The Nap Flap
Posted at 5:00 AM on July 31, 2009
by Dale Connelly
(16 Comments)
This week, the Pew Research Center released a survey about napping, and it turns out that on a typical day, about a third of the adults in the United States go down for a mid-day snooze. That's an amazing statistic because everybody seems to be running around so frantically and working so hard (if they have jobs) or looking for work so hard (if they don't), it's tough to imagine so many people finding the time and a suitable place to pass out for a while.
But apparently it's happening all around us. Especially in the workplace.
Some jobs simply can't be interrupted for naptime. Construction crane operator comes to mind. Brain surgeon, certainly. Nuclear plant safety technician, I hope. Others, like college president, tech support and public radio disc jockey are the sort of job that can be done perfectly well by a person who is asleep most of the time.
Following a New York Times article about this study, one commentator endorsed the bathroom as a great place for a nap at work. The bathroom? I suppose the technique would involve barricading one's self in a stall and trying to give the appearance of conducting legitimate business while catching a few winks instead. How could you sit in such a way that you'd be able to sleep? Wouldn't that leave an uncomfortable impression?
I can imagine office cubicle workers who use the phone a lot might discover a certain way to sit with their elbow planted on the desk, their chin balanced on one hand with the other hand curled up by the eyes so that no one need know there are logs being hewn. But what if you have to sit or stand out in the open? How do you take a nap if you're the ticket taker at a movie theater? A mall security guard? Speaker of the House?
Some flaws in the study - they didn't define what a "nap" is - it was left to the respondents to determine if they were napping or not. And there is a stigma attached to napping in our hyper-productive society. Some people are outright nap-need deniers. Others nap and simply don't know they're doing it. Or don't want to know, because jobs hang in the balance. The attorney would like us to believe she was awake all afternoon. After all, she billed those hours to some client, and I'm guessing it wasn't "Physicians for Bedrest".
Plus, the survey didn't include full disclosure data on the detailed napping habits of sleep researchers, so we have to ask - how awake were they while crunching the numbers? Perhaps this is all a dream.
Isn't it time to bring napping out into the open? I nap just about every day, weekends included. How about you? And if you're stealing these Z's at work, how do you do it?
Comments (16)
Good morning Dale! Where is everyone at 6:20 AM! I suspect they are 1) sleeping in (does not count as nap), or 2) already have been up and about so now have to take a nap. This means wake up music right!? or the old timey Please go away and let me Sleep". Whatever, off to work ( I have one of those "can't nap" jobs. I do remember hearing that a nap should not be more than 45 min long or you disturb your sleep cycle.
Wake up sleepyheads and good morning all. Jenny
I guess I never thought of snoozing a little when reading or doing the crossword puzzle on the sofa as a "nap". "Nap" seems like something you choose, laying down and sleeping. But maybe I HAVE been napping all these years and didn't realize it!
Sorry for the slow response by RH-ers on the blog this morning: We're napping.
Actually the one rule my employer cares enough about to include in our employee handbook is one against sleeping at your desk; it's grounds for dismissal. We laugh because nothing is said against other, perhaps greater infractions like... well, you know.
I like the classic images of cartoon characters Dagwood Bumstead and Beetle Bailey who know the importance of napping.
Have to run off to work - if I don't get back before the show is over, everybody have a good weekend.
And keep your fingers crossed I don't "nap" at the computer later this afternoon!
I come from a long line of nappers and am quite content to carry on the tradition! While working I never nap even though the inclination sometimes hits.
I had no idea there was so much napping going on, though I did suspect there were more of us than were proudly admitting it...
Great shows all week Dale and Mike!
Wishing all a great weekend!
I really don't like naps at all! They make me feel more tired. My motto, "just keep on moving!" My husband, however, belongs to the 33% group. He loves naps. I can get a lot of projects done while he sleeps in front of the t.v.!
I nap when I can. At my old job there was an empty office that was great for a post-lunch cat nap - 15-20 minutes was enough to feel refreshed most days. Haven't found a good nap spot yet at the new job, though there are a few possibilities (that aren't the women's room).
I'm a firm believer in naps. One thing I miss now that my daughter doesn't nap, is catching and hour or so of sleep on weekend afternoons with her.
Greetings Heartlanders! I generally don't feel the need for a nap, but on occasion I take a 20-30 minute siesta and feel refreshed. However, this cannot be done at work, which is only part-time anyway.
My husband is a professional napper. Actually, he just doesn't keep any regular sleeping/waking hours (by choice), so he seems like he's always sleeping. Whereas I keep very regular bedtimes and wake times -- although I've been staying up late and sleeping in over summer. It feels so decadent!
Have a wonderful day everybody, and nap if you must!
Dale,
With your crazy schedule I am glad to hear that you are a regular napper.
My napping is generally confined to weekends. There is nothing like a cloudy Sunday afternoon and a football game on TV to induce the perfect nap vibe.
I have today off and altho I haven't been up for long you may have inspired me to schedule a nap between the errands and chores.
Happy weekend to all-nappers and non-nappers alike!
I'm one of the fortunate few to have a private office, so if the need is really intense, I can just shut my door and pretend that I'm doing something of such great importance that it requires absolute privacy and uninterrupted concentration. At a certain level, it's true.
People see through this one in an instant.
Plan B: Say I'm going out to lunch, drive to nearby park, recline the seat all the way back, and escape to dreamland. Unfortunately, this only works for a few months in the average Minnesota year.
Plan C: Fight it. Focus. Concentrate. Must not give in. Must nottttttttttttttttttttt
How important is location when napping? The couch nap and the chair nap are nice, but they seem designed to preserve the "accidental" alibi for napping, as in "I didn't mean to, but I was so tired ..."
I prefer the outright intentional bed nap, although it has to happen on top of the covers. Once you go under the covers, it becomes something different. My friend Peter Moore draws a line between the "standard" nap and the "pants off" nap, which is too extreme - it's the same thing as going to bed. You may as well turn out the lights.
I totally understand the bathroom nap, last resort of course. You know those mornings when you're at work and literally can't keep your eyes open for more than a few seconds? Sometimes it's better to nap in the bathroom for a few minutes rather than suddenly finding your boss trying to wake you up. Love the music! Have a happy morning.
i'm certainly an unapologetic napper---i like to take my cues from the cat, who naps often. in fact, there are few things she likes better than when i lay down on the bed to read (on top of the covers) in the afternoon, cuz she knows that is the prelude to a nap together :-)
i love that on weekend afternoons...
and of course, when one is working free-lance or telecommuting, your schedule is your own, and if you wake at 7, work 8-12, eat lunch, then nap til 2 and work 2-6, it doesn't hurt anybody!
I'm with you, Kay - cats and naps seem to go together. Felines are particularly good at modeling napping behavior if you need any pointers on how it should be done. And if you have any nagging doubts about whether you should be doing something productive with your time, "I don't want to disturb the cat" is a good excuse to not rouse yourself from a comfortable position.
Ah, blissful disconnect! To sleep, perhaps to dream? Napping is my hobby. If society recognized the world of good that was introduced to us as small children: the afternoon nap. Usually begun with music and ended with graham crackers and milk.
I've napped on breaks, with my blanky, lying on the grass with my shoes off. I've napped in my truck before going home.
I protect my co-workers need for a nap. It only takes 15-20 minutes, lights off, shoes off and a gentle wake up. The thing not to do is fall asleep in the wrong place, snoring loudly around co-workers with video recorders!
People need to learn to allow themselves to relax. It makes an incredible difference in my life.
Linda, that is a lot of Cat Wisdom. A really good nap is one where you can get into any position a cat can. So the couch is only good for a quickie nap, probably on you side with your knees bent so that the cat can get in behind them, and preferably with an afghan...
Dale -- besides Physicians for Bedrest, wasn't there also another "spot" having to do with Sleep Deprivation? Or maybe it's P. for B. I'm thinking of.
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