When I was growing up in Kigali, Rwanda, back in the ‘90s, my dad was of the boomer generation who treated sleep as a luxury and naps as pure laziness. To encourage my sisters and me to wake up early and to be productive, he often repeated this quote from Benjamin Franklin: “Up, Sluggard, and waste not life; in the grave will be sleeping enough.” I was always sick for a big chunk of my childhood and adolescence. When I started HIV medications in the 2000s, I had a CD4 count of 19; my viral loads were in the millions. At that point, I was dying of AIDS. When I started feeling better after receiving HIV treatment, I still had the voice of my dad echoing that Benjamin Franklin quote. So, I took off running as an HIV activist, working hard and traveling around the world without ever slowing down. By that time, I was a believer and advocate for sleep, but I still felt the stigma around taking naps during the day. Then, surprise! In 2023, I got pregnant with baby number three at age 40. By the time I was 20 weeks pregnant, I couldn’t make it through the day without one or two naps. And when the baby was born, I was still weak: I was anemic, and I had low vitamin D. At that point, I had treated naps as part of a pregnancy trend that would fade away after pregnancy, yet I couldn’t function without a nap. That’s when I discussed my feelings of stigma toward sleep and napping with my infectious disease doctor, who gave me numerous reasons why my body needs more rest and naps than some others do. I recognize that at this season in my life, I am privileged to be able to have skills that enable me to work from home and afford to take naps. The reality of surviving with HIV and earning a living is harsh. On one hand, people living with HIV are living longer and are healthier because HIV treatment works and undetectable equals untransmittable (U=U). On the other hand, though science is clear that HIV treatment works and we are living longer, our systems and infrastructures are not prepared to care for an ever-growing population of people aging with HIV. It’s not uncommon for people living with HIV to have trouble sleeping. Studies have shown that people with HIV who have issues sleeping experience low CD4 count, anxiety, and depression. The reality is that taking naps and getting enough sleep are no longer negotiable and should no longer be considered a luxury or laziness. Sleep and naps have greater benefits beyond physical health. Sleep and naps treat physical, mental, and emotional fatigue. For instance, a 30-minute nap or a good night’s sleep will clear someone’s mind and help them make good decisions.
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