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 and accepted.
The idea of giving that up if I ever go back to a "normal" butts-in-seats company seems stupid and uncivilized.
This has also been my experience. I often take naps around the same time and find that the nap calms me naturally and sort of distances me from any anxieties surrounding a problem I'm trying to tackle. This makes it much easier to work at it some more.
Separately I noticed that if I have any symptoms of depression (usually thoughts of despair), a nap like that can by itself often completely reverse the situation. Surprised, I did some research and was interested to find how much a lack of proper rest is associated with depression. So now the first item on my "feeling depressed" checklist is "try to take a nap".
Fast forward to the current day. That company no longer exists (it was acquired), but the co-founders went on to create another company that is doing very well. I made the decision to go freelance at the end of last year and as fate would have it I am currently working for the new company. Napping is still encouraged. They're one of the most productive, driven teams that I've ever had the pleasure of working for.
Napping is good.
I can usually go to sleep with 5 minutes, if I can't, then I don't need a nap!
I set a timer for 20 minutes and get up when it goes off regardless. Sleeping for 30 minutes or more makes me feel tired when I wake up, and takes much longer to recover.
At one company it ended up being a temporary closet room with printer supply and all kind of stuff people randomly tossed in to clear the way. At my current company there's so few people using it it smells dusty and closeted to the point it's unusable to relax.
ad-hoc places worked better for me, like small meeting rooms that are unused at noon, actual storage rooms that are actually very clean and tidy compared to temporary ones, or even a park bench when weather is nice enough
At this particular workplace, it took 90 seconds or so for me to walk from my desk to my car, so it wasn't a big deal. I was also used to the routine, and preferred the certainty that no one would ever walk in on me.
But I must say that this only only happens when (a) I am doing something boring and (b) I didn't get much sleep at home. So while cat napping at work is probably better than fighting it, it is more a mitigation strategy than a preferred option.
When one of my co-workers found out, he started borrowing my car keys (he didn't own a car then) to sleep in my car :) - apparently, he thought it was a great idea.
What kind of company is it a taboo to leave your desk for lunch?
I'm the only person who leaves the office during my lunch hour, alone. I get funny looks, and my coworkers sometimes ask me "where have you been?"
It's a weird company culture and I'm not sure how much longer I'll be able to put up with it.
You may be over analyzing it. Are you sure its not just small talk, like "where did you go for lunch, was it any good?" Talking about restaurants and food is one of the most popular conversation topics at my office.
I don't know how long they'll be able to keep it up as they grow, but I thought it was great.
Luckily where I work there's a small boating lake that I can walk around just across the road which is incredibly nice to walk around for half an hour every lunch time. It's also lucky that my colleagues all like to go alone for lunch too :D
"SIG partners with external caterers to provide a buffet lunch of main courses, salads, soup, and dessert, and it changes on daily basis. So you grab a plate and head back to your desk to eat; it will give you some time to catch up on the latest tech and market news on the net as you eat."
That probably does describe a lot of my lunches. However, that is my choice. If an employer explicitly expected me to spend my lunches doing that I'd soon be an ex-employee.
They probably forgot "So you grab a plate and head back to the basement to eat at your desk."
A job is not slavery, don't treat it like it is. Assume you're free to do as you like (while getting your work done) unless indicated otherwise.
Though still, don't do this often.... That's kind of the whole point, right?
I can recommend the practice, especially to skinnier folk who would like to stay that way - too late for me, I'm afraid, despite three miles' worth of foot commute daily, but it does wonders for my afternoon productivity nonetheless, and if it doesn't actually help lose weight then it does at least help keep it stable.
For me, part of the equation was finding out when I'm most hungry naturally. Eating a proper breakfast makes me more hungry later in the day. The same goes for eating a large lunch. So I tend to skip breakfast, have a small lunch - usually just a cheese sandwich, some fruit, or a piece of bread. Possibly have a small snack (fruit, nuts, chips), and then a large dinner. This also follows my own natural energy level - I'm a night owl. My mother is the opposite.
Funny thing is, until you challenged it, I'd never really rationalized it all. But now I'm seeing something bigger than "this makes me more productive".
EDIT: I'm super curious why this would have been downvoted. Not offended at all, the opposite really, just curious what anyone found offensive here.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/10/magazine/10section1C.t-1.h...
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.
The biology term is 'arousal' and there are peaks in the morning and late afternoon, but around 1pm-ish your body naturally slows down and wants sleep. The effect is much stronger in children, but it's there with adults.
You don't feel like you could fall asleep because you've trained yourself not to, and you're most likely taking wakefulness promoting drugs all day.
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 with sleep.
In fact it's absurd to think everybody can store energy upfront and power through 9 hours of activity without falling off towards the end.
Naps are natural.
I don't really fall asleep, but I found that just closing my eyes for this short amount of time gives me a tremendous boost of relaxation, especially when my mind gets into a dreamy state for a minute or so.
The amount of sleep a person needs and how long you can go without involuntarily fallin asleep seems to vary wildly though; a friend who I have reason to believe talks about working continiously for 3 days to catch a deadline. (The explanation was along the lines of: it hurts but what to do?) An ex colleague was also known to work through the night between working days.
Creative problem solving mindset needs room for thoughts to wander, and is incompatible with hurry.
I don't think that making any type of generalisations (eg. "people shouldn't be that tired") makes much sense.
The problem is that sometimes I am in the zone from like 10pm - 1am.
So naturally I am tired during the day. A few minutes to nap for 3 hours of "in the zone" ain't a bad trade off for a company in my opinion.
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 mattress in my office just for such occasions.
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 fall asleep in uncomfortable environments is something asian-specific.
It's not too hard to acquire it with some practice, every time you feel like it would be a good time to have a nap, close your eyes and try to have a nap. For a while, you won't actually get to sleep, you'll just be lying or sitting there with closed eyes, but after trying for a while, you'll actually start napping or sleeping.
These days, if I'm a passenger in a vehicle for a > 30 minute trip, you're almost guaranteed to find me sleeping.
Go to China and the level of ambient noise is much higher, whether that is people talking louder or having no qualms playing music from their phone speakers at any time of the day.
So at a guess, I think that cultural conditions probably lend themselves to people of Asian heritage learning to sleep under noisier conditions. Of course, these are all anecdata and generalisations so ymmv - fwiw, my personal observations are somewhat in line with yours.
There's even a comedy sketch (don't remember with who) about how London commuters are seemingly able to enter the tube, grab hold of one of the bars, and proceed to seemingly sleep standing for the exact right number of stops.
It always amazes me when someone just assumes that US companies are somehow superior to the rest of the world. I've worked for a couple of US based companies and the experience was shit compared to other non-US companies I worked for.
However, you do expect some kind of "business culture" especially because the company usually forces the advertisement for it onto you whether you want or not. Our floor are plastered with Fremdscham posters and phrases in english. Often you also hear a manager in a meeting praising some new trope from the East Coast regarding office layout or similar.
What really sticks with is the informal "you" though. It's really helpful most of the time.
Noone ever asked, 'hey, what have you been doing in the bathroom for the last 10 minutes??'
Seriously, since I wrote this, I really thought about what may happen if I try. I thought maybe some people would be too polite to wake me up. Others may try to call me but I know at least one that would kick my door in just to see my shocked face. It would cause some talk for sure. I see things going this way: "Aluhut is not getting enough sleep at home...maybe he has some trouble with his girl" or "...he's partying through the whole night! I'm sure about that!". Whatever it might be in the end, I'm pretty sure it would all focus on the fact that I've done something wrong causing me not to be fit for work.
The book has a number of pieces of advice to avoid sleeping - if your aim is to nap rather than meditate, just do the opposite. E.g. part of the point of a traditional meditation pose is to create alertness (sit up straight, lift your head etc.) in part to avoid falling asleep.
Sometimes I want to stay awake and pay attention to pose etc. Sometimes I like to use the breathing etc. to have a quick nap, and instead will sit in a relaxed position, rest my head. I find it's made a big difference in how quickly I fall asleep - I now associate certain positions with "fall asleep ASAP" and certain positions with "clear your mind and stay focused", and automatically fall into certain patterns when I prepare accordingly.
Sometimes when I try to nap I never go fully under, but the relaxation and slipping away is still refreshing.
As a starter you don't have to make actual naps, just close your eyes and rest for a few minutes.
You maybe know about any good online resources for nap training?
For me that balance is at about 400 to 500 mg of caffeine per day. Stays stable for months and months, then I tend to reset a bit during a vacation of or 3-day weekend of some sort.
Don't need caffeine at all if I'm not mentally working. Barrly crosses my mind.
To each their own, if it works for you that's great.
I exercise 5 times a day, and I eat a very clean diet. Not keto or paleo, but definitely low in carbs, high in fat and vegetables etc. I still sleep for 20 minutes at lunch. Human adults are tuned to feel sleepy after being up for 8 hours or so.
> 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.
I've heard in some cases there are secret nap meetings where all the attendees agree to take a nap.
FWIW, I don't see why it would have to be either a perk or a necessity, rather than a potential productivity booster that shouldn't be mandatory but can be beneficial to both the employee and the company. I would put things like allowing employees to listen to music on headphones while at work into the same bucket.
But if it is indeed a potential productivity booster, why would you skip the nap during service interruptions or product releases?
That change of lighting encourages everyone to take a rest or leave, because staying will disturb the people who want to rest. It also saves a little electricity, I suppose.
I do meditation here and there and mostly follow this: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4928060
Rationally you'll explain and show the article from NYT, and they'll agree. But irrationally they'll still form an opinion and stick to it.
That image caption sums up the prevailing attitude for me, really: don't be obvious that you're being more productive, especially if it goes against the grain. Better to toe the line and be less productive. There are many examples of the same phenomenon, beyond just napping.
Power naps make me feel more refreshed, which I'd assume people would want out of their coworker/employee late in the work day, but maybe I'm wrong.
How long do people find most effective? I've found either 12 min or 30 min to be best for me. 30 min if I'm particularly tired, 12 min if not. If I go longer than 12 I get foggy for around 30 min after.
1. Find a good place to nap. Use the same place every day. I used to nap under my desk on a lazy bag at my last job.
2. Quickly find a comfortable position. Quickly fix everything that bothers you (like watch on your wrist or anything else that's making you uncomfortable).
3. Start breathing from your stomach - not your upper torso. Your stomach should raise up and down, not your upper torso.
4. Relax your whole body. In the beginning, start by relaxing one by one region. First your toes. Then your lower leg, then your upper leg. Then the other leg... Until you relax your whole body. It should feel as your mind is separate from your body. Like it could go out of it. Your body should be completely numb. Later, as you progress, you will be able to relax your whole body with a few breaths. As if some force flows from your stomach and removes spasm from your body as you breath out.
5. Start removing thoughts from your brain. As you start thinking about something, just stop. Another thought comes in. Kill it. Just kill thoughts. You can think only about your breathing. Nothing else.
That's it. With these steps, I'm able to feel a sleep in just a few moments. I use that all the time.
Bonus: I have a special position that I "developed" that mitigates office sounds. I nap on my back, slightly turned on left side. I put my left ear on the pillow or a lazy bag. I put my right hand over my right ear and over my head. That way, a pillow isolates my left ear, while my right biceps isolates my right ear from sounds. I found this to be very effective.
Good luck napping.
Then use metrics other than bums on seats to measure performance.
Most nights, I do get sufficient sleep, but I need the occasional nap anyway.
The lengthy study can be found [here](http://www.jetlog.com/fileadmin/downloads/NASA_TM_94_108839....).
In a drinking culture, nodding off at your desk is a very very bad thing because it means you can't handle your liquor and this just could not be tolerated. Due to all the drinking, with management and clients, if you had a problem your were a liability. It's insane but it was another time. Not my generation but I've had conversations.
Napping now, with the amount of real work we all do. The stress level we are willing to carry. It's just not anybody's business anymore.
