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Take Naps at Work

nytimes.com

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Re: Take Naps at Work

#221

Post by WalterSear »

rubicon33 wrote: post #217
Bartweiss wrote: post #201

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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,…

When people talk about napping (as in this article, and these discussions), when someone says "nap for 30 minutes" do they mean actually SLEEP for 30 minutes? Sometimes it can take me 30 minutes just to get to a point, where I might fall asleep! And another 10 to actually fall asleep! So are these articles actually advocating that someone like me should "nap" for a total of 70 minutes? (40 to fall asleep mid-day, 30…

Yes, 30 minutes nap.

It takes practice, routine and the actual need for a nap, to fall asleep immediately, though.

Re: Take Naps at Work

#222

Post by notadoc »

I don't understand napping, never have. Are you really that tired that you must sleep in the middle of the day? Maybe you just need better rest at night, or maybe you need to exercise more or eat better food? Unless you're a toddler then napping feels like compensating for something else.

To each their own, if it works for you that's great.

Re: Take Naps at Work

#223

Post by endorphone »

notadoc wrote: post #222

I don't understand napping, never have. Are you really that tired that you must sleep in the middle of the day? Maybe you just need better rest at night, or maybe you need to exercise more or eat better food? Unless you're a toddler then napping feels like compensating for something else. To each their own, if it works for you that's great.

Your first paragraph stands in contrast with the last. For some people napping optimizes their energy through the day.

Re: Take Naps at Work

#224

Post by embwbam »

rubicon33 wrote: post #217
Bartweiss wrote: post #201

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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,…

When people talk about napping (as in this article, and these discussions), when someone says "nap for 30 minutes" do they mean actually SLEEP for 30 minutes? Sometimes it can take me 30 minutes just to get to a point, where I might fall asleep! And another 10 to actually fall asleep! So are these articles actually advocating that someone like me should "nap" for a total of 70 minutes? (40 to fall asleep mid-day, 30…

I'm pretty sure they mean lie down for 30 minutes. I'll often only get a brief period of mental shut down on a 35 minute timer, but it helps a lot. Think of it as rebooting your machine :)

Also, you can learn to fall asleep faster with practice.

Re: Take Naps at Work

#226

Post by kayoone »

Danihan wrote: post #207
gk1 wrote: post #187

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 "sharp…

I don't know, i would see myself as fairly introverted but i like the team i am working with and having lunch with them together is usually fun. There is no force though, i don't have to do it. Some of my coworkers also became friends, so i hardly see it as "team building" but i guess it benefits the team too. You seem pretty isolated from your team, which probably makes you leave earlier than people who are well connected within the team, so it's clear why Founders encourage this.

I worked remotely for a couple of years and now realized how much more i enjoy work when i have other developers around, otherwise i would lead a pretty lonely live.

Re: Take Naps at Work

#227

Post by ltwdm »

samsonradu wrote: post #68
beilabs wrote: post #57

When I worked in China (5000 engineer company) we'd have our lunch in the canteen, I found that many returned to their desk for the last 15 minutes of their lunch break. Out came the pillows, all lights were dimmed and calming music played through the PA system. No-one spoke, made noise during this time; quick power nap of 15 minutes did the trick for a lot of people. Definitely something I approve of; I've a small m…

Curious if you were able to do the same? From what I've seen asians have this ability to pretty much sleep anywhere , planes, trains, buses anything. The crappy chairs and noisy engines don't seem to bother them. I don't think I could ever fall asleep in the lunch break, the morning coffee and the light outside doesn't let my brain go off. EDIT I really don't mean to offend anyone, just curious whether the ability to…

Just curious what made you think that is a pattern? I lived in an Asian country until few years ago and I think it is just a misinterpretation maybe just the people you came across were so

Re: Take Naps at Work

#228

Post by mmmpop »

cr0sh wrote: post #220
mmmpop wrote: post #214

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Strongly agree with this. I showed this thread to my coworkers and they sneered at the assumption that our lives are to be built around our jobs and the people at them. Don't get me wrong, we really enjoy each other and our jobs, but if our boss decided one day this was the new norm, we'd quit so fast our own necks would break running for the door...

> I showed this thread to my coworkers and they sneered at the assumption that our lives are to be built around our jobs and the people at them. In your and your coworker's situation, and the parent's situation - this may be the case - but I'd argue that it is the exception for most people and most job situations. It is one of the driving arguments (stated or not) behind the resistance to the concept of "universal ba…

>> I'd argue that it is the exception for most people and most job situations.

It probably is and I feel fortunate that I found a job that allows me to be what I consider human. I feel like the alternate situations that "force a family" upon an employee to be somewhat cruel, but I'm a fairly anti-social person for what it is worth. Maybe I mean "nonsocial"? I will leave that as an exercise for the reader.

> I believe that most people do build their lives around their work, and the people at them. They work with these people for a long part of their weekdays; then they go home usually to a family (children, spouse, pets) and may not have much interaction with other people who are friends (maybe a phone chat occasionally - and perhaps the rare get together). They look at their coworkers as their peer and friend group.

Oh yeah, the grind! I dropped out of college when I started to sense this was where my life was headed and if my former friend group is any indicator, I dodged the figurative bullet.

> That's all my opinion, and I could very well be wrong, its just based on what I have seen and experienced over my decades of employment.

You're totally right, I just reject it as the end-all-be-all and won't settle for such an outcome. Thanks for your point of view.

Re: Take Naps at Work

#229

Post by Danihan »

kayoone wrote: post #226
Danihan wrote: post #207

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 "sharp…

I don't know, i would see myself as fairly introverted but i like the team i am working with and having lunch with them together is usually fun. There is no force though, i don't have to do it. Some of my coworkers also became friends, so i hardly see it as "team building" but i guess it benefits the team too. You seem pretty isolated from your team, which probably makes you leave earlier than people who are well con…

>You seem pretty isolated from your team, which probably makes you leave earlier than people

I become obsessed and enthralled with the work itself, sometimes to the point of wanting to work 12-16 hour days to solve deeper problems that are bothersome. Working short days has never been an issue for me. This is exactly what I mean by projection. You would want to leave early if you felt isolated. But I enjoy it and want to stay longer.

>I worked remotely for a couple of years and now realized how much more i enjoy work when i have other developers around, otherwise i would lead a pretty lonely live.

This is not "fairly introverted." What you are describing is a textbook example of "fairly extroverted." You enjoy working around others and begin to feel lonely otherwise. I generally don't, in either case.

Re: Take Naps at Work

#230

Post by urethrafranklin »

Scarblac wrote: post #63
yokisan wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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 wit…

But it's not normal for adults to sleep so badly that you need naps during the day, apart from having very young kids. So other than that I'd say there may well be an underlying problem.

Wow, really? Not only does daytime napping improve health even if you are already healthy adult who gets adequate sleep, there's ample evidence our (pre-working in an office for 10 hours straight) ancestors did so regularly, which persists in many cultures to this day.

I suggest you recalibrate your definition of "normal".

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