Sleeping at work is gross misconduct that can lead to disciplinary action and in some cases termination of employment.
However, if you have a place to rest during a lunch break, a short nap of 15-20 minutes has been proven to have many short-term benefits, including: Recharging your batteries. Helping your mood. Reducing stress and lowering blood pressure.
Whether you're a salaried or hourly employee, the short answer is that it's legal to ask you to sleep in the office—and your boss can fire you if you refuse, confirms HR professional and employment lawyer Kate Bischoff.
Aim to nap for only 10 to 20 minutes. The longer you nap, the more likely you are to feel groggy afterward. However, young adults might be able to tolerate longer naps.
A quick rest session in the afternoon after lunch can help to improve digestion. Sleeping relaxes your body and all the energy is focused on breaking the food and absorbing the nutrients that are to be circulated throughout the body.
Siesta, Fiesta!
Perhaps the most famous of all midday rests is the siesta. Siesta is a custom throughout Spain and other Mediterranean countries. Derived from Latin meaning "sixth hour," the siesta is a time for people to rest and recharge in the middle of their day.
“A power nap is a nap that's short — less than 30 minutes long,” says Safia Khan, MD, a specialist in sleep disorders and an assistant professor in the department of family and community medicine and the department of neurology at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.
Still, nap rooms are rare: Only about six percent of U.S. employers provide one. The National Sleep Foundation did report in 2011 that a survey of 600 employers found that 34 percent of respondents said they are allowed occasional naps at work.
Naps for adults should be no more than an hour and probably best kept to the 15- to 20-minute range. Anything beyond that – especially considering the time of day – could have consequences. We caught up with sleep medicine specialist Nancy Foldvary-Schaefer, DO, MS, for more insight on how long your nap should be.
A brief 15-minutes nap can enhance your psychomotor skills and boost your work performance. Taking a nap can also help you prevent burnout and mental fatigue. Napping can increase your alertness and improve your physical performance, too.
Should I sleep during my night shift break? Napping during your night shift break can give you the energy to remain alert and refreshed until it's time to go home. A power nap of 10-20 minutes is sufficient to make you feel re-energized; anything longer can leave you groggy upon waking.
Scattershot sleep schedules, excess consumption of alcohol or caffeine, and using electronic devices like cell phones in bed can disrupt a person's sleep patterns. Too much light in the bedroom or excess noise, including from a partner's snoring or teeth grinding, may interfere with sleep.
Inemuri is the Japanese practice of sleeping at work. This can be in a meeting, on the way home or even waiting for the train after a big night out. Inemuri is a fascinating phenomenon found only in Japan. Viewed by outsiders, it might be taken as laziness or poor work ethic, but that is far from the truth.
Somnophilia (from Latin somnus "sleep" and Greek φιλία, -philia "friendship") is a paraphilia in which an individual becomes sexually aroused by someone who is unconscious.
Afternoon nap is a traditional practice commonly seen in populations of Mediterranean, Latin American, and Chinese countries. In Chinese society, it is widely accepted that afternoon nap, as a complementary sleep, is a healthy activity and is especially good for older adults who need longer sleeping time.
But no other group of people takes their naps quite as seriously as those living in Spain. The siesta - which means "a midday or afternoon rest or nap" - has become a big part of Spanish culture. Many businesses in Barcelona and other parts of the country still shut down every day so that siestas can take place.
Can I sleep 1 hour after eating? Sleeping one hour after eating doesn't give your body enough time to digest the food, inciting digestive problems like heartburn and acid reflux. It's recommended to wait at least 2-3 hours before you go to bed after a meal.
From boosting memory to lowering blood pressure, a little midday siesta can do wonders for your health. Many of us are chronically sleep-deprived and a quick nap can do wonders.
You should wait for at least 2 hours after a meal before you go to your bed. If you've developed a habit of lying down soon after you eat your food, you may eventually develop gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD) in which your lower esophagus fails to close off properly after you've eaten something.
Tell the truth
Even if you feel guilty and want to provide an emphasized story about your situation before work, it's best to let your manager know the real reasoning, whether it's because you overslept or really did get a nail in your tire.
I'm so sorry I overslept and missed our {meeting/brunch date/etc.} {this morning/yesterday/etc.}. I had set {number of} alarms on my phone to make sure I would wake up on time, but unfortunately that didn't work. I guess I was just too tired from {last night/the night before}...
Shift work sleep disorder (SWSD) is a circadian rhythm sleep disorder that commonly affects people who work nontraditional hours outside the “regular” 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. workday. This could involve overnight, early morning or rotating shifts.