Subscribe by EmailInemuri: The Japanese Art of the Workplace Power Nap
January 9, 2008 by Shea Gunther |
By Shea Gunther
Contributing Writer, [GAS]
One of the things that your typical geek does not get enough of, besides sex of course, is sleep. Whether it’s because we’re staying up late at night surfing Digg, writing code, or Photoshopping George Bush’s head onto Linsey Lohan’s body, it’s a good bet we’re all a few hours short of getting the recommended eight hours of snooze-time a night. Coffee and soda companies bank on this fact and most of us make it through the day riding a sleepy/hyper/sleepy rollercoaster.
Despite the fact that studies have shown that power naps are more effective than caffeine, most companies and managers frown upon employees sleeping on the job.
But not the Japanese. They may have crazy ass TV shows and an unnatural affinity for strange robots, but they’re surprisingly enlightened on the subject of workplace naps (perhaps because they are all expected to overwork themselves to death). They call them “inemuri“, which translates to “to be asleep while present”. There are some strict ground rules though. First, you have to stay upright. You can’t put your face down on your keyboard to show that you are still “socially engaged”. Secondly, you have to be either high up or low down in the company; the middle managers get screwed out of the benefits of inemuri.
The next time your boss yells at you for sleeping on the job tell them to chill out and send them to this post. Your quick round of inemuri will keep you alert, on your toes, and productive. Bonzai!!!
Link [BBC News]
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Wow! I’m happy to read this… Here in Brazil they all complains when I take a power nap in my college (mostly in Java or SQL classes ehuahehehehe)…
But the power nap always makes me feel good and I wake up revitalized and ready to work again ;D
Japanese seem to be very effective and productive… Cool to now that the companies in Japan have the “inemuri”
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Terramel
I’ve heard about this before, I think its great. There’s a picture of Japan’s ex-prime minister Junichiro Koizumi power-napping here.
Wow! ex-prime minister power-napping rocks!
[...] I’d have to say this holds true for work as well, as I too often find myself jumping away from my tasks with an, “Oh, which album is this from?” What music (or other sounds) get you into the power-nap state? Share your tips in the comments. Are you getting enough? [BBC News via Geeks Are Sexy] [...]
Seeing a prime minister power napping does not surprise me, here in Europe we have had many power napper advocates: Winston Churchill, former French president Jacques Chirac and even Napoleon!
If you want to emulate them, you can check out: http://www.napsounds.com/power-nap.html
[...] There are still rules. Try to keep upright - no lounging. And inemuri is particularly encouraged for the folks on the lowest and highest ends of the totem pole - middle managers miss out. But beyond that, Japan doesn’t observe the same sleep taboo that exists in much of the Western world. As long as it doesn’t ‘endanger the social situation,’ a power nap is hardly ever out of the question. [...]
[...] There are still rules. Try to keep upright - no lounging. And inemuri is particularly encouraged for the folks on the lowest and highest ends of the totem pole - middle managers miss out. But beyond that, Japan doesn’t observe the same sleep taboo that exists in much of the Western world. As long as it doesn’t ‘endanger the social situation,’ a power nap is hardly ever out of the question. [...]