July 10, 2006
Be productive and have a Nap!
Sleeping on the job for 20 minutes ups performance. Some companies offer napping rooms to staffSleeping during the workday? You're in good company. Thomas Edison, John F. Kennedy, Sir Winston Churchill, Napoleon Bonaparte and Leonardo da Vinci are just a small sample of people who are known to have been daytime nappers.
In fact, your body needs to catch a wink or two during the day to stay alert.
"Napping is a part of your body's natural tendency," says Dr. Martin Moode-Ede, CEO of Circadian Technologies Inc, a firm that consults on fatigue management in Lexington, Mass. "Your body's circadian rhythms determine when you will feel alert and when you feel drowsy. Most people tend to feel a circadian dip in energy between two and four in the afternoon."
This decrease in energy makes people feel drowsy. Dr. Moode-Ede recommends a nap of 10 to 20 minutes to relieve it.
"Nap any longer and your body will enter a deep sleep," Dr. Moode-Ede advises. "If you keep your nap short then you won't have to spend time recuperating from the groggy after-effects of deep sleep.
"The benefits of a nap can outweigh the time spent nodding off for 20 minutes. According to Dr. Moode-Ede, a short nap can prolong your productivity for up to three to four hours.
So, with the benefits of napping during the workday, why aren't more employers encouraging napping?....
