Take it from Gary - Siestas are Beneficial

This surgery is kicking my butt!  I have had 2 surgeries in the past and both of those have not left me this exhausted!  Now the pain is tolerable, until I try to sleep at night.  Let me explain, I am the type of person that has a preferred way of sleeping and once I am in that position, I will not move all night.  For me, this position happens to be my left side.  It's quite simple, I lay down, turn over on my side, and sleep.  And I sleep very long and very deep.  Now this has proven to be a challenge with this surgery because sleeping on my side is extremely uncomfortable and very painful. 

Solution:  I have been sleeping on our couch in the living room, on my back, with pillow underneath my legs.  This has proven to be very uncomfortable, and I have been waking up every 2-3 hours when I unconsciously attempt to roll over on my side!  I will then flip back on my back and try to resume sleeping.  This has been going on for 2 weeks now.

The cats have been in the living room with me during the night over the past 2 weeks.  It appears they are taking turns "watching over me."  When I awake, I find either Gary or Gilbert on the back of the couch dozing off and when I move, they wake up to watch what's going on. I found this very touching that these animals care so much about what's going on with me.

Now Gary is a big fan of the cat naps.  This little cat, like myself, when he sleeps, he sleeps very deep and usually in the same position the whole time.  Gary has an afternoon nap schedule that is strictly followed, even if I or Gilbert try to poke him awake he'll adheres to his schedule.  Gary always appears to have energy when he wants it.  So, I started following his nap schedule to see if it helped with my energy levels.  Why not, I figured.  And guess what?  It seems to be working.  I have been taking a personal "siesta" everyday from 2-4pm or sometimes 3-5pm. Gary starts his a little earlier, usually around 11am.  He'll sleep for an hour, then back up until about 2pm and will sleep right until 5 or 6pm.  So his personal siestas are a bit longer than mine. lol

These siestas have turned out to be wonderful!  Not only do I get to nap in the afternoon, I find that in the evening I am more productive and have longer endurance.  Gary seems happy that I have adopted his schedule.  He has been more talkative with me, and particularly patient with me when I attempt to bend down to pet him.  He has even taken to jumping on the bed or couch when one is close by, so I don't have to bend down to pet him.  Isn't that the sweetest thing?  He sees how uncomfortable I am and that little cat takes action so I don't have to hurt. What a good boy.

So in conclusion, take a lesson from Gary, the expert napper.  Naps are wonderful but the siesta is most important.


For More on Cat Naps
What is a Siesta?