Bringing Back the Nap

Thousands of years ago, the tradition of napping or siestas began in Spain as a time for people to sleep though the hottest part of the day in order to avoid the sun’s strong midday rays. As the years have passed, the nap has evolved into many different forms of a break in the middle of our days. Here in the United States, our siesta is most commonly at noon for a one-hour lunch break to leave whatever it is we are doing but does not involve sleeping or rest of any sorts. For some of us, nap time is a past time that we left in our childhood years and now actively work through since it may be the only time during the day that we get peace and quiet. Just like the nap though, we, as a society, change, evolve and adapt over time and it looks as though the nap tradition is making a come back into our adult years and it may be what you have been missing all along.

A very common amenity you will find when visiting coworking spaces is a dark room with dim lighting, maybe a sound machine and platforms with pillows, or more commonly referred to as a nap room. Why? Because it has been proven that daytime naps of 20-25 minutes long can restore focus and motor skills while reducing stress and allowing you to reset and recharge for the rest of your day. This “amenity” was originally created by The Huffington Post after editor-in-chief Arianna Huffington collapsed from exhaustion at her desk in 2007. Huffington predicted nap rooms will one day be “as common as conference rooms.” Turns out they were spot on because here we are over 10 years later and they are found all over the place as well as what are called nap-pods (look. them. up.) which are found in the offices of tech giants such as Google, Cisco, and Zappos.

Nap time during my work day? I know what you may be thinking – like we have time for that. But isn’t it worth the time if it means you will get an increase in successful results within your place of work and employees since they will be better equipped mentally & physically? We think so.

At this time, Ment does not offer a nap room but that does not mean we don’t support it! We think it’s the missing piece to many of our days and the key to a healthy work-life balance. We invite you to give it a try. Make the time – it’s only 20 minutes out of 480. You can also try a coffee nap: drink a cup of coffee before your 20-minute nap and you’ll receive the brain revitalizing benefits of a nap, plus an extra boost as the caffeine hits your blood stream right when you wake up!