It is my professional, chronically exhausted opinion that not all spots on campus are made equal for napping. For one, I can assure you that falling asleep sitting up in class is toward the bottom of the list (I am not made for 8:30s, and I don’t know how I ever will be – but that’s besides the point). I will confess that I have not napped in every building by any means, and there are likely places that should be on this list but aren’t. That being said, I feel very strongly about the places I have napped.
I am partial to Kohlberg Commons in general, and have likely spent the most time napping in their comfortable armchairs (you know the ones). The boxy, cushioned, reddish ones are a premier napping location: easy to curl up in, especially when you tuck yourself underneath your coat as a blanket. Not to mention, there’s the comedy of waking up and startling your friends who have since sat down without noticing you. It’s also close enough to every building that you can nap up until five minutes before your class if need be.
Next on my list would be the comfortable armchairs in Sci. They’re a little bit smaller, so they don’t make the top of the list, but they’re in a convenient location for a quick snooze before a five-hour lab, and there’s a whole range of energy drinks in Sci Cafe in case the nap didn’t do it for you.
Less ideally situated but more comfortable than the armchairs in Sci are the armchairs in Sharples. The distance from classes isn’t ideal, but it is perfect for doing work until you collapse, taking a nap, then waking up and realizing you haven’t eaten today, and that’s why you’re exhausted.
The smaller orange chairs in Kohlberg are … fine, but certainly not my first choice. The smaller depth compared to the boxy Kohlberg chairs means it’s a little bit harder to curl up, but if all of the better chairs are taken and your eyelids are closing on their own, it’s not the worst option.
The armchairs in Singer are comfortable, but they are honestly better for sitting than for sleeping. They’re fine chairs, but not for me unless I have a class there in twenty minutes and need to nap for fifteen. In that case, I can work with it.
A chair and table can also work in a pinch, but you have to try and not take up too much space so that if someone else sits down they can work, and then you have to be stressed out while you sleep (even more than you already are), so it really isn’t the best choice, and you’re borderline guaranteed to wake up with a crick in your neck, so it really is only good if all the possible seats are taken, including the ones outside — which can be truly lovely when it’s sunny out. Points are docked because you can’t actually curl up, only rest your head on the table. At the top of this category would be a chair in McCabe, even if it’s not an armchair. When you’re locked in but exhausted, and it’s 10 p.m., but you have more work to do, a twenty-minute nap can do wonders.
Probably tied with your stereotypical chair and table are the armchairs in Shane Lounge. You’ll hear a lot of doors opening and passers-by, and I’m just suspicious of those seats; I’m not sure why. I’ve only slept there once or twice.
At the very bottom of the list is Narples, somewhere I actually have never slept. It’s too noisy, generally a wild location to try and sleep, and honestly rude to those around, especially when classes have just let out and there are no seats as is.
I hear some people asking: ”Why don’t you just nap in your bed?’” That’s a mostly reasonable question. Aside from the fact that I live functionally off-campus, which makes it a minor hassle to do so, sometimes you don’t have enough time to trek to your dorm, get comfortable — but not too comfortable — drag yourself out of bed, and then off to class or to wherever you do work. Furthermore, Bed is the Danger Zone. You’ll settle in for a half-hour-long nap and then get trapped by your blankets, and before you know it, it’s 5 p.m. and your mattress now has an impression of your body. Not to mention the guilt that can come with taking a Proper Nap in your bed. If you take a nap somewhere else, you can trick yourself into thinking that it’s a part of being productive, a true power nap. But a bed? Now that is too close to relaxation for the stressed-out, procrastinating Swattie.
