napping in paradise

"i count it as an absolute certainty that in paradise, everyone naps. a nap is a perfect pleasure and it's useful, too. it splits the day into two halves, making each half more manageable and enjoyable. how much easier it is to work in the morning if we know we have a nap to look forward to after lunch; and how much more pleasant the late afternoon and evening become after a little sleep. if you know there is a nap to come later in the day, then you can banish for ever that terrible sense of doom one feels at 9 AM with eight hours of straight toil ahead."

Excerpted from How to be Idle by Tom Hodgkinson (HarperCollins; 2005).