The last time I covered Mayim Bialik she was writing about how she spent Thanksgiving with her ex husband, their boys, her ex husband’s girlfriend, and that woman’s ex husband and their kids. There were so many people there it’s difficult to write that sentence properly. Mayim has done a decent job coparenting with her ex. While she can get preachy about it she does help other divorced parents realize what’s possible. Mayim gave a new interview to US Magazine about her boys Miles, 13, and Frederick, 10. She said that working on Big Bang Theory (which is ending soon) gives her mom guilt because she can’t always be with them, but they are homeschooled. They probably have at least one teacher, maybe more, who comes to the house. Mayim is promoting some kind of partnership with a high end mattress company, so she’s talking about sleeping. She said that she takes a nap during the day (is there any other kind of nap?) which I do too.
On feeling mom guilt
“I feel mom guilt all the time… Especially with the societal emphasis on women being able to do it all. I would love to be able to do it all, but I can’t physically be in more than one place at once. I miss out on a lot of things. Especially, since my boys are homeschooled, they have a lot of awesome field trips and all these things.“Talking to others moms who are in similar situations is really helpful. I found that the support of other women … sometimes it may just mean that you need to be hugged. When I’m with my boys, I’ve been making more and more of an effort to put my phone down, so that they can have concentrated time with me, and honestly that helps. I’m not just saying it helps me cope, but it helps me feel more connected when I’m with them, so that when I’m not with them, I’m not feeling like I’m never present.
On taking naps
“I remember when I was sleep deprived when I was a new mom. You feel completely out of it and unable to really do the things you normally would do and the way you would do them. And I realized that even though I don’t have kids who are tiny and lead to you being sleep-deprived, it looks exactly the same. I’ve taken to napping in the day, I feel like such an old person. That’s kind of the way I’ve had to sort of catch up, because I get really grumpy.”
I wake up between 4:00 to 5:00 a.m. and take a nap every day around 1:00 p.m., usually for a half an hour or more. While I don’t set my alarm on the weekends I typically wake up at 5:00 a.m. anyway, so I even take naps then. I’ve gotten so accustomed to napping that I once took a nap at a family reunion. They’re family so they understood. Half my family loves napping too and we think it’s genetic. (As an aside Mayim reminds me of one of my smarty pants cousins. Like I have affection for her but I can only take so much of her.) So I can relate to being grumpy as hell if I don’t get a nap. In fact I look forward to having one every day. Don’t let anyone tell you that you’re old if you eat dinner early, go to bed early and then take a nap in the afternoons! I mean maybe I am old but I consider all those things positive. To borrow a line from my favorite lifestyle guru, Gretchen Rubin, it feels luxurious to go to bed early and wake up early. Plus it’s so nice to take naps. It’s like you’re shutting the world out for a little while.
Mayim’s casual style is DGAF. I kind of admire that.
Photos credit: WENN, Backgrid and via Instagram
She is so rich she can wear and sleep whichever way she likes!
Exactly! I’m not over here thinking, “So brave!” lol.
When I worked for a government organization, one of the doctors said he’s eventually going to do a study that shows the benefits of napping.
At another job, they had a biomat and you can use your 15 minute breaks to lay on it, just remember to change the sheets. I would use my morning and afternoon 15 minutes. We also had a 1 hour lunch break so I would nap for 30 minutes and have lunch the other half.
I miss those days. I used to wake up at 6 and be in bed by 11;30-12, now I’m dead tired and in bed by 9:30, and I swear it’s because I don’t nap anymore.
I can’t nap unless I’m sick, but go ahead if you like it and it works for you.
I can no longer take naps and I rely on medication to make sleepy at night.
I hate it
I wake up at 3 to work before my husband guess to work, and sometimes take a nap around 9 while my 3 year old watches Daniel Tiger with me. If I don’t, it’s more likely I’ll be a grumpy old lady come 6 o’clock and I hate being grumpy. I don’t get to nap all the time, but when i do, it’s glorious.
When I used to have an hour for lunch, I would take a nap for the last 20 or 25 minutes. Just put my head down on the breakroom table like I was in 2nd grade and knock out for a few. It was the best! Even better than that, when I did study abroad in Mexico years ago, I discovered that Mexicans would often go home for a big lunch around 1 or 2 then take a bit of a nap. That was pretty awesome. I wish naps were more culturally sanctioned in the US. I think would be helpful for our society. That and more vacation time. I think we need more time to relax.
Napping makes me more tired and groggy and cranky, unless i’m sick. I do know several people who make a regular habit of napping and benefit from it. I’ve heard the key is that the naps have to be a regular habit, not an occasional thing, and should not last more than a half hour.
How do people NOT nap?
I’ve been napping since I was born. As a kid, it was required but as an adult I’ve napped nearly every day of my life.
Even in the military, I’d scarf down some lunch and grab a nap.
In Alaska, I kept two down comforters and a pillow in the back of my SUV for nap time.
I’ve napped on top of pallets on military cargo ‘planes and I used to keep a folding cot in the mechanical room in the command bldg for my naps in the deep, hot, humid South.
During the summer in Kuwait City where it can get to 130 F +, most businesses close around 11:00 a.m. and reopen in the evening and around here the Mexican workers will stretch out under any shade tree after lunch for a nap. Siesta!!!
As long as I know I’m safe and can lay down, I can nap anywhere and – dang – do I get stuff done! 🙂
Is she wearing pants? For some reason I thought she never wore pants only skirts and dresses