Napping at Work: A survey by Sleep Doctor found that ⅓ of workers nap at work on a weekly basis

Occasionally it is normal to fall asleep at work. according to a new survey from Sleep Wellness Company Sleep doctor46% of respondents said they take a nap during the workday at least a few times a year. Additionally, 33% said they do it weekly – 9% once a week, 18% several times a week, and 6% daily.

Especially if you didn’t get enough sleep the night before, a 20- to 25-minute nap can help you recharge and tackle the rest of your workday, says Sleep Doctor founder and clinical psychologist Michael Breus, Ph.D. But don’t make it a habit.

“While you may feel slightly sleepy between one and three in the afternoon—which everyone does, it’s due to a drop in body temperature after lunch—you shouldn’t take a nap,” explains Breus Assets. “If you’re getting the sleep you should be getting at night, you shouldn’t need a nap.”

Naps are a big no-no for people with insomnia, Breus adds: “If you have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep at night, a nap will only make the situation worse.”

Nearly 1,300 full-time employees in the U.S. completed the survey in March Pollfish. Sleep Doctor did not provide any additional information about the respondents, such as their shift schedules, work environment or socioeconomic status. Although the survey is not a scientific study, it does provide insight into the Habits of the country’s workforce after the pandemicsays Breus.

Half of the employees who work on site take a nap in the car

It’s not just remote and hybrid employees who get Z-cases during work hours. About 27% of employees who work onsite reported taking weekly naps in the office, compared to 34% of remote workers and 45% of hybrid workers. Personal staff took naps in these places:

• Automobile: 50%
• Desk: 33%
• Company-designated nap location: 20%
• Return home: 14%
• Bathroom: 9%

A nap at work is a luxury, he says Rafael Pelayoa clinical professor in the Department of Sleep Medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine.

“There are a lot of issues with health disparities related to sleep,” says Pelayo Assets. “You can only take a nap at your workplace if you have a place to sleep and it is acceptable to your employer. That’s why many people don’t have a place to sleep at their workplace.”

Pelayo adds: “When you work on an assembly line and take the train to work, you don’t have anywhere to take a nap. Or if you are in a place where you don’t feel safe; Someone who is sleeping is vulnerable to being robbed or attacked.”

Men and younger employees are more likely to take a nap during the workday

More than half of male employees, 52%, told Sleep Doctor that they take naps during work hours at least a few times a year, compared to 38% of women. It’s unclear whether the survey collected data on non-cis workers.

A majority of younger adult employees admitted to taking a nap during the workday, a higher percentage than more experienced employees:

• 18-34: 54%
• 35-54: 46%
• 55+: 25%

Younger adults tend to suffer from sleep deprivation more often because they have less control over their lives, says Pelayo Assets. Children may disturb your sleep. older parents Need for care, longer commutes and higher demands on leisure time.

“As people age and have medical problems, medical problems affect our ability to sleep, such as arthritis or chronic pain. But healthy older people sleep really, really well,” says Pelayo. “They sleep better than healthy young people. Healthy older people, the reason they ended up being healthy old people was because they had a good lifestyle.”

Remote workers take the longest naps during the workday

“Smart naps” of 20 to 30 minutes can make you temporarily feel more alert and alert, he says Alaina Tiani, Ph.D.a clinical psychologist at Cleveland Clinic Sleep Disorders Center.

“This increases the likelihood that your brain will stay in the lighter stages of sleep and you will wake up feeling refreshed,” says Tiani Assets by email. “When we sleep for much longer periods of time, we may enter deeper stages of sleep that may be harder to wake up from. We also recommend napping as far in advance of your desired bedtime as possible to reduce the impact on your nighttime sleep quality.”

According to Sleep Doctor, more than half of those working days keep their nap under 30 minutes:

• Less than 15 minutes: 26%
• 15-29 minutes: 27%
• 30-59 minutes: 24%
• 1 hour: 12%
• 2 hours: 9%
• 3+ hours: 3%

On average, 34% of remote workers and 31% of hybrid workers sleep more than an hour, compared to 15% of employees who work onsite.

The survey data made it clear that naps are less common in the Western world than in other cultures Michael Grandner, Ph.D.Director of the Sleep and Health Research Program at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tuscson.

“The fact that many people who work from home are more likely to take advantage of opportunities to sleep was very surprising,” says Grandner Assets by email. “It suggests that many workers would prefer to incorporate napping into their lifestyle if they could.”

Why do employees take naps at work?

The employees primarily cited a form of exhaustion as the reason for dozing at work, while others were simply bored:

• Recharge: 62%
• Recover from poor sleep at night: 44%
• Dealing with long working hours: 32%
• Stress: 32%
• Boredom: 11%
• Avoid work: 6%

But why are they so sleep deprived? Ironically, the downside to napping at work is that 77% of survey respondents reported that workplace stress causes them to lose sleep every night. About 57% reported losing at least an hour of sleep on an average night. Most cited work-life balance as their biggest workplace stressor:

• Work-life balance: 56%
• Challenging projects: 39%
• Long Hours: 39%
• Upcoming deadlines: 37%
• I’m having trouble getting to work on time: 30%
• Problems with the boss: 22%
• Interpersonal conflict at work: 20%
• Fear of dismissal or dismissal: 19%

Employees losing sleep due to work stress only to crave rest during the workday aren’t the norm, but their predicament isn’t rare either, Breus says Assets: “They somehow mess up their days and nights.”

Hybrid workers were most likely to say work stress affected their sleep, at 88%, compared to 73% of on-site workers and 71% of remote workers. Additionally, more high-level employees, such as CEOs and senior managers, reported losing sleep due to job stress (84%) than lower-level employees (71%).

Taking a nap at work can have an impact on your health and performance

Dozing at your desk can seem inconsequential on a slower day at work or when you think your boss won’t notice. But some employees have paid the price, data from Sleep Doctor shows.

Among those who nap, 17% miss appointments and 16% miss meetings at least once a month because they sleep on the job. About 27% of workers admit to falling asleep during a remote meeting in the past year, and 17% have experienced the same thing on-site.

While only 20% of workers faced consequences, some were serious:

• Report to your supervisor more often: 62%
• Workload changed: 56%
• Sit down with the manager: 49%
• Exposed: 24%
• Fired: 17%

“Limiting sleep to a large nighttime window can help ensure you get enough sleep at night and therefore don’t need naps during the day, which could interfere with work or other responsibilities,” says Tiani.

Strategic daytime naps can be an effective way to boost energy and productivity, according to Grandner, but if you find yourself unintentionally falling asleep at work, it may indicate an underlying health problem.

“For people who are unable to maintain consciousness, I would recommend examining your nighttime sleep to determine whether you have untreated sleep disorders such as sleep apnea or whether you can take other steps to achieve healthier sleep,” says Gardner.

You should also consult your doctor if you don’t normally sleep but are experiencing unexplained fatigue, says Pelayo: “An abrupt change in your sleep needs would indicate a medical problem.”

More information about napping during the workday: