Hacker News Reader

Comment by thomasfl | Hacker News Reader

I simply can't understand why it is still uncommon to sleep at the office, while they give this psychoactive drug called caffeine for free.

According to wikipedia, caffeine is the world's most widely consumed psychoactive drug.

View on HN

If you sleep at the office you're wasting time and slacking.

If you can keep your eyes open while staring at an open email you're being productive.

Sadly this is the truth. It's all about perceived work and not actual work.

You need to master the art of sleeping in your office chair with your back to the door. Keep an interesting piece of paper handy to be reading when someone comes in instead of staring at a blank screen.

You mean you're not in a giant open office? Nice.

Well that was a reference to a bygone era when I did in fact have a corner office with an amazing view and yes a door! It was my first job as an intern decades ago. What I've been crammed into since then has never come close. The company at the time wanted to show how great they were by letting the most junior have the best seats.

Since working from home due to the pandemic I’ve been able to wean myself completely off caffeine. To not get tired in the afternoons, I take a 15-20 minute nap each day after lunch. I think this has been good for me, and I’m worried that when I have to go back to the office I’ll be dependent on coffee again.

I wish I could nap. For me, a nap turns one normal day into two short days - a bright productive one and a dark groggy one. I've even tried the coffee-then-20-minute-nap method to no avail.

For me, naps are an exercise in lying still with my eyes open. Even more frustrating IMO. Am I winning the misery olympics?

This possibly sounds like being over tired. Are you able to fully relax at different points in the day, or would you say you are an always on the go type? If the latter it could be you have a sleep/relaxation deficit that the napping can't pay back.

Although mileage varies and all that.

> For me, a nap turns one normal day into two short days - a bright productive one and a dark groggy one.

Same here, but the productive one is after the nap!

My wife and I are the same way -- we never seem to feel refreshed from midday naps. Is there something we're doing wrong? :)

It's fairly common in China. Sure you have to 996 but that includes an hour for napping post lunch.

First time hearing of 996, for anyone else curious that's a 9am-9pm 6 days a week work schedule.

Do also check out https://996.icu/#/en_US :)

That's disgusting.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com