The Business Power of Power Naps
We have all heard of the positive effects of power naps – that short 15-20 minute sleep you take during the day, that will give you all the power you need for the rest of your business day.
Many famous personalities have had their own way of power napping. For example, President John F. Kennedy liked to take extended lunch naps. Salvador Dali took “one second” micro naps. Leonardo Da Vinci was know to take a 15 minute nap, every 4 hours. And lest we forget that Albert Einstein, Margaret Thatcher, Napoleon Bonaparte and Aristotle were all known for being avid power nappers.
The effects of power napping
Inspired by these famous personalities I began experimenting with regular power naps, after my lunch break, for the past few months, and I have experienced some very positive effects, including:
- a better mood – with a smile into the afternoon
- higher creativity – my best ideas and concepts occur after a nap
- less craving for sugar in the afternoon – which is good for my diet
Ask yourself this: Do you know anyone who power naps? Think about it. How often have you seen or heard anyone taking a power nap in order to rejuvenate their minds during business hours or at anytime within their daily routines? I would like to present three questions to you in order to make sense as to why people might not be able to include a power nap in their daily lives.
Is your office space power nap friendly?
I know very few companies which offers a quiet dark room, with a couch or bed, for their employees to take naps. I believe that every office should have such a place. However, from a legal point of view it is only mandatory for companies to offer places for their employees to rest under maternity protection regulations.
I am happy to share with you that I do know of one company that is power nap friendly. And, full disclosure, that company will be my next office space and it is a special place for power nappers! .
Does power napping go against our dogma of performance?
Our culture of working hard, with long days of productivity, leaves little or no place for short sleep intervals. Napping is normally considered as something you do if you are lazy, which is an illogical argument when considering the consensus of research studies conducted that proves or demonstrates otherwise. Power napping is not for lazy people! Co-workers, bosses and customers should be glad to see us recharging our batteries through small naps throughout the day in order for us to perform better, and deliver better results on an absolute scale. And, if your company still tracks your work time, let’s start a petition to allow for small durations of a power napping to be considered as part of our work time, just like having a coffee or going to the restroom.
Are you your own sleep enemy?
Do you feel too busy or have you set too many back-to-back meetings that there is no time to take a power nap in work day? Your calendar might be a perfect place to insert a regular slot for a power nap; maybe consider this time as an extension of your lunch break.
+ Related: 25 Tips for Going on Your Digital Detox +
Whatever stands against recultivating the power nap in our society, I know we can turn it around together! I am calling for a power nap revolution to generate win-win situations for ourselves and our companies and their employees.
We need power nap heroes like you! Follow me on my power nap journey by posting some facts about your power naps (duration, location, effect) with the hashtag #pnjmg2018. Hopefully some of your posts will be funny, too! let’s go viral! 😉
Together we can make power naps cool again and hopefully it will be something that everyone will want to aspire to do! With your help we can generate enough momentum and reach a tipping point in which power napping is no longer something famous people do, but something that everyone does in their daily lives! Let´s be smart and do better business with a fresh body & mind!
Enjoy your Business Live!
POWER NAP JOURNEY MAP:
