
Take Naps at Work - WheelsAtLarge
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/23/smarter-living/take-naps-at-work-apologize-to-no-one.html
======
dang
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14651287](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14651287)

------
freehunter
I’ve never been able to nap. I’m one of the people who takes an hour to fall
asleep, always have been. Even if I meditate and shut down my active mind, I
can lay there for an hour with a completely blank mind, completely at peace,
and completely awake. So I tend to just take 5-10 minutes during the day and
do a full mediation session. It’s enough to take me out of the day briefly and
send all of my stresses somewhere else, which is what the point really is
about, right?

~~~
hashmal
If I "nap", it's either staying awake or going full sleep for hours. I found
that just laying down for 15 minutes still provides a good rest. The body
still rests a bit and the mind is more fresh.

~~~
ghthor
This is a critical part of taijiquan practice, laying down meditation. It's
amazing how many places your body is in pain and tired but you won't hear it
till you lay down and relax into the ground.

------
albertgoeswoof
Napping at work is a great idea if you want to be more productive, learn
faster and improve your cognitive ability. It's also a neat way of making your
colleagues and management think you're lazy.

~~~
jclulow
You most definitely need better colleagues and management.

~~~
laythea
I think the parent lives in the real world.

~~~
__s
First mistake-- need to take a nap to live in the dream world

------
mattjaynes
I NEED naps. It's just how I'm built. I can feel my I.Q. going down when I
need a nap. After a quick nap, my I.Q. feels much improved.

Storytime: I once interviewed for job in Delaware. It was exhausting. I did
great in the interviews, but my mind was burned out after all the technical
questions. So I asked if they had a spot where I could nap for a few minutes.
They were a bit puzzled, but showed me to a spot where I could sit in a chair
and lean back to nap. It was great and I got the job - it wasn't till months
later that they mentioned they almost didn't hire me because of the nap
incident during the interview!

So, I do recommend naps at work, but I'd say not everyone will understand if
you nap at your first onsite interview. YMMV ;)

Fortunately attitudes seem to finally be changing about sleep and brain
optimization.

------
djsumdog
I worked in a New Zealand shop that had a "quiet room" .. not everyone knew
about it. You get a buddy on day one to take you around the building and not
everyone covers it (don't think it was on the sheet). It had two recliner
chairs a single mattress and .. a sink for some reason (We think it may have
been a dentist's office once from the layout).

Other places I've sometimes found places under stairwells on bottom floors or
used one of the phone rooms. 10 ~ 15 min is all you need really. Then just
inject yourself with two more cups of coffee, put on your headphones and code
monkey away.

I realize the IT field is kinda unique in that people can get away with this,
at least with good managers who care more about your output and deliverables
than the amount of time you're at your desk.

------
odammit
I'm a grandmaster napper. If you can't nap at work, go on a coffee break and
take a nap in your car. People will jawdrop at your effectiveness. Ask Spain.

~~~
koolba
Are the Spanish known for their effectiveness?

I'm sure I'm being stereotypical but I just known them as _taking_ long naps
and lunches. Not necessarily boosting their effectiveness or country wide GDP
as a result.

~~~
bane
Food and drink in Spain is very effective at being delicious -- some of the
best in Europe. I think it depends on the industry.

------
orthoganol
Apparently in Japan napping at work is honorable because it proves you are
working hard and late. Funny that the idea of "slacker" isn't the first thing
that crosses their mind. East Asia is a different land.

~~~
cloverich
Except don't they actually work really long hours? I visited recently, it
seemed like falling asleep on the train (etc.) was normal and they just looked
so exhausted, i'd assumed it was the only way they were getting enough in.

~~~
orthoganol
I didn't mean to say they are slacking, just that it's funny over here the
first thing we would think is 'slacker', but the idea of interpreting it as
slacking just doesn't cross their mind.

------
nisse72
Napping aside, when (or where) did "leaving your desk for lunch" become taboo?
Is this an American thing?

In most places I've worked it would be unusual to stay at your desk for lunch,
and in many places it would be discouraged. People really need to use their
lunch time, however long or short, to actually take a break, not just from
work but also from sitting in front of the computer, and maybe get a few
minutes of fresh air and natural sunlight.

~~~
totalZero
On a trading desk, it's unusual for more than one or two people to leave their
seats at a time for lunch. And often, the team will order delivery and one of
the junior guys will go downstairs to pick it up.

Once, I left my seat to go to Starbucks for about twelve minutes. In that
time, the AVGO/BRCM merger was announced, and my BRCM position made $500k in
my absence.

So there's at least one major industry in NY where it's generally discouraged
for people to leave their desks.

------
the_bear
I'm interested in making it easier for people to nap at my company, but I'm
having some trouble figuring out the logistics. I don't mind people taking
naps, but I don't want to end up dealing with cleaning sheets, blankets, etc.

Any suggestions on how a small office (~15 people) can have a napping area
without taking on any additional custodial work?

~~~
olliepop
We have an unofficial napping area at work which consists of a beanbag under a
staircase next to a warm window. I think a comfortable seat (i.e sofa/beanbag)
is enough to encourage and support power napping.

~~~
the_bear
Makes sense. I was worried that something like a beanbag would get gross over
time, but I'm probably overthinking it. We already have a couple in non-quiet
areas and they're fine. Thanks for the response!

~~~
hfourm
a nice comfy couch could do

------
INTPenis
Where I live it's law that a workplace with a certain number of workers must
have a resting room where you can take a nap.

Sure enough my workplace has one. There was a big thing when it was discovered
that another branch, smaller but still above the threshold of employees, did
not have a resting room. Not sure how that played out but essentially you have
an "employee safety officer" that handles the case with the union until the
requirement is met.

I go in there around 15:00 and nap for about 30 minutes, apologize to no one.
It's nice and dark, you put a note on the door so no one disturbs you.

~~~
myrloc
And where would this wonderful place be?

~~~
INTPenis
Sweden. We have an agency called Arbetsmiljöverket, which translates to the
agency of work environments.

They say that any workplace with over 50 employees needs a resting room.

------
nerdponx
Yet another reason not to punish your employees with an open floor plan
office.

~~~
djsumdog
I use to hate the cubical, until I was in various open floor plan jobs for six
years. Open floor plans are the next circle of hell. I know this because they
make you miss the cube.

------
tedmiston
I have noticed that taking a brief nap, 20 minutes or so, or going for a
midday walk leads to an afternoon productivity boost. It's hard to do this in
an office environment though, especially if you don't have quiet space. My
closest office equivalent is a walk to the coffee shop. It's not even really
about the coffee (or tea), just a mental lull to recenter my mind in executive
mode and reconsider what priorities are important vs being immersed deep in
code.

~~~
jclulow
Sometimes just lying on a bean bag for 20 minutes, without any expectation of
even light sleep, is enough to get me through the rest of the afternoon. This
is even more true now that I have an 8 month old son.

The alternative is sitting at my desk pretending I'm not spacing out, which is
good for exactly nobody.

------
duncan_bayne
Several of my previous employers have been nap-friendly. At one we even had a
hammock on a frame in the office; I used to lie down in that with a timer set
for 15 minutes and nap when necessary.

My current employer has a 'pool room' with couches, plants and nature sounds.
Great for a brief nap.

In my experience, this sort of thing is _especially_ helpful for new parents
:)

------
reledi
Their perfect guide to napping says to aim for 20 minutes and no more. This is
really tricky because you can't just set a timer for 30 minutes because the
time it takes to fall asleep is variable. Are there any wearables or
techniques to solve this problem of starting a timer when you fall asleep?

------
anonyte
I can't risk taking naps, especially in an open space. I'm a loud snorer. I
learned that the hard way back in college at an afternoon course, where, for
some reason, I decided to sit first row in the lecture hall. My lab has nap
boxes. However, I can't even use those since they are made of cupboard and are
in the library of all places.

------
nether
This was one of the awesome things about switching to Soylent for lunch. I'd
sip it at my desk around my lunch break, and close my door during lunch for an
hour of glorious shuteye.

------
CalChris

      Napped at my desk.
      Napped under the desk.
      Napped on the couch.
      Napped in my car.
      Napped in a meeting.
      Napped in the nap room.

------
cmurf
Good luck with that. No really, I like the idea, and I wish nappers luck.
They're gonna need it.

~~~
LoSboccacc
There's an hour lunch break around all europe. Most napper could fit a 20min
rest there without being reprimanded.

~~~
Broken_Hippo
Not really. Lots of places here (Norway) use just 30 minutes for lunch.

------
fffernan
Although this may be true and effective. 80% of the folks reading this are
just going to use it as an excuse to be more lazy.

~~~
kashkhan
because most non nappers are spending every hour of their day outputting world
changing products, and the people who don't are lazy.

