Can Sleeping on the Job Really Be This Good For Business?

Ross Thomson with Dr Kathryn Owler

Whilst small children typically take naps in the afternoon, Western culture generally frowns upon adults who do the same. It must be said that this is particularly the case in the work-place. However, this conclusion is at odds with human biology. Most adults do experience a natural increase in drowsiness in the early afternoon. Napping is therefore not lazy. On the contrary, napping can make you more productive and more alert after you wake up. As a result, it could well be a practice that your work-place should seek to promote.

Why Napping is So Good For Both Staff, and the Boss

Dr Sara Mednick, is research psychologist at the Salk Institute at the University of California. Together with writer, Mark Ehrman, she has written a fascinating book on the subject of power napping called "Take a Nap! Change your Life". Mednick and Ehrman's book contains analysis of studies of ‘sleepy workers', including most of us during the natural ‘afternoon slump'. It provides evidence that sleepy workers are:

(a) prone to have more accidents,
(b) are less productive,
(c) are more likely to have problems with health and morale

It follows from this that any healthy way to reduce drowsiness on the job will benefit both employee and employer. Mednick and Ehrman argue that power napping in the afternoon should be an essential part of the work day. They go on to outline some of the many well researched benefits of napping:

(a) Increased alertness. Whether you're on the road, observing market trends, diagnosing patients or interacting with clients, staying alert is the most important determinant of your efficiency.
(b) Improved motor performance. All of us engage in tasks that involve co-ordination, whether we're typing at a keyboard or operating machinery. A Harvard study demonstrated that the speed of a learned motor performance is the same in nappers as those who have had a full night of sleep.
(c) Greater accuracy. Making mistakes cost time, money, energy and sometimes even people's lives.
(d) Ability to make better decisions.
(e) Improved perception.
(f) Increased productivity. Businesses that allow their employees to nap have shown decreases in errors and increase in productivity.
(g) Reducing risk of diabetes. Sleep deprivation increases insulin and cortisol levels, which can raise the risk for type 2 Diabetes. On the other hand, napping after meals will build up your defense against diabetes, while improving the way you process your sugars.

How Long Should Staff Be Requied to Sleep on the Job?

Studies have shown that twenty minutes of sleep in the afternoon provides more rest than staying asleep twenty minutes longer in the morning. Most people's bodies seem designed for this twenty minute nap in the afternoon.

When is The Best Time to Sleep on The Job?

Research shows that most people naturally become more tired about eight hours after they wake up. In order to maximize the benefit you gain from napping it is best to take your nap at this time. Mednick and Ehrman have developed a simple Power Nap Wheel to help work out the ultimate time for a power nap. How does it work?

You will see that when the pointer is positioned to your wake up time, you simply follow the hours clockwise until you reach the point in the day when Rapid Eye Movement REM (i.e. the blue oval) crosses over the slow-wave sleep (the yellow oval). This is at the time of day when there is a perfectly balanced state in which REM and slow-wave sleep are equally proportioned. Well we have included a couple of examples below.

In the first example below, a wake up time of 6.30am means that the best time to nap would be at 1.40pm.

If you would like to work out your own ultimate time for a power nap, you can access Mednick and Erman's Power Nap Wheel at http://www.saramednick.com

Why a 'Nap' Should Only Be a 'Nap'

Experts advise that a power nap should be between fifteen and thirty minutes at the most. If we sleep any longer we tend to enter the deeper stages of sleep, which makes it more difficult to awaken. Once we have woken, we often experience sleep inertia, better known as grogginess! Longer naps can also make it more difficult to fall asleep at night, especially if our overall sleep deficit is relatively small.

How Can Power Napping Be Most Effectively Managed?

The best way to wake up after only fifteen to twenty minutes is to have some sort of timer or alarm. For example, one company, Metronaps, has produced a Napping Cubicle, called the EnergyPod. The EnergyPod occupies the same amount of room as a sofa and creates a cocoon from outside noise and distractions. The brochure says that ‘Occupants are reclined into the optimal napping position to promote blood circulation and reduce pressure on the lower back and ambient sounds that help Nappers drift into light sleep. At the timer's expiration, the occupant is then gently woken with a combination of lighting and vibration'. Doesn't it sound like bliss?!

The Energy Pod

The Benefits to Business of a Good Nights Sleep

All that said, we still need our 8 hours of sleep at night. Staff should know that napping on the job is not going to solve all their fatigue problems. Mednick and Ehrman's books suggests that we need a power nap in addition to a great nights sleep. One simple way to promote the benefits of sleep and power-napping is to provide training on sleep and fatigue to staff. Whether or not you decide to institute power napping as policy at work, staff will better understand the positive power of sleep and may at least power nap at home in their own time. Joyworkz are able to provide this sort of training.

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References:

Anderson, J. 2007. Advice for Employers: Let Them Nap -- and Reap the Rewards! Ergo Web. Retrieved February 19, 2008, from http://www.ergoweb.com

Mednick, S & M. Ehrman. 1006. Take a Nap! Change your Life. Thomas Allen & Son Ltd, Canada. 4.

Metronaps. Retrieved February 19, 2008, from www.metronaps.com.au

Scott, E. 2007. Sleep Benefits: Power Napping for Increased Productivity, Stress Relief & HealthStress Management. About.Com. Retrieved February 19, 2008, from http://stress.about.com/od/lowstresslifestyle/a/powernap.htm