Guilty for Taking Afternoon Naps

Do you ever feel so guilty about doing nothing that you become paralysed with guilt? And instead of doing anything, you just... nap?

This has become a recurring pattern in my life recently, especially during quiet afternoons when my schedule is empty. I know very well that it is avoidance: I know there are things I could be doing, yet I can’t bring myself to start. In the end, I often distract myself with a book and then drift off to sleep in the middle of the day, waking up groggy and feeling like shit. Then I can't sleep at night. And the vicious cycle continues...

This guilt tends to hit the most when there’s nothing on my agenda. If I don’t have a shift at work or some planned activity, I feel aimless and unproductive. Just this evening, for instance, I went to the library specifically to avoid taking an afternoon nap. But as soon as I got home, I fell into the very pattern I’d been trying to escape. These naps, no matter how short, feel like giving in, and they leave me with an overwhelming sense of wasted time.

I’ve thought a lot about where this guilt comes from, and I think it’s mostly rooted in my own expectations. I constantly feel like I should be doing something useful especially at home, like cleaning, tidying, mopping the floor, even just organising my space. And when I don’t, I end up feeling like I’ve let myself down. Growing up, my parents often treated rest as laziness, and that message has stuck with me.

Social media doesn’t help either! Since I stopped the cutting out screen time exercise, I’ve been online more, and falling into old bad habits. Ugh.

At this point, I’m not sure where the line is between intentional rest and procrastination, which makes the guilt even WORSE.

However, the impact of this cycle is real. Physically, I’ve become more sedentary, which I know isn’t good for my health. My default position is now parallel to the ground on my couch which... isn't good. Emotionally, it chips away at my self-esteem. While it hasn’t directly hurt my relationships, I’ve started to view myself in a negative light, frustrated by my own lack of discipline. Paradoxically, taking a nap gives me temporary escape from guilt. But when I wake up, the feeling comes back even stronger. It’s a self-defeating loop.

I do realise that I could just be in a rut.

I’ve been trying some small strategies to break free. Recently, I started doing small, easy paint-by-numbers projects. They don’t take much effort, but they give me a clear goal to work toward, which helps me feel purposeful without overwhelming myself. Still, I haven’t figured out how to truly get out of this.

I'm not saying napping is bad. Napping is great. It's useful if it's short: take a break, reset the day, become more productive. But it has come to the point where it disrupts my sleep cycle and make me feel shitty the whole day after and then I take a nap because I'm sleepy and... yeah you get where this is going.

I don’t want to keep living in this loop where guilt fuels avoidance and avoidance fuels even more guilt. Naps aren't the problem. What I want to change is the why behind my naps. I want them to be a conscious choice, not something I fall into because I’m avoiding what I need to do.

It’s going to take some effort to break this cycle but for now, I’ll keep taking small steps, like my paint-by-numbers projects, and focus on creating a sense of balance. Maybe one day, I'll be able to take naps guilt-free without worrying about the thousand-and-one tasks on my task list.