Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Take Naps at Work

nytimes.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

201–210 of 282 posts

Re: Take Naps at Work

#201

Post by Bartweiss »

amelius wrote: post #196
mrkipling wrote: post #193

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I worked for a very small startup in London that embraced napping as part of their culture, some 8 years ago. It worked wonders (provided that you napped for 15-30 minutes at a time and didn't pass out for an hour or two). We even had a dark storage room with a sofa that was the designated nap area. Fast forward to the current day. That company no longer exists (it was acquired), but the co-founders went on to create…

How do you ensure that you sleep exactly 15-30 minutes, when falling asleep could take anywhere between 0-30 minutes?

It's tricky, but there are a few options.

- Gold standard: this is a perfect use case for sleep tracking. "Wake me in the sooner of 1 hour or 30 minutes of sleep".

- Upper bound timing. If I can't start a nap within 15-20 minutes, it's probably one I don't need. So a timer set for 35 min would suffice to get me some reasonable duration. This fails if you might need 30+ minutes.

- Caffeine naps. Drink a cup of coffee, start your nap, you'll be up in - Practice. I struggle to nap currently because it's not routine, I usually can't sleep quickly unless I'm exhausted. But I spent a good 6 months getting healthy sleep amounts with a daily nap, and I was usually out within 5 minutes when it was expected.

Re: Take Naps at Work

#203

Post by SirLJ »

This is the greatest benefit of working from home (or second greatest if you have a lot of traffic to fight)... Around lunch, do a quick 30min exercise, protein shake, lay down, read a bit and fall asleep for 30 minute and you'll feel like you have one more productive day in the afternoon...

Re: Take Naps at Work

#204

Post by bakul »

I found that I don't feel sleepy after lunch if I work while standing up. But if I sit in a chair I can feel sleepy and a five minute nap makes for a more productive afternoon than fighting the sleepiness. Has anyone else observed this effect of curing after lunch sleepiness by standing up?

Re: Take Naps at Work

#206

Post by imgabe »

have_faith wrote: post #92

>Sleeping on the job is one of those workplace taboos — like leaving your desk for lunch What kind of company is it a taboo to leave your desk for lunch?

I thought the same thing, along with the afternoon walk. I've always gone out for walks since my first job in the city where there's actually somewhere to walk. Nobody's ever said anything or complained about it.

A job is not slavery, don't treat it like it is. Assume you're free to do as you like (while getting your work done) unless indicated otherwise.

Re: Take Naps at Work

#207

Post by Danihan »

gk1 wrote: post #187
booleandilemma wrote: post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My company does this thing where all of the people in IT go out to get food together in sync, and then bring it back and eat in the conference room like it's a cafeteria and like they're back in school. I'm the only person who leaves the office during my lunch hour, alone. I get funny looks, and my coworkers sometimes ask me "where have you been?" It's a weird company culture and I'm not sure how much longer I'll be…

I know of a startup that does group lunch every day. Even the remote people join (through Hangouts). I found it pleasant... It strengthens the team _and_ forces everyone to take their eyes away from a screen, slow down, and get out of the weeds. They go on a group hike every afternoon for the same reason. I don't know how long they'll be able to keep it up as they grow, but I thought it was great.

I hate stuff like this. I don't want to be forced to "take my eyes off the screen" when I'm in the middle of fixing something difficult or important. For fuck's sake. Not only is it patronizing and paternalistic, it defeats the whole purpose of coming to work in the first place, which, for me, is to get shit done. I'm perfectly capable of knowing and understanding my own limits, and I have my own techniques to "sharpen the saw," so to speak. I might take a power nap, or a walk or quick jog outside.

As an introvert, being around people socially at work like this drains the hell out of me. Sure, I can put on a happy face for the meeting, but it'll also take me an extra hour or two to recharge afterwards. Which is purely wasted time.

How is it "strengthening the team" when any introvert there is surely wishing they could just do their job without these sorts of social interruptions? These extrovert-centric assumptions drive me crazy, including at my current job.

Just because this sort of social extroversion makes YOU feel more connected, please don't assume that everyone else feels the same way. I feel FAR more connected to the team quietly working on difficult projects without interruption. If I wanted to socialize I'd do it on my own time and in my own way.

Re: Take Naps at Work

#208

Post by agumonkey »

pyk wrote: post #167
agumonkey wrote: post #147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know why but the minute I get horizontal my imagination wakes up.

Not a biologist or neurologist, but my hypothesis for this is ease of blood flow to the brain while horizontal.

Nah, it's not that simple. It cannot be that simple (but that's just my intuition of course). I do have a different mindset when my blood flow it strong after sport but it doesn't kick the creativity. On the other hand, travelling, or even taking the train, does trigger the wonder-sense.

Re: Take Naps at Work

#209

Post by logfromblammo »

drmanny wrote: post #113

What if your boss is about to catch you napping under your desk and you have to call a friend and convince him to call in a bomb threat so you can escape?

A bomb? George's desk is built like a bunker! I'll hide under it until they sound the all clear!

Re: Take Naps at Work

#210

Post by logfromblammo »

badminton1 wrote: post #88

In Japan this is called inemuri. However there is etiquette associated to sleeping on the job. I've heard in some cases there are secret nap meetings where all the attendees agree to take a nap.

That's brilliant. But how do you safeguard against a defector reporting against the rest of the group?
Post reply on HN