Seven Secrets to a Great Nap

napping isnt such a bad idea.i think i'll try it today.

Sheesh......everyone is so grouchy in these comments.......maybe you guys should take a nap!

I am one of the people who needs a short nap in the afternoon. Unfortunately, many companies in our job-deprived area use "sleeping at desk" as automatic grounds for dismissal. Unfortunately, there is no breakroom in many of these places to stretch out for 15 or 20 minutes. The Commonwealth of Virginia no longer requires companies to give workers short breaks. It's unfair, but it's reality.

i think these tips will work. i think i will try them today.

Hey Watkinson, back off - I know many college and university educated people who can't spell...I agree with Forty6and2tom, about it being easier for office staff to squeeze in a nap than it is for anyone in the physical labour industry...these people work under extreme conditions, all types of weather and alot of the times are looked down by people like you...respect these people and the job they do. I work in the transportation industry, and commute an hour each way to my job, I also have 2 young children that I am the sole support parent for and there are times when I have to stop on my commute home to have a nap or risk causing an accident and not get home to them at all. Everyone in any job should be given the time to have a nap if they need it.

I think you depressed, Lee O. Go out once in a while and have fun in your life.
People need to take a nap, get over it.

The way I see it, having a job that requires you to handle complex tasks all day can take alot out of a person, you feel mentally drained, especially if you are sitting in front of a computer all day. Sometimes a nap will work, sometimes I just take a walk. It's like sitting on a car trip for 8 hours, eventually you feel tired even though you are not doing anything. Moving around will get the circulation going and help. Also, light lunches help out. Avoid greasy burger joints.

How would everyone like to have an operation performed by a surgeon that has been without any rest for 36 hours? I don't think a nap is a bad idea at all.

How would everyone like to have an operation performed by a surgeon that has been awake for 36 hours with no rest? I don't think naps are a bad idea at all...

What about all the day laborers I see taking their "siestas" on the lawns they stopped mowing at noon? Are those not naps?

Actually, naps are a good thing. I cleaned houses for 12 years while I went through college. I also had 5 children. I would stop cleaning the houses about midday and, in whatever house I was currently cleaning, sit on the couch, put my head back and snooze for 10 to 20 minutes. It gave me enough energy to finish the house and the day.

Now that I am an attorney, I find a nap helps my brain to be clear for the heavy-duty brain activity in which I need to engage for the remainder of the day, and sometimes well into the evening.

taking a nap at work is great. And if you are on lunch then you are not missing anything. I use the alarm on my phone so I dont sleep to long. I dont take a nap everyday. It is also a good stress relief if you are having a hetic day. Take a nap and wake ready to face the rest of the day. Cinbob127 it is better to set an alarm take a quick nap on lunch and wake a little more refreshed and able to work better, than to work tired and groggy and maybe mess up some very important paper work or project because you are tired and a short nap could have prevented it. My boss gets his 8 hours and then some from me weather I take a nap (on my time) or not.

That's the advantage to being educated: you can squeeze in a nap and it's completely ok. When you are doing a manual labor (thanks for building my house and paving my driveway) than you don't have time to take a nap. But of course, you back that up with, "Oh ho ho I'm macho and don't need naps". Someone has to do the dirty work, and that's you. enjoy being tired Forty6and2tom.

I don't think a nap is necessarily bad. I think as long as the nap is taken on the employee's own time (lunch, ie break) than there shouldn't be an issue.

I work a full-time job, a part-time job, and go to school. I work 7 days a week and leave the house at 6:30am and don't get home til about 9pm...then I have homework. I take a nap everyday at 2pm in my car...and trust me it is worth it! I don't drift away at my desk or even in boring psych lectures.

To say that someone is lazy because they can't sustain 8hrs at a desk is presumptuous and wrong.
Everyone has different schedules and body chemistry that affects how their bodies feel and work.

In addition, sitting at a desk for 8hrs (in my case 12) is BORING! Staring at a computer screen will put you to sleep faster than a lullabye!

Gee, item # 5...set an alarm so you don't sleep through anything important... Like WORK maybe!!! Isn't that what you are there to be doing, not napping. If you want to nap, go to preschool.

Gee item # 5 set an alarm so you don't sleep through anything important... Like WORK maybe!!! Isn't that what you are there to be doing, not napping. If you want to nap, go to preschool!!!

Good Greif Forty6and2tom! and Shame on you! A pitiful human being? I use my BRAIN for my job. I'm glad you don't sit in my office.

A pitiful human being? You guys need to get a grip. We use our brains at work, not our braun. It can be exhausting to sit at a desk all day.

RE: Forty6and2tom:
I used to own a hairstyling salon, and believe me, there was no napping being done there!! Run, run, busy, busy. But trust me, I honestly used to nap at stop lights while to and from work. No way around it, with 2 small kids at home and a full time job. I would venture to say that the aforementioned men doing physical labor fall asleep while at the family reunion, the movies, at Disney on Ice, etc... Is that more acceptable to you? I now work in the dreaded "stupid cubical", and our employer chose grey walls and grey carpet with fluorescent lights--how's that for keeping us awake after lunch? I continue to suggest an optional "10-minute wake up", where employees gather to walk, talk, stretch, do a couple of jumping jacks, etc., to alleviate that afternoon crash. It can catch you if you don't rise up off your chair very often, as is true in most cases. You have to man up to the fact that you are not in everyone's shoes, and make a productive suggestion rather than being critical. Glad I don't sit next to you.