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Take Naps at Work

nytimes.com

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Re: Take Naps at Work

#41

Post by ianai »

rectang wrote: post #36
ianai wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Would you run the AC?

Sometimes. Managing that issue was definitely something I thought about, and it affected where I parked and what direction I would point my parked car to avoid the sun. Usually I just rolled the windows down a few inches, though, instead of running the AC. I live in a temperate area and I have more tolerance for temperature swings than some. And I was usually setting my alarm for 20 minutes, so I wouldn't be there th…

I feel guilt for this where I work. It gets to 120f outside here during the summer. It's not great to run the car for just ac, but I benefit from the alone time.

Re: Take Naps at Work

#42

Post by quotemstr »

closed wrote: post #27

Before I started drinking coffee, I had a solid nap flow going. Now that coffee is in the picture, I'd probably just lay there for 20 minutes twitching :/.

Don't worry: your tolerance will eventually reach a level such that you would have to consume physically impossible amounts of coffee for it to have any effect.

Re: Take Naps at Work

#43

Post by closed »

quotemstr wrote: post #42
closed wrote: post #27

Before I started drinking coffee, I had a solid nap flow going. Now that coffee is in the picture, I'd probably just lay there for 20 minutes twitching :/.

Don't worry: your tolerance will eventually reach a level such that you would have to consume physically impossible amounts of coffee for it to have any effect.

"Congratulations you have reached complete habituation + crippling dependence!"

Re: Take Naps at Work

#44

Post by rorykoehler »

rectang wrote: post #13

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…

That's one of the main reasons I signed up for the gym. The other being the showers. I can bike to work and take a coffee nap in a hammock after lunch.

Re: Take Naps at Work

#45

Post by rectang »

rdtsc wrote: post #31

Don't unless you're sure people won't talk behind your back and management won't get the wrong impression. "Look at so and so snoring while we are working hard getting stuff out of the door". 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.

Another reason to prefer working remote, at least part of the time!

Re: Take Naps at Work

#46

Post by yokisan »

blhack wrote: post #6

I don't think I could physically fall asleep at work. Are people really this tired while they're at their offices? It seems like if you're so tired while you're at work that you actually want to take a nap , then maybe there is another underlying problem.

> It seems like if you're so tired while you're at work that you actually want to take a nap, then maybe there is another underlying problem.

There is: tiredness. Often, but not always, due to lack of sleep. A nap is the solution.

If you need 8 glasses of water a day to be at peak-performance but for whatever reason only manage to drink 7 in the morning, why not have that final glass sometime during the day? Same with sleep.

In fact it's absurd to think everybody can store energy upfront and power through 9 hours of activity without falling off towards the end.

Naps are natural.

Re: Take Naps at Work

#47

Post by hueving »

ianai wrote: post #41
rectang wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sometimes. Managing that issue was definitely something I thought about, and it affected where I parked and what direction I would point my parked car to avoid the sun. Usually I just rolled the windows down a few inches, though, instead of running the AC. I live in a temperate area and I have more tolerance for temperature swings than some. And I was usually setting my alarm for 20 minutes, so I wouldn't be there th…

I feel guilt for this where I work. It gets to 120f outside here during the summer. It's not great to run the car for just ac, but I benefit from the alone time.

Cars consume very limited amounts of fuel idling so you shouldn't feel guilt for that anymore than you should feel guilt for driving to a restaurant on the way home.

Re: Take Naps at Work

#48

Post by daxfohl »

increment_i wrote: post #34
daxfohl wrote: post #20

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.

This isn't meant as an Ad hominem, but do your team members ever show any disdain towards having to tolerate working with a person who leaves work early because they ate too much? Are you the boss? Genuine curiosity here.

No, not really. People leave work early for all kinds of reasons, people work late / from home for all kinds of reasons. Everyone is expected to carry their own load. I'm at Microsoft now, but this was the case at my previous two companies too. Granted, nobody ever says "I ate too much and am useless now so deal with it", more "I have something to take care of this afternoon". (Which is often the case anyway if you have kids / house.) So long as you eventually put in the lost hours and hit the deadlines, that's all anyone cares about.

Though still, don't do this often.... That's kind of the whole point, right?

Re: Take Naps at Work

#49

Post by vinhboy »

blhack wrote: post #6

I don't think I could physically fall asleep at work. Are people really this tired while they're at their offices? It seems like if you're so tired while you're at work that you actually want to take a nap , then maybe there is another underlying problem.

> maybe there is another underlying problem.

The problem is that sometimes I am in the zone from like 10pm - 1am.

So naturally I am tired during the day. A few minutes to nap for 3 hours of "in the zone" ain't a bad trade off for a company in my opinion.

Re: Take Naps at Work

#50

Post by Swizec »

quotemstr wrote: post #42
closed wrote: post #27

Before I started drinking coffee, I had a solid nap flow going. Now that coffee is in the picture, I'd probably just lay there for 20 minutes twitching :/.

Don't worry: your tolerance will eventually reach a level such that you would have to consume physically impossible amounts of coffee for it to have any effect.

Personally I find that there's a dynamic balance that forms. Any less caffeine and I'm a zombie, any more and it just feels physically repulsive. You make a cup take a sip and your mind is like Just No.

For me that balance is at about 400 to 500 mg of caffeine per day. Stays stable for months and months, then I tend to reset a bit during a vacation of or 3-day weekend of some sort.

Don't need caffeine at all if I'm not mentally working. Barrly crosses my mind.

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