I Can Nap and You Can't

There's a sign on Jim's office door which says that if the door is shut, not to knock- he's either not there or he's asleep. I always thought that was a joke, but it's not- he really does nap in his office daily, much to the amusement of my fellow logicians' apprentices and me. Today Jim, wearing his yellow Chapter 8 party hat, explained to us the science of the ten-minute nap. You stretch out, and close your eyes, and relax every muscle in your body. This, he says, is sometimes difficult. If you have an itch you can scratch it. "What if you have a lot of itches?" asked Sally. "You can take care of that, too," Jim assured her.

After about ten minutes, you will feel yourself transitioning from a heavy state of sleep to a lighter state. Prolong this moment: it is a very restful thirty seconds, even though you are conscious. Then you wake up.

"It seems like it would require a lot of willpower," said Caroline. "I think I'd just go on sleeping."

"I don't think of it as involving willpower," said Jim. "I want to get up. There are things I want to do."

"You should write a book," said Sally.

"Well, not if this technique is non-transferable. It might only work for me," said Jim.

"You could call it `I Can Nap and You Can't,'" I suggested.

"We should all try it out for you," said Caroline.

"Go ahead," said Jim. "That's why I'm telling you. You've all been yawning all morning."