Power Naps
Review of ‘Ready Or Not?’ by R. Griffiths
From Amazon website.
‘I have now read all of GWJ’s books and have been utterly impressed by every single one…. Relationships are explored with genuine depth and humour and even if you’re not a fan of love winning out in the end you really wish you were…. These will remain on my book shelf and I will send them to others as newly purchased presents. Beautiful and more please.’
I was chatting with a dear friend this morning about the importance of taking naps, and this reminded me that I wrote an article about it a while ago. Naps are great! Especially after one has got into blue arsed fly mode about something. I recently did some cleaning swoops on my wee house. Where does that dust come from? Papers were thrown out, the grimy bits under the fridge were extricated and bleach was tossed around the kitchen sink…rugs, cushions and coverlets were hauled out into the patio garden to sweeten in the sun. The raised beds in the ‘garden’ needed watering. I filled a largish bucket and slopped around the place with it. Dear God, when the the kitchen windows get so grimy? More sloshing. When scrummaging around for cleaning utensils noticed partly used tins of paint in the storage cupboard. This was a reminder of the ‘unfinished’ light pink walls in bedroom and so found brush and started dabbing. Thank God for BBC Radio radio 4, tea and digestive biscuits and other reminders of life’s gentler, more pottering ways. And naps of course. Here is that article about them. It was first published in The Evening Herald.
Lots of love,
Grace
The Art of the Power Nap
Want to be more dynamic, efficient and go getting? Then close your eyes at lunchtime and have a nice nap. There is, apparently, overwhelming scientific evidence that it will give you a major boost. Of course we’re not talking about putting up a hammock by the water dispenser…though it would be great if one could get away with it. But if a colleague asks you why you’re dozing instead of, say, importantly hot footing it out the door to buy a Snickers bars quote Psychology Today at him. That influential American magazine recently ran an article called ‘Nap Your Way To The Top’ and claimed that naps of about twenty minutes increase productivity and alertness. They also improve your mood which is something we could all do with these days. Though we don’t have Italian summers we can at least have short siestas.
Experts point out that napping is far better at pepping you up than large doses of caffeine. And of course it’s far healthier. So now that you are at least partly convinced let’s get the terminology right. These naps are power naps. Toss that term firmly at anyone who wonders why you have your feet up at your desk and are, perhaps, wrapped in a nice cosy blanket. And if your boss is unimpressed tell him or her that in high flying Japan dozing is acceptable anywhere, from Parliament to business meetings. They even have a term for it called inemuri, which means “to be asleep while present”. However strict rules apply to it in the workplace. Only those low down or high up a Japanese company are allowed to doze on the job. They also need to remain upright. This shows that they are still sort of socially engaged.
Here I should admit that when I worked for RTE I regularly went to the TV centre during lunchtime and had a nice snooze when I found an empty dressing room. These are usually used by guests, including many a celebrity. So there was always the possibility that, say, Julio Iglesias, might march in while I was taking my restorative mini-break. I did, consult a list that revealed who would be using the dressing rooms, and when, but they could have arrived early.
Of course if an EnergyPod had been handy that would have been fabulous. They are comfortable small sleep pods that provide semi-privacy without being ‘overly enclosing’. The marketing info adds that a ‘built-in music player with headphone jack helps eliminate surrounding distractions’. And a ‘timer found in the arm rest prevents overnapping and wakes the user gently with a combination of lights and vibration’ .
The pods are made by a company called MetroNaps which is based in the Empire State Building and specialises in ‘fatigue risk management’. Apparently many companies have turned to it for ‘fatigue solutions’ including Procter & Gamble, Cisco and Google. MetroNaps employees can be fired for not taking siestas. .
“We used to see people falling asleep in meetings or at their desks or sneaking off to parked cars,” said Christopher Lindholst, who founded MetroNaps in 2004. with Arshad Chowdhury, an ex banker. “Arshad used to see people going to the washroom and taking naps on the toilet.”
There’s even a book called The Art of Napping at Work and its co-author, William Anthony, has found that women report more fear of this wonderful new trend. Ladies please wise up! Power napping is cool. Even if you don’t fall asleep during your nap just closing your eyes for a while will help to restore you. So make a ‘Do Not Disturb Power Nap In Progress’ sign and use it.
It’s a trend that’s sure to catch on if some courageous nappers pave the way.
