Nap at work? Companies are convinced of the benefit – 07/11/2023 – Market

A friend once speculated that the number of babies you have may have a direct correlation with your ability to nap. I only had one.

During my maternity leave more than a decade ago, my inability to sleep while my baby slept drove me crazy. I tried everything. He wore pajamas mid-morning, Winston Churchill fashion. I put eye patches, made the room completely dark, walked outside, sprayed lavender cologne on my pillow, ate slices of turkey. Nothing worked.

I’m not against naps. I don’t regard a brief nap as a sign of laziness or moral decay. On the contrary: if it is seen from this perspective, it seems even more attractive to me. But I am resistant to naps. This is something innate in me. Or, at least, that’s what I thought.

Cara Moore, executive coach and founder of the business consultancy ProNappers, thought differently. A staunch proponent of the power of napping, she’s become so adept at napping that she can fall asleep in a workspace she shares with others — all she needs is headphones and a mask over her eyes.

She says a nap increases productivity. “If you’re going to take a nap while you have a problem to solve — an email you couldn’t phrase properly, a discussion that’s been worrying you — often, when you wake up, you’ll know what to do or say.”

The benefits of napping were reinforced by research published in the journal Sleep Health last month. Research has shown that taking regular naps slows the rate of brain shrinkage that occurs as we age, reducing the risk of dementia and other ailments.

Naps fall into three categories. The restorative nap: a rest after lunch to revive energy; the recovery nap, to make up for lost sleep, possibly mid-morning; and the preparatory nap for a night shift or a night out.

Companies are becoming aware of the advantages of napping. The Doctor. Guy Meadows, clinical director of The Sleep School, which organizes programs for companies and individuals, sees a shift in attitudes. He says some employers in law, consultancy, banking and the NHS (Britain’s national health service) are asking for help for employees working long shifts or working antisocial hours. They worry that employees will lose concentration and take more risks when they are tired.

For organizations that require people to work later than usual to close a deal, for example, Meadows might suggest a “strategic nap.” “In the past, employers were hesitant to talk about making their employees sleep deprived. Today they discuss employee well-being more openly.”

In the sessions Meadows holds with companies, one of the most frequently asked questions he hears is how to take a nap. According to him, employees usually don’t take naps because they don’t know what to do or can’t fall asleep.

Of course, there are other major hurdles, such as managers making light of the need for naps and the absence of places to nap in the office (such as quiet environments or “cocoons” suitable for naps).

How many organizations have a nap culture, with managers really clear about the importance of napping at work? My editor is a flexible person, but I can’t imagine promising that I’ll turn in an article as soon as I’m done taking my nap.

The home office may have made things easier for some white-collar professionals. Research by LifeSearch, an insurer specializing in life insurance, found that one in six of home-based professionals admits to taking a nap during work hours.

To overcome my resistance to napping, Cara Moore asks me to examine the thoughts that keep me from doing so. According to her, one of the most common is pride in being active. I’m past the stage of false modesty, but I believe that if I stay firm, I’ll get the job done in less time. According to Moore, the desire to continue uninterrupted and “check a few more items off your to-do list” is false logic.

As is the case with a good exercise routine, Meadows recommends that naps be built into your daily schedule. You must activate an alarm or ask a colleague to cover for you to take a nap. Meadows suggests experimenting with naps of different lengths, usually anywhere between ten and 20 minutes.

On the first day of the program, I’m at home. After lunch I start with a ten-minute nap, setting the alarm if I fall into a deep sleep. I lie down in a hammock with a pillow over my eyes to reduce the light. I keep thinking my neighbors are going to wonder why I have a pillow over my eyes, and it won’t let me sleep. Moore suggested that I listen to something to slow down my inner thoughts that won’t stop.

I try a guided meditation, but it’s interrupted by a request to fund the person’s podcast. The next day I listen to a boring book. It works for a while, but then my thoughts start again: how did the narrator discover he had a knack for getting people to fall asleep? Does this get in the way of your romantic life? The better option was the ProNappers meditation, proposed by Moore, who claims that “taking a nap is a great way to make use of your time”, accompanied by the sound of waves.

On the fourth day, I sank into a kind of twilight consciousness. Success, according to Meadows, whose most important piece of advice is “don’t think about falling asleep.” For him, this creates its own stress – something that is evidenced by insomnia sufferers.

Two weeks later, taking sporadic naps, I find that rest has become its own reward. I will persevere. After all, getting into the habit of napping takes practice. Moore suggests that people practice at least once a month, and Meadows three times. No one can accuse me of being unwilling to learn.

Translated by Clara Allain