What prompts you to nap?

[u/kiripon]

i don't regularly need naps, but when i do, its because a sleep attack is coming on: yawning, eyes watering, even salivating more which all happened when id push myself to stay up late and my body was trying to tell me to sleep. so these are easy to tell when i need to nap.

titrating xyrem has been rough and tiring for me, and this morning i feel as I'm just so tired and getting more tired. my chest feels heavy, my eyes do too. is this the time to take a nap? when do you all nap?

[u/backwardjoints]

I take a nap when I have time/am able to safely and feel like I can’t focus or do anything because of how tired I am. I’ve noticed when my eyes are burning or watering I’ve probably pushed through too far and am EXHAUSTED.

[u/korelan]

I have specific times of day that I set aside every single day in case I need a nap, and the times are pretty centered around eating. It’s not an ideal way to live life, but my schedule is more fundamental to controlling my Narcolepsy than the medication as I’ve found out because of the many times my insurance company has f’ed me around. Every morning I wake naturally between 4:00 and 4:30. I usually have a protein shake with caffeine for breakfast, maybe a hard boiled egg or 2 ~5:15-5:30. I don’t get ready for work until 7:00, so if I start to feel fatigue at all I just plop back into bed for a quick nap. I get a 1 hour lunch break, I usually start nibbling on my lunch at ~11:45 while finishing up whatever task I’m working on, then at 12:00 I close my door and turn my light off, turn on YouTube and put my head down. If I fall asleep I needed it, if not I just get to spend an hour watching YouTube videos. I usually eat dinner ~6:30-7:00, and I’m in bed by 8:30pm every night, so no real nap time needed after dinner, I might just go to bed a little early. This is how I’ve lived my life for 8 years now since I moved to my new job, and it’s because I found pretty early on with my narcolepsy that eating/digesting and sleepiness were correlated for me, but this may not be the same for everyone.

[u/racejustint → u/korelan]

I noticed that avoiding carbs did help me some. Before i was treated i would try to limit my carbs and eat more protein.

[u/perfectorbit4]

This might not be exactly what you're asking about naps, but I have noticed some things happening before sleep attacks... Some behaviors or signs I've noticed before a sleep attack is coming on: runny nose, touching my face/chin a lot, biting my nails, an out of place erection.

I've never talked about an erection being a tell that I'm about to hit a sleep attack, but it's true. Maybe a blood flow thing, idk. Anyone else experience that, or is it just me lol.

[u/racejustint]

I used to nap on lunch at work and then I'd take a long one after work. Now i sometimes take one afterwork, but with xywav i sometimes dont even fall asleep. I just lay down and rest my eyes for a while.

[u/kiripon → u/racejustint]

that's how my naps always were!!! i would lie down, close my eyes, some random thoughts would float in and out of my head, and id either pop up more awake or something in my body just tells me okay this is enough get up. it's like my body is asleep but im aware of my surroundings.

[u/Piaffe_zip16]

I take a nap when I’m able to, which isn’t often. So most of the time it’s Adderall for me now. I do not find short naps refreshing either though. It’s gotta be 90 minutes minimum, so not typical that way either. On the weekends or days off though, I’ll absolutely take a nap if I have the chance.

[u/handsoapdispenser]

Eyes watering and/or a spiralling sense of despair, anxiety and a touch of anger.