'Good morn- . . .' zzzzzzz
James Hilston, Post-GazetteClick photo for larger image.
Did anyone else have lousy sleep over the last couple of nights? Perhaps it's time we start observing National Workplace Napping Day. We realize "National Workplace Napping Day" sounds like something right out of "The Simpsons," but it's for real, or as real as any made-up observance day can be. It's the brainchild of Camille and Bill Anthony, fun-loving but serious experts in the burgeoning napping field from Reading, Mass.
Workplace Napping Day, as they conceived it, is "a day to lie down and be counted." It occurs on the Monday after Daylight Saving Time kicks in, when our biological clock is out of whack because prime-time occurs an hour sooner -- something we have to go through pretty much cold turkey.
So we have to wait another 364 days for the next observance. But, really, when you think about it, shouldn't every day be National Workplace Napping Day? The Anthonys, who write napping books, give napping workshop ("Lower you head gently, close your eyes . . .") and sell napping gear, point to extensive research suggesting that the catnap can improve productivity and boost morale.
Great non-kid nappers
Lest any of you Type A's -- and now that we think about it, The Morning File is an unlikely hangout for Type A's -- so we'll start again. Lest anyone assume that dozing off during the day is just for pensioners and kids, be informed that Winston Churchill pretty much napped through World War II, and England still wound up in the win column.
JFK and Reagan were apparently big catnappers. (And, no, we will not be accepting any jokes about either former president and his sleeping habits). Other world-class nappers: Edison, Einstein, Brahms and da Vinci, who all did well, though none made Mensa. Napoleon dozed on the battlefield, but probably didn't sleep a wink on Elba.
Nap quest
The British are so concerned about the economic impact of sleep-deprivation they set aside all of last week for National Nap at Work Week. A poll for Britain's GMTV found two-thirds of the populace had trouble sleeping, and 4 in 5 do not feel refreshed after a night's sleep, The Scotsman reported.
On average, Americans sleep for 90 minutes less each night than our forebears did a century ago, according to Stanford University research. Some businesses are responding. Long-haul British Airways pilots are encouraged to rest in the air to make them more alert on landing. (Don't hold that thought too long.) Doctors are calling for nap rooms to help them through night shifts. And two London businessmen recently set up Zzed Sheds, a private club where workers can take naps in sleep pods.
A sleeper from CMU
Zzed Sheds is patterned after MetroNaps, co-founded in New York City three years ago by Arshad Chowdhury, who went to Carnegie Mellon. Chowdhury told Business Week: "I came up with the idea while working in investment banking. I saw my colleagues falling asleep during meetings and at their desks. They sometimes even snuck off to the bathroom to get some shuteye. But it wasn't until I started my MBA at Carnegie Mellon's Tepper School of Business in Pittsburgh that I really focused on the idea . . . Our customers rest in the patented MetroNaps Pod, which is a portable, private chair that MetroNaps designed specifically for midday sleeping. We're located in the Empire State Building in New York and Vancouver International Airport in Canada."
Great sleeps forward
Craig Yarde, who runs Yarde Metals in Bristol, Conn., created a napping room for all 220 employees. When they feel sleepy they can go in and catch some zzzzz's without fear of recrimination. In California, Microtek Lab has an area in its library with a couch and soft lighting for workers who need to catch naps. But the room is rarely used, a possible sign of worker reluctance to come off as sluggards. People use it if they're feeling ill or if they had a really bad night, says a spokesman, but "taking naps seems kind of odd in this culture."
How to nap
Some people have the gift, but napping isn't as easy as it sounds. And you can undermine yourself by overdoing it. Sleep experts say deep, prolonged sleep in the middle of the day can be counterproductive and create an effect akin to jet lag. Salvador Dali was apparently aware of this. He napped with a spoon in his hand -- our guess is, it was a one-dimensional spoon -- , which he held above a metal bowl. As he descended deeper into the world of REM slumber, the spoon would clang into the bowl, waking him up. Surreal.
Quotable
"If the third man on the Exxon Valdez had taken a nap on the evening that he was on duty, the company would have saved $10 billion. (Napping at work: You Snooze, You Win!)" From thewisdomofdreams.com
A language all its own
The Anthonys, the napping experts from Item 1, have a funny napping vocabulary quiz on their Web site, napping.com. Here are some definitions:
Napkin: A napper's relatives.
Naptitude: A trait commonly found in leaders, geniuses and babies; an aptitude for napping.
Snapper: A person who nags at a napper.
Constinaption: Napping irregularity; unable to nap for several days.
Naphomaniac: A napper who overdoes a good thing.
Nappeth: What God does to rest; short sleeps taken by biblical characters.
Personal testimony
Peter Kammerer, foreign editor of the South China Morning Post, Hong Kong's English language newspaper:
"Try as I might, guilt always envelops me when I awake in the office after a nap. Slumped in my chair before my computer, chin on my chest, at first I wonder where I am. Then, as reality dawns, I hope that the boss did not walk by, no phone calls were missed and -- most importantly -- that I was not snoring too loudly.
"Yet there should not be a stigma attached to napping, an age-old -- and scientifically proven -- method of improving employees' productivity, alertness and general well-being. Every company should set up a nap room, complete with reclining chairs, blankets, alarm clocks, piped-in classical music and -- for those of us who need a little help getting 40 winks -- teddy bears.
Most of us feel sleepy between 2 and 4 p.m. because our body temperature drops. Experts believe this is an ideal time for a nap, but not for too long -- more than 30 minutes could disrupt nighttime sleep patterns.
"The corporate world is increasingly taking note of this, and embracing what has become known as "power napping" to keep ahead of the game. Companies like British Airways, Nike and Pizza Hut International allow their workers nap breaks, and have found that productivity has increased as a result. A NASA study found that a short nap can boost workers' output by up to 34 per cent.
"Nike coyly calls its snooze salon a 'relaxation room.' But the architectural firm Gould Evans Goodman Associates in Kansas City is considerably more open to the idea: In a corner of its office, it has three tents, each outfitted with an air mattress, sleeping bag, foam pad, flannel pillow, eye shades, Walkman and alarm clock.
"But while napping is gathering pace as a workplace benefit in the U.S. and Japan, the parts of the world that have traditionally embraced daytime dozing now generally view it as a waste of time.
"In Spain, where the word 'siesta' was coined for a two- or three-hour lunchtime break, few workers are now given the time off. Throughout southern Europe, European Union work values have similarly taken hold, keeping Portuguese, Italians and Greeks from their long lunches and siestas. Some workers are fighting back.
"By now, boss, you should be seeing things my way and, with luck, have that comfy chair, blanket and teddy bear ordered. In the meantime, I'll just rest my eyes for a while . . ."
First Published: April 4, 2006, 4:00 a.m.
