Hacker News Reader

Comment by kloncks | Hacker News Reader

The problem with napping at work is that a lot of people don't know how to nap properly (how long to sleep? when to nap? etc) so it might actually cause people to feel worse, more tired, or groggy.

How long is enough? About 30 minutes is considered sufficient, according to a recent NASA study that assumes most Americans miss a little more of an hour of sleep every night.

View on HN

In my experience, just starting to doze off is enough for a refresher. This may take all of 20-30 minutes in itself, I can often go to sleep at night faster than I can fall asleep during the day. Salvatore Dali was famously said to have held a spoon in his hand suspended above a metal pan and when he fell asleep the spoon would drop and wake him with its sound. Just lying down for a period with eyes shut and little external stimulus is a great refresher for me. Finding the time/place to do this is the hardest part.

I totally agree with this. I had to make a three hour drive last night, and just a half hour into it I was feeling very tired. I pulled off at the first rest stop, put the seat back, and just laid there relaxing for about ten minutes. I didn't even fall asleep. I then got out of the car, moved around a bit to get the blood pumping, and made the rest of the drive without feeling tired at all.

Dali didn't do that to refresh himself. Rather he was seeking the brief moment of heightened creativity one gets immediately after waking up and feeling slightly disoriented. So I wouldn't recommend it if your goal is to straighten out your head :)

I feel that some absolute time limits for napping is a no no for me. I grab my keys to my other hand and I extend that hand over the bed. It takes some time to get used to the idea of having the keys on your hand while trying to nap, but soon enough you'll forget you're holding the keys on your hand. Eventually you'll drop the keys at the exact moment you doze off and that's a clear sign from yourself that you've hit the time limit of a nap. There's no need to set your alarm clock for a 20-30min nap.

The alarm will inevitably go off during the wrong moment.

If you try to keep something in your hands (which will make a sound once fallen) you'll get the alarm at the exact moment you strive for.

I take a 20 minute nap almost every day, and I'm quite sure that I'm much more productive because of it!

I'm looking for a new gig in Paris now... my chances of getting hired would probably be infinitesimal if one of my interview questions was: Do you allow naps?

On the other hand if someone said yes, I'm petty sure I'd love the job!

Reply on news.ycombinator.com