taken by the opposing forces to keep this blessing at bay. You are under tight scrutiny of the vigilant eyes of the lecturer, even your abysmally short-spanned winks are noticed. I can’t simply dare to enrage him. But still at the end, I find my neck jerking off my hand which is supporting it. And this very thing gets noticed by the lecturer which otherwise would have made my nap go unscathed and undiscovered by him. Despite all the attempts to abstain from it, it happens that I doze in the class. Even some of the most interesting and vital sessions fall prey to this phenomenon.


Now I would love to share a few tricks of executing this trade effectively and efficiently in case it gets impossible to remain awake. But Caveat Emptor is quite valid here i.e. it is at owner’s sole risk to follow. These are only plain tips, to execute them to the hilt remains the capability of the person. Here they go:
• First make sure that it’s not an interactive session in the class.
• The most vital point is your position in the class with respect to the teacher.
• Adjust yourself in a row or a bench that the lecturer takes for granted as to be of studious pupils’.
• Ask a question or two at the beginning of lecture, howsoever irrelevant it may be, just to make sure that in case you are caught napping, the teacher grants mercy for participating at some point in the class.
• Nod your head in tandem with teacher’s sentences for initial five minutes and then glare at the board or screen. It will render good impression.
• Always keep a pen in one of your hands over a half-written page before you get set to take a nap.
• Bend your eyes onto your notebook in a manner that reflects yours reading some text.
• You can also adjust your hand to cover your eyes to some extent but not completely.
• Place your hand below your chin to support your head while taking the nap.
• Try to sit bent at affordable angles fit enough to avoid direct peeps of the lecturer.
• Napping with half eyes closed (or say half opened) is always a boon but it is an art only few possess mastery at.
• Do sleep but keep ears wide open. You should be able to gauge your teacher’s movements or something discussed aloud.
• Employ a trustworthy friend to wake you up in case teacher asks you something. He would also serve to alarm you when danger is imminent.
• Sleep only as much as you can afford i.e. also keep a balance between the knowledge lost and the relaxation gained. Avoid misusing this tool.

Friends, the above tips are not a means to retaliate to the lecturer’s rendering us boring sessions. It is the moribund subject, not the teacher that makes a lecture uninteresting. And our lack of sincerity for subjects is also a factor for the same. It is for this reason that I request you all to just utilize it for the optimum benefit and not to make it a hindrance in your success path.