“I’m Just Gonna Lay Down for a Bit,” Says Student Changing into Pajamas at Noon

COLLEGETOWN—After exiting the first Zoom class of her day, April Woodward ‘22 surprised her roommates by changing into her pajamas and announcing that she was going to have a bit of a lie-down. “It’s not something I do every day,” she said as she turned on her 10-hour “afternoon naps”  Spotify playlist, “but it’s nice to just recharge your brain for an hour, especially when you’ve been super busy.”

Woodward is no novice to power naps, and with her seventeen alarms set one minute apart and a mountain of blankets to cocoon herself in, she is well-prepared for the endeavor. “It’s always a gamble whether you’ll wake up in time,” she said, holding back a yawn, “but I have, like, a fifty percent success rate, and that curves up to a C! Totally worth it.”

Self-care and relaxation can be difficult to prioritize, but it does pay off: Woodward’s professors have noticed a clear difference in her classroom participation. “I can always tell when April’s taken a quick nap before class,” said Esteban Herrera, who teaches Woodward’s afternoon math discussion. “Instead of the usual sight of April checking Instagram and looking bored out of her mind, the Zoom square just isn’t even there! She’s taking care of herself, and I have one less quiz to grade—it’s a win-win for campus mental health.”

In preparation for Woodward’s five-minute afternoon doze, her roommates have stockpiled bottled water and microwaveable ramen noodles outside her door for when she emerges, disoriented and dehydrated, at three in the morning.

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