This is week 2 of 52 Weeks of Self-​​Care.

I was able to sit and think last week about my 2012 goals. I hope you were able to do the same. If not, give it a try right now.

Copy­right pet­name, Flickr​.com

So what’s the self-​​care chal­lenge for this week? Nap­ping. Yep, you read right. Take a nap at least one day this week. Maybe it is five min­utes; maybe it is 45 min­utes. Give it a shot. Nurses and nurs­ing stu­dents are among the most sleep deprived pro­fes­sion­als, which is scary con­sid­er­ing our detail-​​oriented, critical-​​thinking-​​required, and physically-​​demanding occu­pa­tion. Under­stand­ably, night-​​shifters are most at risk for sleep depri­va­tion. I used to work night shift, and as much as I loved that shift, my world revolved around sleep — when I could and could not have it.

A nap is likely a lux­ury to you. With a full-​​time job, three small chil­dren, and numer­ous vol­un­teer gigs, it def­i­nitely feels that way to me. I am up for the chal­lenge. I am look­ing for­ward to find­ing time in my sched­ule for a nap. It just might be with a Dora the Explorer pil­low and a Toy Story blan­ket, or maybe, just maybe, I can slip into one of those fab­u­lous tran­quil­ity rooms my orga­ni­za­tion has through­out the sys­tem and catch a quick, ten-​​minute cat nap. Oh, yes. This is going to be a good week for a spon­ta­neous nap.

Uh, can I get more “chal­lenges” like this in 2012?! Oh, this is not a joke. I do not joke about naps. There are 50 more weeks, so stay tuned. Sweet dreams!