How to nap • Hacker News Board

Re: How to nap

#101

Post by fedd » Wed, Jan 11, 2012, 6:34 AM UTC

spuz wrote: post #32

nicholasjbs wrote: post #7

I cannot overstate how much power naps have improved my life. I started doing them regularly about seven years ago and have been recommending them to everyone I can since. Napping makes me happier, more alert, and way more productive. A shameless plug: I wrote a post about how I learned to nap here: http://unschooled.org/2011/05/how-i-nap

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.

when the car wasn't available, i slept, i am sorry, in a toilet. (later i noticed that not only me was who did that, so i've nothing to be ashamed of)

Re: How to nap

#102

Post by re_todd » Wed, Jan 11, 2012, 6:38 AM UTC

j45 wrote: post #20

snewman wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ditto. For me, the 20 minute investment in a post-lunch nap pays back manyfold in increased productivity (to say nothing of health and general well-being) for the rest of the day. Finding a place to nap in an office an environment can be tricky, but if you start thinking of your nap as an important work tool and not an embarrassing indulgence, you can usually find a way to make it work. Drop a few bucks on a good pil…

Two tricks, both of which depend on your situation CAR: I used to go to my car and take a nap. Kick the seat back, eye cover, maybe ear plugs and put the alarm on vibrate and in my shirt pocket. Depending on someones situation and their proximity to their vehicle, if they drive.. It could be good. YOGA MAT: Everyone likes being hip and yogic. Buy a yoga mat. By tying yoga mats to napping it seems all so, much, more o…

You can also sort of nap in a bathroom stall. It's difficult to fall asleep completely, but closing your eyes and resting your face in your hands, with you elbows resting on your legs, for about 5-10 minutes, can help you feel rested and refreshed. And nobody will ever know.

Re: How to nap

#103

Post by zcid » Wed, Jan 11, 2012, 6:50 AM UTC

botker wrote: post #57

pmr_ wrote: post #50

The lark and owl distinction has been driving me crazy since I thought about my sleeping habits. I spent about 2 years with completely self-determined sleep (I even collected sleep data) and do not even approximately fit into those schemes. I alternate between a lot of sleep and no sleep over the course of 10 days continually shifting my waking hours into the night until I reset. Some people claim that this would be…

Same here. I've been allowing myself to sleep pretty much whenever I feel like it for the past several months, and I don't appear to have any sleep pattern. Sometimes I sleep 3 or 4 hours, and wake up feeling well-rested and ready to get back to work; other times I'll sleep 12 hours at a stretch. It's irrespective of the 24-hour day. After reading your comment, I'm going to start logging my sleep, to see if there's a…

If you removed artificial lighting (including computer screens, tv, etc) from your life between sunset and sunrise, I can almost guarantee your sleep would fall into a pattern. Artificial light wrecks havoc on our automatic systems and stops our internal clocks from properly tracking time.

I highly recommend you try this for a month. Have a set time (say, 10-12PM) after which you will be able to get 8 hours of sleep and declare that blackout time: no lights, candles, tvs, computers, phones, etc. You will be amazed when within that month you aquire the ability to go to sleep and wake at the same times each day.

Re: How to nap

#104

Post by kin » Wed, Jan 11, 2012, 6:53 AM UTC

but surely you can still dream in non REM sleep can't you?

Re: How to nap

#105

Post by kin » Wed, Jan 11, 2012, 6:57 AM UTC

It takes me like 40 minutes to fall asleep for a nap. I'm much too alert during the day after a full night's rest.

Re: How to nap

#106

Post by jacobr » Wed, Jan 11, 2012, 7:10 AM UTC

I don't nap (yet), but we get relaxing 30 min massages every other week at work. After that I'm a new person, and the thought of getting only a small portion of that relaxation every day...

I have a colleague who regularly meditates, he simply grabs a free meeting room.

Re: How to nap

#107

Post by itmag » Wed, Jan 11, 2012, 8:22 AM UTC

Why is sleeping on the job frowned upon for programmers? I asked for it once and was denied like it was some outlandish request. I thought I was doing them a favor by asking (by wanting to raise my energy levels during the midday slump).

It just reaffirmed that 9 to 5 culture is not for me.

Re: How to nap

#108

Post by wahnfrieden » Wed, Jan 11, 2012, 9:00 AM UTC

ams6110 wrote: post #89

eric-hu wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.