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Rationally you'll explain and show the article from NYT, and they'll agree. But irrationally they'll still form an opinion and stick to it.
Better: eat less lunch. Ever since I've started having no more than a moderate bowl of low-cal (not "diet", just not "vitamix'd pizza") soup, the second half of the day is just as productive as the first. If I eat enough for a food coma, I go home; I'd provide no useful anything for the rest of the day, nap or no, so no sense hiding it by merely being around.
I'm glad that you've found something which worked for you, and perhaps it will work for others as well. But it doesn't seem to me like "eat less lunch" is a direct alternative to napping, generalizable to the whole population as "better".
For the last 8 years at work, I napped for 12-40 minutes basically every afternoon. I headed out into the parking lot and slept in the back of my car. (I bought the model I own after testing to make sure the back was nappable.) My most productive, creative time was the hour or two in the late afternoon following the nap. All my co-workers knew the deal and so did my boss. Nobody else napped, but my napping was normal…
Out of curiosity which car did you get that was nap friendly (if you don't mind sharing?)?
Better: eat less lunch. Ever since I've started having no more than a moderate bowl of low-cal (not "diet", just not "vitamix'd pizza") soup, the second half of the day is just as productive as the first. If I eat enough for a food coma, I go home; I'd provide no useful anything for the rest of the day, nap or no, so no sense hiding it by merely being around.
Better: eat less lunch. Ever since I've started having no more than a moderate bowl of low-cal (not "diet", just not "vitamix'd pizza") soup, the second half of the day is just as productive as the first. If I eat enough for a food coma, I go home; I'd provide no useful anything for the rest of the day, nap or no, so no sense hiding it by merely being around.
I'm glad that you've found something which worked for you, and perhaps it will work for others as well. But it doesn't seem to me like "eat less lunch" is a direct alternative to napping, generalizable to the whole population as "better".
Funny thing is, until you challenged it, I'd never really rationalized it all. But now I'm seeing something bigger than "this makes me more productive".
EDIT: I'm super curious why this would have been downvoted. Not offended at all, the opposite really, just curious what anyone found offensive here.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Good points -- I agree that your suggestions would be optimal for nap-friendly companies. At this particular workplace, it took 90 seconds or so for me to walk from my desk to my car, so it wasn't a big deal. I was also used to the routine, and preferred the certainty that no one would ever walk in on me.
Would you run the AC?
For the last 8 years at work, I napped for 12-40 minutes basically every afternoon. I headed out into the parking lot and slept in the back of my car. (I bought the model I own after testing to make sure the back was nappable.) My most productive, creative time was the hour or two in the late afternoon following the nap. All my co-workers knew the deal and so did my boss. Nobody else napped, but my napping was normal…
If your boss and coworkers new about it, why didn't they provide you with space inside the building to take naps? It's stupid having to walk outside and nap in your car. Google has special quiet rooms where people can go take naps and relax during the day.
For the last 8 years at work, I napped for 12-40 minutes basically every afternoon. I headed out into the parking lot and slept in the back of my car. (I bought the model I own after testing to make sure the back was nappable.) My most productive, creative time was the hour or two in the late afternoon following the nap. All my co-workers knew the deal and so did my boss. Nobody else napped, but my napping was normal…
This has also been my experience. I often take naps around the same time and find that the nap calms me naturally and sort of distances me from any anxieties surrounding a problem I'm trying to tackle. This makes it much easier to work at it some more.
Separately I noticed that if I have any symptoms of depression (usually thoughts of despair), a nap like that can by itself often completely reverse the situation. Surprised, I did some research and was interested to find how much a lack of proper rest is associated with depression. So now the first item on my "feeling depressed" checklist is "try to take a nap".
Better: eat less lunch. Ever since I've started having no more than a moderate bowl of low-cal (not "diet", just not "vitamix'd pizza") soup, the second half of the day is just as productive as the first. If I eat enough for a food coma, I go home; I'd provide no useful anything for the rest of the day, nap or no, so no sense hiding it by merely being around.