MacqNap Nap Spots - The Toilets!

Napping in the Toilets

Hey guys Alex here with a blog about a brand new, innovative and ingenious napping spot that was hidden right under our noses - The toilets.

 I known this may sound preposterous and like an awful napping spot mostly due to the poor condition of public toilets, or many toilets in work spaces that are damaged or cared for poorly but if you can find a toilet still in one piece and with some air ventilation and possibly not smelling awful. then it can be a great place to nap. One could imagine a clean and properly maintained toilet as a sleeping room, enough space to sleep, enough privacy to keep you from being disturbed by co-workers, students and even your boss(es).

The toilets are basically little cubical's with seats and 4 walls surrounding the sleepers with often enough space to lean your head to the sides of the wall (just make sure to check and clean the walls before smothering your face into anything on them).  Another benefit of using the toilets as sleeping places is that often, no one expects you to be sleeping in them. Therefore you are hidden from anyone who would bug you to get back to work. One thing  I highly suggest when sleeping in a toilet cubical is to use the toilet paper (if any) as a cousin for resting your head, as well as a good, soft blind fold to cover your eyes. Toilet paper can also be used to block awful smells by sticking some rolled up toilet paper into your nose. 

So if you are ever feeling sleepy, tired or bored out of your mind, just tell your boss, friends or family that you are in need of the toilets and you can easily sleep soundly without anyone questioning whether you were doing anything outside of your regular toilet business. 

Writer:
Aleksandar Bjelosevic
aleksandar.bjelosevic@students.mq.edu.au 

Image:
http://numbertwoguide.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/wan2.png

NapSpot: Macquarie Theatre Wall-Holes

Location: Macquarie Theatre W2.4A - First floor, right next to lecture hall entrance

Now that we're back to uni with the end of the holidays, that means that we're back to napping at uni and taking advantage of all the cosy spaces. In my first week back at uni, I discovered this not-so-hidden beauty when waiting for my tutorial to start upstairs. 

Immediately, there are some great pluses to napping here, the padding is surprisingly comfortable and there is plenty of room to stretch out your legs. The vibrant red colour is very eye-catching and the whole little 'cubicle' is aesthetically pleasing, new and modern. It feels like you're napping in style. Also, if you lie across it completely, you achieve the illusion of privacy as you face a wall and are cradled by three wall surfaces. When there are no classes, this corridor is usually very empty. The opposing side of the corridor has large glass windows looking out into the beautiful greenery also welcome in a large amount of sunshine, perfect for a spring nap. Sure there are many people passing the windows outside but people rarely look into them so your privacy is somewhat secured.

Unfortunately, a lot of downsides arise from napping here. First of all, the large opposing glass windows are great, but they let in so much light so you don't get any of that 'nap mood lighting'. Also, the red looks great and all but if you know your nap colours, and I sure do, blue is ideal to evoke a sleepy mood. Red, not so much. Of course the biggest problem I have with this spot is the fact that there aren't any power points nearby so you're not gonna want to spend much time here if your phone is on low battery. But the biggest problem by far is the fact that it is immediately next to the main entrance to the biggest and newest lecture hall in Macquarie uni. I'm sure you're not going to want to wake up to hundreds of people standing beside you as you nap away and they await their lecture. Kind of awkward. 

I think this spot is great for relaxing, it's comfy, looks good and very cosy with a great illusion of privacy. However, it's not the kind of spot where you want to let your guard down and fall asleep because you could wake up to a semi-awkward situation.

I give it a total of 3 out of 5 stars.

Writer:
Julia Gapon
julia.gapon@students.mq.edu.auhttps://twitter.com/MacqNap

Sleeping Correctly

Sleeping Correctly

Have you ever had a bad sleep (or a painful one) where you wake up wondering whether you were tossed out of a UFO and back into your bed like some sort of rag doll. Well that's every time I went to sleep. At least it used to be until I did some research and discovered studies from numerous Chiropractors and Chiropractic association's. One of which being the American Chiropractic Association who has released a guide on how to sleep properly, in terms of proper sleeping posture. 

Who knew there was a way to sleep on your back "Properly"? Well according to the ACA, you must roll up a sheet or a towel. Tie the towel around your waist in order to provide some support for your lumbar spine. The lumbar spine support allows the spine to remain in a natural position and remain properly aligned. This method provides better napping for your back posture and spinal quality.

The ACA also recommends you use a comfortable and supportive mattress. This means not any mattress will do, and might be a good time to throw away that barely bearable mattress your dad gave you when you moved out. The ACA also recommends you place a small pillow to bolster or elevate your knees while you bend them slightly. This is to allow for better blood flow and comfort in the bottom part of your body as well as spinal alignment. Another recommendation for posturing your neck would be to put some sort of roll under it to allow improved posture. Just as your neck posture can change while typing with a keyboard at a desk, so can it while you sleep.

The ACA also has recommendations for people who may sleep on their sides. One of these is to properly use pillows that are the right size. Large pillows are mainly there for decoration and can really mess with your neck posture. Instead, use a pillow where your face can comfortably face either side straight. Keeping a pillow between your knees can keep the pelvis straight and prevent it from altering posture during your sleep. And a key recommendation is to keep your knees away from your chest comfortably but also avoid sleeping in a fetal position as this is similar to sleeping in a box and will cramp your body and is generally a very uncomfortable posture for anyone who has not compressed their entire body...yet.

A very important thing to remember when sleeping on your side is to change which side you sleep one. One thing that can happen by sleeping on one side for prolonged periods of time is that your spine, chest and organs can shift to one side which is something you want to avoid. To avoid this, the easiest thing to do is sleep on both sides of the bed rather than just the one.

I hope this blog has made you all masters at napping safely and stopped you from waking up in some sort painful position.

- Image sources are
http://askdrernst.com/wp-content/uploads/Sleep-798x530.jpg
http://www.exhab.com/sleep-posture/
- Information Source
http://www.acatoday.org/content_css.cfm?CID=1452
http://oldsite.acatoday.org/content_css.cfm?CID=3124

Writer -
Aleksandar Bjelosevic
alexbjelosevic@gmail.com