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20 or 30 minutes of shut-eye in the middle of the day at work refreshes the brain, and improves productivity
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Why you should be sleeping on the Job:
By Kermit B. Fernander, Guardian Lifestyles Reporter -
Nassau, Bahamas -



Power napping is the custom of taking a brief nap in the middle of the day in order to refresh the mind and increase mental alertness. Actually, in practical terms, it's more of a rest than a nap.

Dr. Maoshing Ni — known simply as Dr. Mao — is a 38th-generation doctor of Chinese medicine and an authority in the field of Taoist anti-aging medicine. According to Dr. Mao, one of the best ways of refreshing the brain and improving productivity at work, is to take 20 or 30 minutes of shut-eye in the middle of the day. He says this practice will also lead to a longer, healthier lifespan.

Perhaps Spanish-speaking cultures had something similar in mind when they established the siesta, a civilized habit which cuts the workday in half, allowing workers to labor from 8:00 a.m. to noon, break for four hours, and then resume working from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

In Spain, for example, many working people ate the main meal of the day in their homes, and afterwards enjoyed a refreshing nap before returning to work. At the end of the workday, they would socialize with their friends in bars or restaurants, or see a movie or a show, before returning home for a light supper of soup and salad.

Extolling the virtues of the siesta, Dr. Mao said: "A long-time tradition in Latin countries, a siesta is a great way to jump-start the second half of your day. Famous nap enthusiasts have included some of the best minds in history, such as Albert Einstein, Winston Churchill and Thomas Edison. What they knew was that a midday snooze — while seeming to be an unproductive use of time — could actually increase their effectiveness. Some of the reviving benefits of naps include enhanced cognitive function, better reaction time, more patience, stress relief, and better overall health.

Since few workers in North America can take a proper nap in the middle of the day, Mao believes that a brief nap of between 15 and 30 minutes is sufficient to revive the brain. Sleeping for any longer will get you into the deeper stages of sleep from which it is difficult to awaken he said. On the other hand, if you are napping to catch up on lost hours of sleep, you would want to take a longer nap, if this is convenient.

Mao explains that napping in the middle of the day is also an excellent way to reduce stress on the heart — an important consideration bearing in mind that coronary heart disease is the largest killer of men and women in North America. Believing that the body follows a circadian rhythm whereby noontime is the peak hour for the heart, Chinese doctors advise that rest or calming exercises like meditation at this time of the day will strengthen the heart.

Unfortunately, Western culture encourages us to work hard and play hard — often to our detriment. As a result, we tend not value rest probably because many of us have been brought up to associate rest with laziness. Consequently, most adults are sleep-deprived, and this kind of fatigue produces stress, which in turn impacts negatively on our health, safety and productivity at work. This leads to serious health and safety issues in the workplace since it is well known that tired, sleepy workers make more mistakes.

Whenever we feel a decrease in energy levels at work, instead of consuming caffeine to stay awake and alert, we could simply close our eyes for five minutes. Such a brief rest can help us de-stress and give us the increase in energy we need to complete the tasks of the day.

11/26/07

November 26, 2007 | 5:15 PM Comments  0 comments

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