Napping On The Job

Napping On The Job
by Takara Alexis

Falling asleep on the job could be turning into office protocol-not grounds for termination. An increasing number of companies are realizing the health benefits of a quick sleep, including heightened alertness, improved brainpower, and less sick days. While naps are not essential for those who get the advised eight hours of sleep each night, they might be key for those who lose out on sleep.

A lot of companies are offering assigned rooms for taking naps and some are setting up tents or lofted beds. You can close your eyes for 10 or 15 minutes and wake up with a completely refreshed feeling. Many companies, including British Airways, Pizza Hut, Google and Nike, offer "renewal rooms" and reclining chairs.

Most employers who permit people to take naps say they do so because of their employees well-being, which research shows is a good idea. People who take 30-minute naps everyday are 37% less likely to die of heart disease than those who do not take naps, according to a recent study.

Taking naps can also improve the immune system-theoretically leading to less sick days- and propel employees into their most alert, active, and imaginative states, say nap advocates. Also, if you are sleep deprived, you're going to be in a bad mood. And if you need to interact in meetings, or if you are a marketing person and have to convince someone to purchase your product, that might create a problem.

Some companies are outsourcing their napping. Time Warner, Hearst, and Yahoo!, for example, employ Manhattan-based YeloSpa. This offers power naps in personal rooms that come equip with customized aromatherapy, music or nature sounds, and lighting. A 20-minute nap costs $15, and a 40-minute nap is $28. Most of those companies allow employees to visit YeloSpa during their lunch breaks and have negotiated discounted rates.

Extended naps equate to deeper sleep, making waking up difficult. Some experts talk about warnings of sleep inertia, an effect that feels like a hangover that makes shrugging off sleepy feelings pretty much impossible. But there is a warning: For people who have been up all night and are extremely sleep deprived, a longer nap for at least 90 minutes is necessary to catch up.

For now, workplace naps remain the exception, rather than the rule. If you want to bring the trend to your non-napping workplace, draft a proposal that lets your employer's see the arrangement. Explain that napping minimizes absenteeism and research shows that employees tend to miss work because of fatigue. Get together with coworkers and suggest an experimental period.