When is “Napping on the Job” a Good Thing?

On our minds

Siesta comes from the Latin “sexta” meaning sixth—as in, by the sixth hour after you wake up, it’s probably time to nap. The tradition arose centuries ago in hot, agricultural regions with long days. Because it was too hot to work outside during midday, people would work from early morning till around noon and then, from mid-afternoon till evening. Siestas were practiced by the ancient Romans, and later, by the Spanish and Latin Americans. In modern Italy, many shops and offices still close for a few hours every afternoon, for a riposo. This practice also remains common in modern Greece, Spain, the Philippines, Nigeria, and parts of India.

Sleep scientists talk about “biphasic sleep,” which can mean having a lengthy sleep at night and a less lengthy sleep in the day or sleeping in two shifts at night, with a waking period of a few hours in between. Evidence shows that many Europeans slept in two nightly shifts until the Industrial Revolution and in at least one remote community in Madagascar, people still do. The theory is that without artificial light, people sleep at sunset and rise with sunrise—therefore meeting sleep requirements while making the best use of natural illumination.

Now we can artificially cool and light our buildings, but air conditioners are less common in Europe than the US, and even in the US, they aren’t as common in particular states and some major cities. Part of this can be attributed to Europe’s older housing stock but there is also more of a cultural aversion to AC, due to climate impact and the fact that widespread use of AC can raise a city’s ambient temperature by several degrees, contributing to its urban heat island.

Air conditioners account for 10-percent of electricity consumption worldwide, four-percent of greenhouse gas emissions, and significant pollutants and ozone depletion. Construction and manufacture of these systems also requires large amounts of plastic and metals, making them environmentally harmful both to build and dispose of. Evidence suggests that the more we use AC, the less naturally resistant we become to heat-related illnesses. So why do most organizations (facilities managers and corporate leaders) insist on cooling large, often partially-occupied buildings during the hottest part of the day? Why not close offices entirely during extreme heat events, the way that we do for extreme winter weather? Why not shut-down the majority of the office during the hottest few hours, normalizing the expectation that employees will nap or relax in a pool or at a shady park? In other words, why not fight global warming by adopting an American version of the siesta?

It’s no secret that if we want to lessen greenhouse gases, we are going to have to modify our lifestyles. We’ll need to work with, rather than resist, nature’s daily and seasonal cycles. In addition to sleeping with the dark and waking with the light, our ancestors organized their lives by seasons. They planted in spring, harvested in fall, rested in winter, and foraged in the summer. They conserved calories in the food-sparse winter and napped during the heat of the summer day.

Beyond collective benefits, siestas also have individual benefits. Many of us perform better with a midday nap. Naps can boost brain health, increase focus and lower blood pressure. Normalizing workday naps is also a matter of letting employees decide how and when they are most productive. Some people work early in the day, before families wake up or co-workers flood the office. Some sleep later and work later. We all have different cycles of availability and engagement. Largely, office policies are finally acknowledging this reality. Napping during the workday should be just as acceptable as running an errand, grabbing lunch, or leaving early for a doctor’s appointment. And part of normalizing napping is providing in-office employees a place to do it.

Many employees are already napping during the workday, even without designated spaces. Per Reddit, they sleep in cars, lactating rooms, break rooms, under desks, in storage closets, and even in toilet stalls. And with many workers managing the impacts of Long Covid or other mental and physical wellbeing challenges, this workplace need is more acute than ever before.

PLASTARC has long-advised commercial spaces to take notes from the hospitality industry. Savvy coworking and office spaces already offer nap pods, hammocks, beanbag chairs and reservable sleep rooms. Ben & Jerry’s corporate HQ has included nap rooms for over a decade. Not every company has the budget for Zappo’s secluded nooks, created with a giant, soothing aquarium, but all employees should feel comfortable taking a midday nap, and all companies should provide some sort of facility for this—even if it’s just an unoccupied office with blackout curtains and a couch, (or yoga mat).

These facilities are not just about power naps; they are about accommodating those with conditions like chronic fatigue, or migraines and giving an employee who just got off a red-eye a place to rest before a team meeting. They’re about offering true flexibility that benefits both the worker and the company. They’re about viewing work in a holistic context, as both an individual and collective pursuit. So let’s all nap on the job—for our own health, the health of our companies, and the health of the planet!

From the archives

We haven’t been entirely snoozing our way through summers past! Two summers ago, we were brainstorming about optimizing distributed work experiences. Before that, we were talking about how design can transform crises into opportunity, how to make sure hybrid work is accessible to all your employees, and how mental health is the next workplace metric. We’ve also consistently covered one of our favorite summer topics: how to best work outdoors! Way back in July of 2018, we got excited about how the right furniture can bring vibrancy to the workspace.

Speaking of snoozing, need a solid white noise playlist for your midday nap? Sweet (day) dreams!