Naptime
Jesus napped, even when a storm came up (Luke 23-25).
Elijah was commanded by an angel to eat and sleep and eat some more before journeying 40 days and 40 nights to Horeb, the mountain of God. (1 Kings 19:5-8).
In addition to men of the Bible, many other famous people were dedicated nappers. John F. Kennedy, John D. Rockefeller, Thomas Edison, Napoleon Bonaparte, and Ronald Reagan are among those who took short naps every afternoon.
The National Sleep Foundation recommends 20-30 minute naps as a natural way to restore alertness and prevent the burnout that occurs after a long day. According to Dr. Sandra Mednick, this alertness also heightens sensory perception in sight, taste, and hearing. The Archives of Internal Medicine conducted a study on naps that associated 3 or more naps a week with a 37% reduced risk of heart disease.
Vacation
Americans and Europeans have wildly different vacation cultures. In the USA, there is no minimum state or federal paid vacation. Whereas in some European countries, employees can enjoy as many as 38 paid days off each year.
What vacation we do get is often unused - fifty-five percent of workers reported that they did not use all their vacation days, leaving 768 million vacation days unused (2018).
Studies show that vacations increase cognitive flexibility — they help you combine more raw ideas. When you have time to indulge your hobbies — mountain biking, cross-stitch, video games — your brain can combine ideas in ways you least expect. Creativity has 3 key ingredients: a relaxed state of mind, freedom from distractions, and an influx of dopamine — all of which we get on vacation.
Sabbath
Exodus 2:2-3 (KJV) And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.