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Take Naps at Work

nytimes.com

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Re: Take Naps at Work

#251

Post by ksk »

twobyfour wrote: post #241
ksk wrote: post #236

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Take the nap before or after the release; or after service is restored. It's not that complicated. But if it is indeed a potential productivity booster, why would you skip the nap during service interruptions or product releases?

Because most people can still be productive without a nap, just marginally less productive. And in many cases time is money. Unless your service interruption is lasting all day (in which case you have bigger problems), it's much better for the company to get the site back up in 10 minutes than to wait 30 minutes for you to finish your nap and then get it back up in 8 minutes. Especially if you're losing $10K in reven…

I wasn't arguing one way or the other. I wanted to see if people thought it was a massive boost or just a marginal one. Seems like you think its marginal.

Re: Take Naps at Work

#252

Post by nandemo »

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.

Did you read the article?

> In a study published in Nature Neuroscience, researchers tested subjects on their perceptual performance four times throughout the day. Performance deteriorated with each test, but subjects who took a 30-minute nap between tests stopped the deterioration in performance, and those who took a 60-minute nap even reversed it.

Re: Take Naps at Work

#253

Post by fapjacks »

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…

It's way easier after you eat. Or at least it's way easier after I eat.

Re: Take Naps at Work

#254

Post by Hydraulix989 »

edouard-lopez wrote: post #23
wereHamster wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

First, not all companies have the finances of Google. Then, offices are still busy when you take your nap. I do mine, in the open space and there is always conversations or movements around, but after a few minutes I don't hear them anymore. Usually I put a 15min alarm and wake after 12min, sometimes I need 30min.

I think the argument FOR napping is the financial one; if 20 minutes of napping gives more than 20 minutes of productivity/efficiency afterwards (which turns out it does, backed by numerous academic studies), then it is worth it.

There's a few things in American culture, in particular, working against it though: our backwards cultural attitude that sleeping is considered "lazy" (USA is one of the most sleep-deprived population) and the fact that working on little sleep is falsely considered a "badge of honor," even though the occurrence of mistakes made by workers is MUCH higher when said workers are sleep deprived.

Re: Take Naps at Work

#255

Post by cylinder »

spiderfarmer wrote: post #99
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?

My question as well. Is this really a thing in the US?

Yes pretty much. In NYC especially everyone goes out, grabs lunch and brings it back to eat at their desks.

Re: Take Naps at Work

#257

Post by rubicon33 »

embwbam wrote: post #224
rubicon33 wrote: post #217

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I have no idea how to practice that... Any resources you might recommend?

Re: Take Naps at Work

#258

Post by kayoone »

Danihan wrote: post #239
kayoone wrote: post #238

Earlier quoted context omitted.

By leaving earlier i meant the job as a whole, because on average people that tend to isolate themselves from the team are less invested in the vision of the product and the team, which is why founders usually do these crap events (which i hate too). Not saying this is the case for you, it's just what i've seen in the past. I am definitely not extroverted, i get nervous before meetings and team building events and th…

>It's just when working remotely for years, sometimes i didn't talk to anyone for days and that can get unhealthy after some time. Sure, I agree with you there, and I never go days without talking to anyone. I just don't especially need to talk to many people at work. Just read my code, it's all there. >In my early thirties now I definitely would not work 12-16hour days anymore as an employee without being a sharehol…

> Why? Sitting at home is more boring

True, but i'd like to spend my freetime on my own projects and am trying to finish a CS degree part time. Combined with my learning at home, i am doing 12hour days, but I wouldn't spend all that time at the company i work for right now. Also my girlfriend wouldn't approve ;)

Re: Take Naps at Work

#259

Post by imchillyb »

agumonkey wrote: post #208
pyk wrote: post #167

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

> It cannot be that simple @agumonkey

Occam's Razor: The (simplest) explanation with the fewest assumptions tends to be the correct one.

It's almost always that simple.

Also, when you're travelling or on the train, and your wonder sense opens, you are relaxed. Less constriction to the arteries and blood vessels. As with lying horizontal, increased blood flow activates the brain.

Re: Take Naps at Work

#260

Post by late2part »

mrkipling wrote: post #193
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…

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…

Was it called The Twentieth Century Motor Company?
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