Power naps

The high school’s club motto: “Veni, vidi, dormivi” is close to Caesar’s victorious, “Veni, vidi, vici” – “I came, I saw, I conquered,” but no match. The Power Nap Club’s motto is Latin for, “I came, I saw, I slept.” The club is based in Greenwich High School, Conn.
That is one club I actually would consider joining. I can even live with their social agenda: take a nap, learn to relax. As a young mother I was an avid member of the afternoon nap club. I would bundle my energetic pre-schoolers in my bed with me and read to them until I fell asleep – usually after they nodded off – but not always. My need for sleep needed no explanation: if the little ones were going to get refreshed and energized in the middle of the day, then out of sheer self-defense, I also needed a nap just to keep up with them.
It is not the pressure of keeping up with toddlers, but life as a teenager that was the impetus for the Power Nap Club.
The club sponsor Anton Anderson, a 58-year-old English teacher encourages members to nod off at their weekly Monday meeting. He teaches them techniques for relaxing and shedding the stress of the day.
Anderson organized the club in 1998, in one of America’s richest communities where parents and neighbors are lawyers, doctors and investment bankers. In Greenwich students are expected to get top scores on the SATs, apply early to Ivy League colleges and be involved in extracurricular activities such as sports, according to the Associated Press story.
“You have to be the best athletically, intellectually, wear the best clothing, go to the best schools,” said Anderson. “I think they buy into it. But it also means their lives are difficult and they need a little time for themselves.”
“As a 51-year-old male, I believe naps have been very underrated in this world.” said Thomas Murphy, spokesman for the Connecticut Education Department, wistfully recalling nap time when he was a child.
Even the club was underrated at Greenwich High until two years ago when a two sophomores in the student population of 2,450, Jenna Goldstein and Kelly Hannigan, became enthusiastic supporters. Goldstein and Hannigan, now seniors and co-presidents of the club, laughed at the idea at first. But they said they gradually came to appreciate the club, which also teaches relaxation techniques to help them manage their busy lives and focus better.
In Greenwich, “you have to do everything perfectly,” said Goldstein, who plays varsity basketball, works with two autistic children and has a job as a party planner. Those expectations fade for a few moments on Mondays.
The 20-some members of the Nap Club have made one decision: T-shirts with the club’s motto and a logo of their school’s mascot wearing a nightcap.
At the end of a recent meeting, after opening the meeting by encouraging members to “breathe out, let all the tension flow away from your body,” Anderson gently awakened the students.
The AP story was so inspirational, that last week, after the pressure of daily living had sapped me of energy and creativity, I found a quiet corner at lunch time, took a few deep cleansing breaths, set my mental clock and floated off into Never-Never Land for 30 minutes. When I woke up half an hour later, I felt refreshed and blessed.
I do the same today if I didn’t have homework for the class I am taking, a story to write …. pictures to size …… and a speci ….. zzzzzzz.