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A Study Shows That Napping During Work Hours Boosts Productivity By Up to 34%

2019-06-16 , 4:00 pm

Last Updated on 2020-11-30 , 10:35 am

Do you find yourself blearily working through work in the middle of the day and making tons of stupid mistakes along the way? Maybe you’ll come to with a snap and look around guiltily, wondering if anyone caught you dozing off.

What if I were to tell you that there’s actually plenty of research out there showing that napping in the office during work hours can make you more productive at work?

Napping isn’t slacking off

This is something that not only bosses but you yourself, need to know. How many times have you spied on a colleague staring into space or maybe dozing off and thinking, that slacker?

There’s a Chinese saying out there: you rest for a while in order to walk a longer distance. Think about it, if a 20-minute nap can help you avoid making mistakes that cause you to do double-work, wouldn’t it be worth it?

A NASA Study that encourages sleeping on the job

A NASA study has shown that a 26-minute nap can boost productivity by as much as 34 percent and increase alertness by 54 percent.

A nap before meeting clients or completing a proposal could mean the difference between success or failure.

Tech Companies are at the forefront when it comes to taking naps

Google was among the first tech companies to adopt this practice, and seeing how developers work long hours, their employees get adequate rest and perform better at work.

And it’s not just about work performance. In the economy today, competition for top talents in the industry is fierce and companies have to present themselves as a forward-moving, dynamic organisation in order to attract said talents.

And if your boss isn’t convinced, just direct him to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and show him that money isn’t the only incentive for employees to work.

Employees need to know this too

Remember what I mentioned above? That not only your bosses but you yourself have to understand and accept the rationale of napping?

Sleeping is tricky business. Go to bed stressed up and you’ll find yourself waking up more tired than before. It has to do with your mindset.

Now imagine your boss is open to the idea of napping and decides to implement it. You’re happy, but you can’t help feeling that you’re doing something wrong when you take your naps.

You’re going to wake up even worse than before, and instead of boosting your productivity, it’s going to make it fall even further.

A basic guide to building a nap room

This also means napping at your office desk isn’t going to help much. Here’s what you can suggest instead.

Create a space in the office for napping, play some soothing music and have a comfortable place to lie on. Make it limited where employees have to book a nap in advance.

Bosses will also have to monitor the system to see if there’s anybody abusing the system. The best way is to let them enjoy their naps without fear yet make it clear that it’ll be taken away if KPIs are not met.

A win-win situation, if you ask me. The employees are happy and likelier to stay and the company performs better.

So go ahead and tell your boss that sleeping on the job is the way to go.

Good luck!

Featured Image: worawit_j / Shutterstock.com