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Have you ever taken a nap at work?
If you occasionally feel your eyes flutter shut while staring at your e-mail inbox, or let a few zzz’s slip out during a particularly long conference call, rest assured that you’re not alone.
Nearly one quarter of office workers admitted to napping on the job, according to a recent survey conducted by Braun Research for Philips Consumer Lifestyle.
And men were nearly twice as likely as women to take a snooze while working.
This is not exactly surprising news, given some of the other admissions the survey respondents made about their sleeping habits.
The phone survey of 1,000 white-collar workers found that a whopping 85 percent of them admitted that they’d be more productive if they slept more. More than half said they don’t consistently get a good night’s sleep.
Some employers are even waking up to the benefits of napping.
Bloomberg Businessweek reported last fall that companies such as Google and Nike now have areas where employees can rest during the day. In New York City there are even “napping spas” where people can have a 20-minute rest for $15.
There’s plenty of research that shows more sleep can boost health and productivity. Still, finding the time for a good night’s sleep can be difficult, especially for people juggling work and home life.
A recent paper on workplace flexibility found that working moms with an employed spouse get 3.2 fewer hours of sleep each week than their stay-at-home counterparts.
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I think that if you are tired- you should rest, even if it means shutting the office door for a 15 minute snoozer. You will be a much more productive employer when your mind is clear of cobwebs and your body is ready to roll again. Power Naps Rock!!
That's a lot harder to do if you work in a cube, on a floor, or have an officemate!
Not to mention if you have difficulty sleeping in noisy and lighted environments, or seated.
I generally do this after lunch. Turn off the lights and lean back in my chair and snooze. I am more productive in the latter part of the day. Also, eat an apple after your rest. Fresh fruits such as apples, oranges, pineapples, blueberries, bananas and strawberries can provide a boost of energy.
Unless your office has a policy of firing anyone caught sleeping at work.
How great would it be to have enough free time throughout the week to actually get enough sleep at night though.
Yikes, nothing worse than getting asked a question during a conference call when you dozed off and hadn't heard anything for the last 10 minutes.
I hate when that happens.
I slept under my desk in New York on many occasions. Those Big City hangovers were really tough to shake
5-10 minute power snoozes work. Awake refreshed - if you're out longer, you'll be groggy.
I once worked for a doctor's office. The doctors and the office manager would regularly take naps if there was an exam room that wasn't being used, and it was encouraged for the rest of the staff also. We would each take turns napping right on the exam table!
Naps, unfortunately, are permissable for upper management and powerful political leaders.
Blue collar workers don't get "nappy time"....or milk and cookies!
I use NAP26 to help me take a quick nap and wake me up rested, recharged, and ready to take on the rest of my day.
www.nap26.com
on my lunch break, i am legally allowed to nap or do anything i like. so yes, i go to sleep. i need an exact 10 minutes of REM sleep and when i wake up, i feel great. i have always napped at every job i have had, whether it was allowed or not. i refuse to feel like crap just to get some work done. employers need to focus on quality of performance rather than just pencil pushing. health is #1. be loyal to your body, never an employer.
Napping while at work. Congress should pass a law for the rest of us, they are always napping during debates and hearings.
I napped in the early afternood at school and on the job for 40 years, until I was diagnosed with Sleep Apnea. Nightly use of a CPAP ended this problem forever!
Really could use a NAP right now......
My husband is a truck driver, he drives locally so he is home every night. He tells me all the time that he sees Union employees curled up somewhere in a warehouse sleeping on the job when they are supposed to be working and they don't get fired for doing it.
The main reason many (not all) people are sleep deprived is because of texting, television and internet. We believe that, since we can connect to work through VPN or Blackberry, that we should be working every hour of they day. TURN OFF YOUR ELECTRONICS AT 8 PM AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS! Another reason for many parents is that they over schedule their children, and have to accompany them to 20 different activities during the week. My sister in law takes her son to music lessons 1 day a week, Tae Kwon Do two nights per week, and tutoring two nights per week. Poor kid never gets a chance to just hang out. Again, slow down! Remember the whole idea of the Sabbath day? That we needed one day of downtime to be productive? It's still true. Maybe you can't take a whole day, due to work schedules, but set aside time to do absolutely nothing.
Not everyone believes in the Sabbath (why is religion brought into everything?) But anyway it's not just about electronics. I work 14 hour shifts when I do work, and when I go home, I don't touch my computer or tv or anything. And I still have trouble sleeping.
I do believe, however, you have a point, as electronics can be at least a part of it. However, I'd like to add that excersizing helps boost one's energy too, if you can manage even 30 minutes of moderate excersize a day. It also helps you sleep better, too. I'm worse off when I have a "lazy week" and I don't take walks, etc.
You know - you really ARE sleep deprived. SheliaMTSM did not suggested ANYthing religious, but a concept found in many religions. I'll help you - now - reread her comment:
SheilaMTSM is right - the best course of action is to pack the 6 days and take one TOTALLY off but don't make the mistake of sleeping late. Get up at the same time every morning but insert a couple of naps during the day so you don't mess up your body clock. Personally, I'm going to take the advice about turning off electronics well before my bedtime - it makes a lot of sense.
As for having trouble reading after a 14 hour day, don't forget to either stop listening to your iPod or change what you're listening to the last hour before you want to sleep. I like sounds of nature, especially storms.
Reasons people snooze at work:
1. They got up at 5:30 AM so they could be on the road by 6:30 AM so that they could be at their desk in the city by 8:00 AM.
2. They are basically running on coffee and candy, and about midafternoon they crash.
3. Half their department got laid off last month because the company couldnt afford to keep them (though the company posted record profits last year). So, they work three times as hard now to keep their job.
4. They technically get a 1-hour lunch, but they usually work through it to keep ahead of the work load. So, lunch is a quickly horked down microwave lunch at their desk in between phone calls.
5. Their shift officially ends at 5:00 PM, but most nights they dont leave before 6:00 PM.
6. After work, its the long, slow commute home. With no traffic, it would be 25 minutes, but instead, it takes 90 minutes to get home.
7. They arrive home just in time to take the kids to music class, soccer practice, rock climbing, etc. While pretending to watch their kid, they use their laptop to VPN and do more work while texting on their Blackberry at the same time.
8. Dinner is at 9:00 PM and is another quickly horked down meal from Boston Market or Pizza Hut. Then its off to the laptop and VPN. (They would exercise with the long abandoned equipment in the basement, but they cant type emails while on the Stairmaster.)
9. Then its time to catch up with whatever stupid vampire show they follow on cable. Then its time for Sportscenter. Then they get an emergency urgent email from their boss, and its back on the VPN for another hour for something then ends up being a mistake in accounting.
10. Finally, at midnight, its time for bed. They hook up their Blackberry next to the bed, set the alarm for 5:30 AM, and then lay there obsessing about work, their bills, their debt, and their job - until the Lunesta kicks in and puts them asleep, and then they dream about being at work.
11. The next morning at 5:30, they get up, take an Abilify with their Zoloft, and do it all over again.
The American dream.
In Taiwan a few decades ago, a after lunch nap was pretty mandatory for all employees , top to bottom. Luch was served on premises. Then the lights went off, phones go silent , everyone puts their head down and naps. I thought it was pretty nuts until I tried it. If they are still doing that and in China too, I can tell you from experience it's a natural way to boost effective productivity.
I am not a day person. I have been used to working 3-11. Now I have an 8-5, M-F job with an hour commute each way. It is sooooo hard to stay awake. As I am still on orientation for my job and doing mountains of reading, I currently go to my car at lunch and take a 1 hour nap. Frankly, even that is not enough. I am a person who has to get at least 9 hours of sleep at night. Fortunately, soon I will be at a point in my job where I will be out of the office most of the time doing inspections (I am a nursing home complaint investigator). That will keep me very busy and up on my feet. And hopefully I will be able to have less trouble staying awake.
I've been known to sneak in a 20 - 30 minute snooze at the office. Better to take a short break and refresh yourself than to do a lousy job because you're too tired/sleepy to think straight.
How many people could benefit from a snooze but simply have no possibility of doing so?