
The language of productivity is now being used to advocate napping on the job - seventyhorses
http://wilsonquarterly.com/stories/want-to-boost-the-economy-take-a-nap-at-work/
======
phil248
Maybe it's just me, but for me, having plenty of non-working time to do things
like sleep makes me more productive. I mean, maybe I'm weird, but things like
working reasonable hours and having ample time off tend to make me a happier,
healthier person.

But I guess lying down at work in my clothes is... another way of doing it.

~~~
zyxley
There's a substantial difference between sleeping at work because you work
17-hour days, and taking a quick nap in the middle of an otherwise normal work
day as a simple way to 'reset' between morning and afternoon.

~~~
pilsetnieks
That's not what they're talking about in the article, though:

> [About China:] Workers caught in the throes of a 12-hour (or more) work
> cycle are encouraged to take a daily midday rest, which typically lasts no
> more than 30 minutes

> ...

> Workers who fall asleep on the job or are tired to the point of incompetence
> are losing significant amounts of money for their employers and the broader
> economy

I.e. naps help you drive your workers even harder.

~~~
sliverstorm
That's the negative view, but they'll be working 12 hours either way, so naps
seem like a win, as they make it more tolerable to give those 12 hours.

~~~
shoo
its a pretty unimaginative and depressing view to suppose they'll be working
12 hours no matter what they do.

arguably workers might get much more mileage out of e.g. organising and
forming unions to lobby for better conditions.

~~~
doyoulikeworms
Some professions work 12 hour shifts. My mother is a nurse, and she works 12
hour days 3 days per week (full time). It's actually a pretty decent job.

But 12 hours at any job 5+ days a week does sound rough.

------
ianamartin
Now that I work from home on a remote gig, I find myself using my lunch break
time as a nap time pretty often.

It works out pretty well. I log in around 10am, deal with meetings and admin
stuff for a while, do some testing on the code I wrote the day before,
brainstorm new features or whatever thought-type stuff needs to happen that
can be interrupted after the business meetings that drive that.

Then I take lunch around 2. Nap for an hour, and then go on Do-not-disturb
mode from 3-7 when I get a large chunk of uninterrupted time to code.

I usually cook food for the week on Sunday afternoons with my gf, so I don't
really need to go find food. I sort of graze slowly while doing the coding
work, and I try to keep it healthy.

Though sometimes we get busy, and I don't cook. But then I can order something
for delivery or just eat some of my emergency stash of staple foods.

But I digress. My point is that getting to rest for an hour on most days is
really good for my mindset. It separates the morning from the afternoon and
really prepares me to get in the mood for writing code.

I think I'm really productive this way. Far more so than sitting in an office
setting where I'm constantly tired and distracted.

Should note that I have a separate room in the apt. that's dedicated office
space. I only go in there for work. I think that mentally, that makes a big
difference about being able to shrug off work for an hour at a time and just
mentally relax. I'm not even sure that I fall asleep on my lunch break. But
it's a huge mental boon for me.

/anecdata

------
corbett3000
We have a very pro-napping policy at our company. I'm the CEO and actively nap
probably 3 days per week for a least 30 minutes when I'm in the office.

We even have a nap pod...and the pro-napping policy is written into our
employee/HR manual.

Of the 80+ employees, I'd say 20% of them nap in the office at least once a
week. Why fight biology? Naps are great.

~~~
skrause
> Why fight biology? Naps are great.

Maybe I'm the weird one, but my biology seems to be _not_ to nap. A few years
ago I tried for a while to take a nap during my lunch break, but I just
couldn't fall asleep even after 30 minutes simply because I don't even get a
little bit tired during my work hours (I usually sleep well and enough at
night). _If_ I'm actually tired because I haven't slept enough at night and I
manage to take a short nap, I feel even worse after it.

I'm still not convinced that taking a nap is actually the natural thing to do.

~~~
onion2k
It's entirely reasonable that you've tried napping and found it doesn't work
for you, but assuming everyone is the same and therefore napping won't work
for anyone is _somewhat_ irrational. Lots of things affect people in many
different ways. Napping _clearly_ works for some.

As for suggesting taking a nap isn't "the natural thing to do", what does that
actually mean? _Nothing_ modern humans do can be considered "natural" because
we've radically changed our environment to the point that it's unrecognisable
from anything in nature. There's no such thing as "natural" in an age of
electric lighting, computers, processed food, mechanised transport, etc.

------
kirvyteo
I visit our Chinese chip design customers such as Huawei, Fiberhome quite a
bit. The napping starts after their lunchtime, and it is more than 30 minutes.
They start to break for lunch around 1130am. Since food is provided at a
canteen, lunch is a fairly quick affair. Around 1230pm, lights are off. Some
people have a foldable bed, like a camping bed, tucked under their desks,
others nap on their seats. There are no dedicated rooms for napping. People
simply nap in front of their desks. Others prefer to surf net, go for a walk
or even continue to work. _You don 't have to nap_ "Nap time" usually range
between 1 to 1.5 hours. Often, vendors like us excuse ourselves so that we
don't disturb them. Even phones are off. I would say only large companies have
this culture. I don't think the smaller companies do that. Again my data
points limited to chip design companies.

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tomsthumb
> Napping, long a leisure activity, is fast becoming a luxury necessity for
> Manhattan trendsetters and Silicon Valley disruptors.

luxury necessity? no necessary naps for the plebs, eh?

~~~
themartorana
No rest for the weary.

------
sandworm101
Who are these people who can nap at work? I mean, how can they physically do
it?

I hear people complain about not being able to get a good night's sleep in
their bed at home. The phone doesn't ring any less during the workday. And who
has an office these days quiet enough for sleep? (As if anyone other than
founders gets an actual office. Shhhh... Type quietly. It's the boss's nap
time.)

I was in SF a couple weeks ago and had trouble sleeping even in the hotel.
Does anyone in SF not drive a firetruck? You'd think the whole city burnt down
every night. The concept of tech workers napping mid-workday reminds me of
those scenes in My Cousin Vinni.

~~~
mixmastamyk
It's not uncommon for an enlightened place to have a nap room with a couch. If
I'm already dozing off at my desk, it would be no problem to get a bit of
shuteye in a dark room.

Some people are unable to nap at all and don't sleep well. Sucks to be them.

------
Nursie
I noticed this in Shenzhen last year. At some point around lunchtime the
lights in the office would go off and everyone would have a nap in their
chair.

But then this is because they are in the office 12+ hours a day and seemed to
have only one day per week off. Routinely.

I don't want to live that way.

------
Fricken
I'm good for about 5 hours of high concentration most days. Throw a nap in the
middle, I'm good for 9 or 10, which was normal when I was freelancing and set
my own hours.

------
SimeVidas
What about us poor souls who cannot fall asleep unless we are in a quiet and
dark environment (and laying down)?

~~~
jon-wood
Have kids. I couldn't nap at all before we had our son, and now I'm quite
capable of falling asleep just about anywhere!

~~~
ambicapter
That or join the military, I hear.

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Htsthbjig
Napping is necessary if you do high stressful work and you want not to burn
out.

The nervous system is composed of parasympathetic and sympathetic systems and
only one could work at any given time.

When people work too much, they use the sympathetic system almost exclusively
and the body wears as it is not repaired as it should.

If you try to do too much, but your digestive system stops working at it
should, your immune system stops working at it should, your sexual system
stops working at it should, you are in a big problem in medium and long term.

In fact, people use artificial stimulants like coffee in order to mess and
fool the natural mechanism of body repair. But they are fooling themselves
because if you eliminate the signals but not the problem, you make the problem
worse.

Science has studied elite sports in order to get better athletes and know we
know that for every effort, you need a given resting time. Give no rest and
the person can't compete in the elite, period.

~~~
suneilp
Great comment. Just to add, if you carry the stress of work around with you
outside of the workplace, it'll also hamper your parasympathetic and
sympathetic balance. Of course, this also applies if you are carrying around
too much personal stress as well.

Next time you get into a conversation about work-life balance and say you
don't have time for a workout, think again about that.

------
molteanu
It always amuses me to see how science has taken hold in every part of life.
Maybe not science per se, but the idea of action/reaction, of doing something
to gain something. You know, not for the pleasure of it, not because we feel
good or it's the right thing to do, but because "it says so in the paper", "it
boosts productivity" or "lowers the risk of diabetes by 5%, studies have
shown". That's just fascinating.

~~~
jmnicolas
Before we had religion, now we have "science". I think humans are
superstitious creatures that need something to believe in.

By the way, I nap every day for 20-30 min since I read a few years ago that it
was good for me ;-)

~~~
Chris2048
It maybe true that there is something of a cargo-cult around science, but it
is still far from religion. We accept that a scientific fact may change, as
better evidence comes in; and that these are discovered facts without
exclusive ownership.

------
analog31
My father, an industrial scientist, took a lunchtime nap every day throughout
his career. He was quite brazen about it... even took his nap outdoors during
the summer months.

I really benefit from a little nap at lunch time. I start my nap with a book
or my tablet computer on my lap, to make it look like I fell asleep by
accident.

I personally think that napping is kind of a skill that has to be learned and
practiced. Even babies have to be taught how to nap on demand.

------
afarrell
One problem here is that if everyone gets tired at 3:30 pm, then napping space
is at a premium. Triple hammocks might be a solution?

~~~
rrmm
I'm sure you can pick up more hammocks and some space-saving hammock solutions
in the hammock district. You know, the hammock complex on third?

~~~
awakeasleep
I thought you were joking...

[http://imgur.com/v44KU5d](http://imgur.com/v44KU5d)

~~~
rrmm
That's great!

Btw, if anyone hasn't seen the scene from the Simpsons i was referencing check
out:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=xs...](https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=xsbad8GEW78#t=26)

Simspons were ahead of their time apparently.

------
gambiting
This just sounds like another excuse for Americans to have 12-hour workdays.
What they need is a regulated 7.5h workday like the rest of the civilised
world.

~~~
rootbear
I won't argue too hard about that, but just as a counter example, I'm American
and I work a fairly ordinary nine hour day, which includes a hour for lunch
and breaks. I try to get a good night's sleep, but I'm old enough that that
isn't as easy as it once was. I'm finding afternoon naps to be more and more
desirable, not because I'm overworking but because of other life
circumstances.

------
galephico
Nap can be really good for productivity for most people. I wish I could nap.
Here's a great (and very long) article about the relationship between sleeping
and learning [http://super-memory.com/articles/sleep.htm](http://super-
memory.com/articles/sleep.htm)

------
epalmer
I'm lucky that I have an office to myself. I nap almost every day after my
mid-day snack (I eat three times at work, small amounts). I usually drink a
cup of green or black tea right before. I nap sitting up in a chair and I run
a timer. I don't alarm the timer, I just want to know how long I have napped.
Usually it is 8 mins to 23 mins and typically about 12 seems to be the median.

My ability to nap goes a long way back. Between undergraduate and graduate
school I worked rotating shifts in a textile mill and had a job where I fed
cloth into a large continuous washing machine. I needed to tend to the machine
every 5 to 10 mins. I used to nap standing up for 1 to 2 minutes. Maybe it was
more like meditation. But whatever it was it helped me through the night. This
was in the mid 1970s.

In the early 80’s I used to fly 48 to 50 weeks a year. With delayed flights
and customers that wanted to extract a full week of consulting for me I flew
oten early morning and late evening. I trained myself to sleep while the jet
was taking off. Even with the noise of the engine I was able to nap. Now, when
we travel for fun I have a hard time not sleeping for the first 15 minutes of
the flight. This really surprises my family.

Around 2010 I had a meditation coach that gave me a post hypnotic suggestion
(self hypnosis and meditation are really close to the same thing, at least for
me) to go into a trance when I put my hands in a certain position. So now when
I nap I do that with my hands and 9 times out of 10 my brain quiets down and
within a minute I am out. Sometimes I don’t nap and I just quiet the brain
(mindfulness meditation) but either way I feel better and am more productive.

My afternoon productivity is so much better. I can awaken. turn around, turn
the lights on and start coding (Java, Python) within a few minutes. My
productivity is so much better after a nap.

I’m 62 and want to work another 5 years or so. I see the ability to nap
critical to me staying competitive in my workplace. I’m lucky I can nap
sitting up and have my own office. Barring unforeseen issues I will work at
the same place for the next 5 years.

I do manage my sleep cycle tightly because my wife and I are at the gym at
5:20 AM everyday of the week. So I am usually in bed at 9 to 9:30. Of course
this makes partying harder on the weekend but I’m not much on that anymore.
The exercise is so important and I was so late to that game. My prediabetes is
gone (diet also helps) and I am more mobile and just feel better.

If you have trouble napping maybe you can find someone to coach you through
meditation. Local universities that have non-credit courses sometimes have
meditation classes. that is how I got my meditation coach.

Like normal your mileage may vary.

------
rootbear
A 20 minute early afternoon nap does wonders for my productivity and alertness
for the rest of the day. Sadly, I don't work in a place where that is easy to
do explicitly. But there is that little-used lab over in the other building...

------
eva1984
I missed the time when I can take a nap after lunch. We don't really do that
here in US, but it is particularly for me to keep up with work after the first
1-2 hours after lunch.

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rollthehard6
I wonder how much of the research into this has taken place outside of the
context of the famously sleep-deprived USA?

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draw_down
I sometimes nap in the middle of the workday because I feel sleepy. Not
because I think it will make me more productive. Everything doesn't always
have to be justified on the basis of productivity, you know.

Actually, this reminds me of the Onion video about the app that makes workers
productive even in their sleep. [http://www.theonion.com/video/new-app-lets-
you-work-for-your...](http://www.theonion.com/video/new-app-lets-you-work-for-
your-company-even-while--38344)

~~~
gozur88
>Everything doesn't always have to be justified on the basis of productivity,
you know.

That really depends on who is paying for your time. If I own a company and you
want to nap on company time, then you definitely need to justify it on the
basis of productivity.

~~~
draw_down
That's ok, I don't want to work for you :)

~~~
gozur88
I don't envy you your job search if it's important to find an employer who'll
let you sleep during work.

------
beatpanda
Meanwhile, poor and homeless people are subjected to police violence daily for
daring to sleep in public.

~~~
eru
Have a look at the pictures from China they link to. Eg
[http://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/nap-time-in-
china/](http://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/nap-time-in-china/) and
[http://www.businessinsider.com.au/chinese-shoppers-
sleeping-...](http://www.businessinsider.com.au/chinese-shoppers-sleeping-at-
ikea-2015-6?r=US&IR=T)

You'll find much to rejoice in the first set.

