By: Esha Bagora

Media Production Editor

As my senior year comes to an end, I feel as though I’d be doing a disservice to all of Los Gatos High School if I didn’t shed light on the singular thing that has pushed/furthered my high school career: after-school naps. After-school naps have been the holy grail and the savior of my high school career. They fix any and every problem you could encounter; they justify you staying up late to ‘study’ and, above all else, you get to sleep. Let me outline why exactly you too should start napping after school. 

Slept late studying for a test you ended up barely passing anyways? Take a nap. Feeling down because a teacher yelled at you? Take a nap. Too much homework and too many group projects where your group won’t reply to any of the messages you’ve sent in the groupchat and it’s due tomorrow? You already know what I’m going to say – take a nap. Basically every problem you encounter in high school can be solved with an after-school nap. 

After braving the senior parking lot and finally reaching home, the only thing I have the energy left to do is to crawl into my bed.  When I wake up three hours later, hair sticking everywhere with no concept of where I am, I know that I’m about to become an academic (and extracurricular) weapon for the rest of the evening/night. If you start taking after-school naps too, I can assure you and basically give you a 100% guarantee that the same exact thing will happen to you. You will approach your math textbook problems with a new vigor and fly through the 500 pages of reading for English. But only after an after-school nap. 

Last but certainly not least, you get to sleep. I feel like when I bring up the art of after-school naps, or how my afternoon plan consists of sleeping, I get judged. I think many high schoolers sometimes forget that after-school naps are basically a form of self-care, and self-care is meant to be people’s top priority. Sleeping (particularly after school) rejuvenates you, your mind, and your body so that the stress of high school, homework, working, extracurriculars,  sports, etc. doesn’t weigh down on you too much. 

I know exactly what you must be thinking, could you get these same exact benefits? Being able to work fast, not feeling tired anymore, and being happy by drinking a Redbull? Yes. But as every parent ever has said: ‘Energy drinks are not good for you,’ I implore, no, beg you to take a nap instead.