Would you nap at work?

doolox · 26-07-2017 01:16PM

Thank god I no longer have to worry about falling asleep at meetings, "looking busy" or other work related nonsense to keep a boss happy, or other drone like behaviour in order to earn a living and keep a HR dept and a coterie of semi skilled semi educated middle management out of my life.

The modern workplace has become too intense and demanding for most people to such an extent that mental health and physical health issues are becoming more prevalent in the face of longer hours, more work demanded in those hours, less time to sleep and rest, longer commutes, less peace in the home environment due to more people in less space due to higher rents etc.

It was common in my former workplace for people to nap in their cars rather than be caught napping at their desks or workplaces. It was common for people to nod off at meetings, complain about being tired all the time etc.

There was a culture of fear and compulsion about having a nap or any other form of rest. Since leaving that place I am self employed and much more focussed in my work and can enjoy myself more. Sleep deprivation is no longer an issue. I can arrange my hours better and sort out my sleeping arrangements much better without the worry and stress of working for a large, impersonal, greedy and predatorial multinational who only want to squeeze the most out of you for the best years of your life and get rid of you when you become a "burden" and are too slow and awkward to change with the demands of the modern workplace.

My partner also had a similar experience, changing from front line nursing to a backroom admin role which she can do mostly from home at her own times and get to rest when needed, not when a shift manager or onerous workloads allow it.

It appears to me that only leaders and independently wealthy people at the top of their game can get away with napping. Hitler was infamous for late rising and not allowing his rest to be interrupted for anything. Churchill was also noted for taking midday work naps and also for drinking during working hours....things which would not be tolerated at any level in the modern workplace.

Margaret Thatcher was also noted for her unusually sleeping hours, they were very short, often 4hrs or less which allowed her to keep ahead of her cabinet in most levels of details for as long as she did.

Trump seems to have the same trait, needing little sleep and tweeting at all hours when the other staff are not around to mind him.

Dramatik · 26-07-2017 05:00PM

I wouldn't dare, for fear of waking up 10 or 12 hours later. If I'm tired I usually wash my face with cold water and splash some of it lightly into my eyes, I also have eyedrops in my drawer for more severe cases.

26-07-2017 05:21PM

I can nap anywhere. I once fell asleep in an anti-aircraft gun - while it was firing. If my job doesn't engage me, I'm at serious risk of falling asleep either at my computer or in a meeting. Thats why I always bring a pen and notepad with me to meetings, its so I can stab myself in the leg if I feel myself drifting off.

If there was somewhere I could go for a 20 minute nap around 3pm I would do it most days.

faceman · 26-07-2017 05:24PM

We have a bed in a room in the office for employee use.

Would I nap? YES!

Could I nap? Hell no!

In fact no one has used it as far as I know

seamus · 26-07-2017 05:29PM

Deleted User wrote: »

I can nap anywhere. I once fell asleep in an anti-aircraft gun - while it was firing. If my job doesn't engage me, I'm at serious risk of falling asleep either at my computer or in a meeting. Thats why I always bring a pen and notepad with me to meetings, its so I can stab myself in the leg if I feel myself drifting off.

There was a good discussion on reddit recently about the sleeping habits of military personnel and how the basic training basically trained you to sleep anywhere at any time. And your body would naturally drop off to sleep when it seemed like an opportune time (i.e. you weren't actively doing something).

It was fascinating to hear a lot of the other stories of crazy sleeping.
https://www.reddit.com/r/funny/comments/6hzplr/this_is_actually_a_proven_method/

26-07-2017 05:35PM

seamus wrote: »

There was a good discussion on reddit recently about the sleeping habits of military personnel and how the basic training basically trained you to sleep anywhere at any time. And your body would naturally drop off to sleep when it seemed like an opportune time (i.e. you weren't actively doing something).

It was fascinating to hear a lot of the other stories of crazy sleeping.
https://www.reddit.com/r/funny/comments/6hzplr/this_is_actually_a_proven_method/

I remember doing tactics down in Cork a few years ago, and we all got on the truck to go back to barracks which was about 15 minutes away. One of the lads said he had said "Ye're all very quiet" at some point during the journey and then discovered everyone except himself was asleep.

Makes sense I suppose. I regularly fall asleep on the luas, both in the morning and in the evening.

PandaPoo · 26-07-2017 05:47PM

I'm a stay at home mam and I used to nap every day. My youngest sleeps for 2 hours while my eldest is in school, so I'd sleep for an hour.

I couldn't nap in an office though, because apparently I snore like a warthog, and also I'd get kicked out for not working there.

26-07-2017 07:12PM

I'd love to be able to nap at work. Only if I could give it the full hour and a half though, those sissy cat naps don't do it for me at all.

It has to be a full-on, blankie-wrapped, shoes-off, blinds down snoozie snooze.

messy tessy · 26-07-2017 07:17PM

faceman wrote: »

We have a bed in a room in the office for employee use

I feel you need to explain this further! :P

corner of hells · 26-07-2017 07:26PM

I used to work night's as part of a small team and if it was a quiet night you could nap for hour an hour once you kept a radio nearby .

Most shifts it worked well , but one ****face wasn't happy with an hour , she reckoned if we were quiet she reckoned should be allowed sleep as long as she wanted.

An hour became ninety minutes then two hours eventually up to 3 and half hours asleep on a 12 hour shift.

Came to head one morning when she forgot to set her alarm and couldn't be awoken by radio chatter.

Boss was not a happy camper finding her asleep under a duvet she brought into work.

26-07-2017 07:30PM

seamus wrote: »

No, I don't nap. Can't do it, never have.

God, I nap all the time. Gone in < 60 s.
Hopefully if it turns out i have sleep apnea and treat it that will change though

26-07-2017 07:37PM

bluewolf wrote: »

God, I nap all the time. Gone in < 60 s.
Hopefully if it turns out i have sleep apnea and treat it that will change though

Could easily do, BW. My elder brother was diagnosed in the sleep clinic and when he got his thingy (PAP?) he was bouncing out of bed in the morning like a toddler.

LadyMacBeth_ · 26-07-2017 07:40PM

I can usually sleep anywhere at any time. I often doze off on the couch and when I'm a passenger in the car. I sleep through plenty of noise too. I claim that it is the sleep of the innocent

Mr_Muffin · 26-07-2017 07:54PM

Had a public sector job in the past where I had a make shift bed and used to sleep for as long and often as I wanted.

Was really nice for a while but it threw my sleep patterns off so I decided to only have a short nap/read a book in my 'bed' instead of sleeping for 3+ hours .

faceman · 26-07-2017 08:19PM

messy tessy wrote: »

I feel you need to explain this further! :P

There is no way of explaining it without it not sounding dodgy!

It's a single bed in a small room that we call the "first aid" room.

A hangover is a medical issue right?

Cee-Jay-Cee · 26-07-2017 09:05PM

I do now and then, I try and find a quiet unused office/room and lean a chair up against a wall and nod off for 15/20 minutes.

jamesbere · 26-07-2017 09:07PM

Yes, but shhhhhhh don't tell anybody

26-07-2017 09:08PM

As a general rule I hate napping and never do it as I wake up feeling like crap. However there have been a few occasions where I was so wrecked and hungover I've gone into the jacks for a sleep.

sticker · 27-07-2017 08:17AM

i work from home and for 10 years try to squeeze an hour nap into the afternoon. Love it but get some stick from my wife... to be fair its not something I'm proud of but it doesnt interfere with my work and its now developed into a habbit. i see it as a bit embarrassing but feel it really shouldn't be.

Hector Savage · 27-07-2017 08:57AM

I worked in a place that had a room with soft benches in it that you could nap.
there was a fishtank and nice relaxing music, sometimes I'd go in but **** you would come out worse ... just wishing for more sleep as you could only really nap for 30 mins max.

Also be careful of these "fun, trendy, cool" places to work that might have this - especially American companies - its all for show.

Fluorescence · 27-07-2017 10:23AM

I love a good nap, but I've never been a power napper. 15 mins and a cup of coffee? Useless to me, I just feel like rubbish after, worse than any hangover. Proper hour or two hour nap is beautiful, but not necessarily possible in the modern workplace.

So while I like the idea of work naps, I've yet to take a work nap. Except when I worked in hotels and was in 7-1 and 5-midnight on the same day, after being in the night before and again the next day. I ran home and slept as much as I could in those breaks.

branie2 · 27-07-2017 01:41PM

No.

mrsdewinter · 27-07-2017 01:53PM

I'd love to be able to nap at work. I started eyeing up the couches in the boss's office the other day, thinking about all the naps Don Draper in Mad Men takes.

Greentopia · 28-07-2017 06:23PM

sticker wrote: »

i work from home and for 10 years try to squeeze an hour nap into the afternoon. Love it but get some stick from my wife... to be fair its not something I'm proud of but it doesnt interfere with my work and its now developed into a habbit. i see it as a bit embarrassing but feel it really shouldn't be.

Don't feel embarrassed! there's nothing wrong with napping in the afternoon, in fact it's good for you:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17296887

We used to sleep 10 hours on average in the 19th century and have been gradually forced to get by on less and less sleep as the demands of the economy has increased. So a nap is a good way of taking back some time for ourselves.

Moreover it splits the day into two halves, making each half more manageable and enjoyable. It's much easier to work in the morning if we know we have a nap to look forward to after lunch.

If you know there is a nap to come later in the day, then you can banish that terrible sense of doom and dread one feels at 8 A.M. with eight hours of straight toil ahead.

WHIP IT! · 28-07-2017 06:31PM

Thread reminds me of an article I read a while back about 'optimum napping'... It said the ideal nap time was 90minutes. If you couldn't spare that amount of time to nap, you should only nap for 10.

10 minutes is enough time to give you a quick boost, but if you nap in that kinda 30-75mins zone, you are still in the "drifting off" phase and will only wake up groggy and a little disorientated.

Apparently, 90 minutes was ideal as you were past the initial falling asleep phase and you were actually in a deep sleep. Therefore you would wake up rested.

blueser · 28-07-2017 06:58PM

Sabre0001 wrote: »

A write-up from the Irish Examiner points to studies that say napping can make us more productive, better thinkers, and happier. Plus it ticks a box for corporations who like to emphasise work-life balance (though in many cases this seems to be for show).

The article talks about how naps could be the new caffeine...but it also goes on to mention that we could just be more alert during the working day by sleeping better.

So, would you take a nap at work? Or, if you do already, do you find it makes a difference?

I do enjoy a good nap, so I'd be very tempted, but I'd say for the first while it would be tricky to drift off and then there are timing issues - not at the same time as all your team...or the snorer!

Linky

Yeah; I can see my bosses going for that.

Murphye109 · 03-08-2017 09:34PM

I never nap during the day in work as I don't have the time.

I often work night shifts so when there's down time I'll go for a little snooze and just rest my eyes. I find that more beneficial than actually having a "go asleep nap". If I nap during the day and fall asleep I feel awful when I wake up.

rekluse · 03-08-2017 10:58PM

Done a little stint working in Korea , very common to see people sleeping at their desks. Poor bastids there were worked to the bone though.

Would you nap at work?

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