Naps Can Help You Work Better

I just took a 15-minute afternoon nap and feel amazingly refreshed. I’m ready to tackle the rest of my day—just as soon as I take another 15-minute nap.

Thirty minutes seems ideal for a nap, don’t you think?

Actually, my favorite naps are about an hour long. But naps as short as 15 minutes have refreshed me, especially on a Sunday afternoon when I’m exhausted from the long list of household chores that, one by one, I’ve found a way to postpone for another weekend.

That’s why I applaud the initiative of Wakefit Solutions, the Bengaluru-based startup company that offers mattresses, beds and other furnishings. Wakefit co-founder Chaitanya Ramalingegowda recently sent an internal email to employees telling them that they will now be granted the “right to nap” from 2 to 2.30 pm. This time slot will be blocked off as “official nap time” on employee calendars, making Wakefit my "official favorite company" in the mattress industry. If I were seeking a mattress-related job, there is no other company I would want to nap for.

I wouldn't be surprised to learn that Wakefit has been inundated with job applications. Who wouldn't want to work for a company that allows you to sleep on the job? Even government workers don't get an "official nap time." 

“Our naps are always unofficial,” said a government officer named Ravi. “We don’t block off any time slots on our calendars. We just block off our doors.”

Research has shown that afternoon naps help with memory, concentration, creativity and productivity, as Ramalingegowda noted in his email. "A NASA study reveals that a 26-minute catnap can enhance performance by 33 percent, while a Harvard study shows how naps prevent burnout," he wrote, adding that Wakefit is planning to introduce “cozy nap pods and quiet rooms in the office to create the perfect nap environment for employees.” 

For this nap initiative to be truly effective, Wakefit will need to impose some "official nap time rules":

1. Employees may engage in solo or group naps, but must maintain a safe distance from each other. Touching other people, even with eyes closed, is strictly prohibited, and so is touching oneself.

2. Employees who choose not to nap may use the time to snack, meditate or pray, but must refrain from working, as this may result in other employees feeling like “slackers.” During nap time, the “official slackers” are the ones who do not nap.

3. While employees are napping, all phones must also be put to sleep. Touching your phone, even with eyes closed, is strictly prohibited, and so is watching Netflix from a distance.

4. Employees who choose to snack, meditate or pray during nap time must do so quietly. The only sound permitted during nap time is the sound of snoring.  

5. Anyone who snores too loudly may be asked to nap in a special room with other snorers. Please do not take this personally. No record of your snoring will be entered in your official personnel file. But a record of your snoring may be played at the annual company party.

6. We will supply mattresses to all employees to use during nap time. A new mattress will be provided each day to maintain hygiene and enable us to sell mattresses to the public using a special “Employee-Tested” label.

7. Pajamas and sleep caps may be worn during nap time, but employees must remember to take them off when meeting clients. Whether pajama-clad or not, employees must not have visitors during nap time, even for a sleepover. 

8. Nap time must begin no earlier than 2 p.m. and end no later than 2:30 p.m. Anyone who naps too early or too late may be docked nap time the following day. A record of such violations will be entered in your official personnel file. Any appeals may be made in writing to either the Director of Human Resources (DHR) or the Director of Official Napping (DON).

9. Anyone who has trouble napping may seek assistance from the DON. Sleeping pills will not be permitted at work, but at the discretion of the director, napping pills may be allowed.

10. If pills are not effective, the director may organize special meetings during nap times, as many of our employees have shown a strong inclination to nod off during meetings.