At a particular point in the afternoon, on a particular kind of
day, there is a particular patch of sunlight that settles upon my duvet.
It is perfectly placed and sized to accommodate my extended frame; the
warmed patch of comforter seduces me every time. Besides, if it is not
occupied, the dog of the house will claim it as hers and proceed to nap
through what is evidently an identity crisis of the feline persuasion.
The nap is a basic rite of passage for the
bedraggled university student. To deny the benefits of the midday rest is blasphemy and
punishable by intent looks of “what’s wrong with
you?” The nap is fostered for the first year student in residence
where day and night often blend together and ordering pizza at 4am on a Wednesday is common
practice. The art of slumber through roommate noise, floor gong shows
and rocket launching (bloody engineers) is a valuable lesson; it allows
for sleep at any time of the day. If you made it through your
roommate’s four hour phone breakup and subsequent makeup with her
boyfriend at Brock, catching Zzzs in Dr.
Wall’s psych class became a breeze.
By the time second year begins, the nap is an
institution, whether you’ve settled in res,
an apartment or a box on the street. Moreover, U of T is a surprisingly
snooze-friendly school amidst all of its student-debasing initiatives.
One may be graded to fail at life, but at least one may have the
opportunity to be well rested in the process. I am quite particular to
the couches in old Vic’s new “study room.” Downsizing
an already cramped bookstore with needless renovations to make room for
student rest? We are a hibernation-happy school. The room is shielded
from the noise of the busy building and not frequented by many
students, lowering the level of embarrassment for chatty sleepers or
panicked wake ups. Take it from the voice of experience.
Sleep is a glorious thing, and without a
doubt the thing I will miss most upon being ousted into the real world
this spring. It will guarantee a return to the life of the student as
soon as I can feasibly orchestrate such a feat. Yet a troubling issue
has arisen in recent efforts to maximize sleeping opportunities before
they are so unjustly taken away.
Is it possible to nap too much?
Sleeping through class - everyone’s
done it. What about an afternoon class? Sure, of course. An evening
class? I would say that you qualify for a champion napping award. Not
everyone, unfortunately, would agree. More specifically you may find an
argument with your list of priorities. Though hopefully not a verbal
argument because lists shouldn’t be able to talk. (This may be a
symptom that you are still asleep and dreaming that you are getting
your work done. A common occurrence, though not to be confused with
productivity).
In order to counter this vexing issue of
sleeping through priorities, one may enlist the services of a Bed
Bouncer. Not of the literal type but rather of the nightclub variety. I
found this to be highly effective while spending my summer in Italy. The locals encourage a
daily siesta, a custom I took to immediately.
Unfortunately it is not particularly conducive to fulfilling the
tourist/student responsibilities so I often found my roommate waking me
up in order to “appreciate the culture” or “do your
damn readings for tomorrow.” So I brought her home and put her in
the room next door to keep up the good work once we returned to Toronto.
Unfortunately she wasn’t home today and
I slept from 3pm to 8pm.
Alas, fair students be
warned: while you can never have too much chocolate, alcohol or Spadina Chinese food, it appears it might be
possible to have too much sleep. I plan on researching this further to
be sure, so I ask that you keep an eye out for me. If I nap through
convocation, my parents are going to make sure I never sleep again.
