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How to nap

boston.com

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Re: How to nap

#81

Post by callahad »

gnosis wrote: post #78
light3 wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I usually fold my arms on the desk and sleep with my head down, you have to be careful to make sure you let enough oxygen through and also to not cut circulation from your arm for too long. If I sleep for too long this way my arms become numb, but sometimes I'm so tired I just don't care =)

This is so unnecessary and demeaning. At least bring along one of those little bean-bag pillows you could prop your head on. But the real solution is for the company to provide sleeping facilities at work and not to work their employees to the point of exhaustion and sleep deprivation.

not to work their employees to the point of exhaustion and sleep deprivation.

Genuinely curious: How much of the sleep deprivation is due to employment practices, and how much is due to, say, American cultural values? Are we sleeping less because our employers or our social lives demand more?

Re: How to nap

#82

Post by mkopinsky »

darylteo wrote: post #76
janus wrote: post #41

I've found 15-20 minutes naps after having lunch, to be amazing. I can wake up really quickly and being fully alert to keep working, without any drowsiness or performance hits. I wish I could wake up with the same mood in the morning. I find it really hard to even wake up without putting the alarm in snooze at least twice.

ONLY twice? I set my alarms at 8, and I snooze it till 8:30.

Why not set your alarm for 8:25? I've found that the time snoozing is just time that makes me feel guilty. Make realistic goals, and then stick to it rather than ruining your last half hour of sleep with noise and guilt.

Re: How to nap

#83

Post by mkopinsky »

huhtenberg wrote: post #24
n_coats wrote: post #21

It's interesting to note the immediate difference between a short nap (less than 45 mins) and one longer. I've never heard the pre nap coffee suggestions! I take naps frequently and hate when I over sleep or wake up from one longer than an hour and a half due to the groggy/grumpy side effects. Really interesting and insightful piece!

> hate when I over sleep Try this - immediately before closing your eyes say to yourself "I need to wake up in 15 minutes". In exactly 15 minutes you will feel a subtle mental nudge that you need to act upon and open your eyes. You can as easily ignore it, in which case you will go right back to sleep. YMMV, of course, but it works for many people and it is seriously amazing.

I once had a study partner who took quite precise power naps. I remember one occasion when he asked to be woken up after 16 minutes. At the end of the 16 minutes I was mid-paragraph so I finished the paragraph and then woke him (after probably 18 minutes). His comment was, "That wasn't 16 minutes."

Re: How to nap

#84

Post by strait »

eric-hu wrote: post #70
jjcm wrote: post #39

Twenty minute naps leave me in a horrid state of disarray. It takes me about an hour to recover from the grogginess, so I tend to stay as far away from them as possible. I've experimented with time and location variations, but never with any success. It makes me sad, because I know tons of people who work naps into their day with fantastic results.

Other sources I've read suggest that around 15 minutes of sleep is optimal, and going over puts you into a different phase of sleep. Perhaps you have an easier time falling asleep than others. When I try to nap, I'm pretty sure it takes ~5 minutes to doze off usually, but sometimes even more than that.

I'd heard the same about the 15 minute limit. I've experimented with more and less and have settled on 13 minutes, which works well for me, and I'm sure it varies among everyone. If I'm really sleepy (usually from lack of sleep), even a 5 minute nap clears almost everything out the mind.

I think that the key to going right into the nap, nearly as soon as your head hits the pillow, is to have a routine of using a timer, and get up quickly as soon as the time is up. Then, you won't lie there worrying that you'll oversleep or thinking you should be doing something else more important. Your mind is given permission to fall off, knowing it will come right back with the timer beeping.

I've found it helps to cover my head with another pillow, blocking out some light and noise. The head sandwich feeling is also relaxing and may contribute to my falling right out of consciousness in 10 seconds or less.

Re: How to nap

#85

Post by obiterdictum »

tobtoh wrote: post #69

For those wondering how to nap at the office and not get hauled into the managers office for sleeping on the job, I paraphrase a tip from Scott Adams (Dilbert): "Grab a handful of paperclips and find an office/meeting room. Shut the door and lie down on the ground with your feet against the door. Sprinkle the paperclips in front of you. Now have a nap. If someone tries to enter the room, the door will hit your feet.…

Obviously, (1) it's not very reusable, and (2) doesn't work for office with glass doors and open-plan offices.

Re: How to nap

#87

Post by Schwolop »

darkstar999 wrote: post #52
danso wrote: post #12

Has anyone ever used phone apps that purport to wake you up at the right time by using the accelerometer to detect how much you're moving in your sleep? Example: http://www.sleepcycle.com/ I've used this but only for a few times because it requires the phone to be activated all night, which makes it quite warm in the morning. But it seemed to make me less groggy...but I can't tell if that's just confirmation bias...…

I used sleep cycle with success last summer, but I'm not sure how well it would work with a second person in the bed. Wouldn't their movement throw off the timer?

Yes, they most certainly do throw off the timer. This was the main reason I stopped using sleepcycle. A wrist-strap certainly seems like a better option.

Re: How to nap

#88

Post by marcinw »

nicholasjbs wrote: post #53
spuz wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you and other nappers here explain how you are able to find somewhere to nap in a busy office environment (and your car isn't available)? For me, lying on the floor would be far too noisy with hundreds of PCs humming away and I would be at constant risk of being stepped on by my colleagues.

In the three most recent offices I've needed to nap in, I napped: Sitting on a sofa with my head back against the wall; lying down on an oversized bean-bag cushion; in a computer chair, with my butt moved towards the front of it and my head back against the top of the back (the back wasn't tall enough unless I scootched forward). The last was obviously the least comfortable. In general, I've found the biggest obstacl…

When it comes to the social stigma of taking a nap at work, just ask if they'd prefer you take a smoke break every hour. Usually, people will get the hint. If not, too bad.

Re: How to nap

#89

Post by ams6110 »

eric-hu wrote: post #70
jjcm wrote: post #39

Twenty minute naps leave me in a horrid state of disarray. It takes me about an hour to recover from the grogginess, so I tend to stay as far away from them as possible. I've experimented with time and location variations, but never with any success. It makes me sad, because I know tons of people who work naps into their day with fantastic results.

Other sources I've read suggest that around 15 minutes of sleep is optimal, and going over puts you into a different phase of sleep. Perhaps you have an easier time falling asleep than others. When I try to nap, I'm pretty sure it takes ~5 minutes to doze off usually, but sometimes even more than that.

I have not tried this, but have read about this technique: When you start your nap, hold something in your hand that will make a noise if you drop it. As your body relaxes and you start to sleep, you will eventually relax your grip enough that the object will fall to the floor and wake you up. This happens at just about the ideal wake time for a short power nap.

Re: How to nap

#90

Post by glanch »

gnosis wrote: post #75

There's been so much well-publicized research on the positive impact of sleep on performance, and hugely detrimental effect of not getting enough sleep. Why do so many companies still force their employees to work with so little sleep? Why do they still frown at sleeping on the job? And why don't more of them provide cots, sofas and showers, when they can easily afford them? For decades, some of the more enlightened…

The obvious answer: Employees who need extra sleep during the day should simply sleep longer during the night so they won't need to sleep while they're at work. At least, that's the typical view of the employer.
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