As kids, we all took naps (some more willingly than others), and many of us still sneak a nap every so often now that we’re adults – even occasionally as a break while we’re at work. Cognitive scientists have found that naps are good for us in many, many ways – no wonder we continue to take them – and designing spaces for napping in workplaces seems to be a good idea.
It’s not a new one, however, as Weir reports, “Daytime dozing is becoming a workplace trend. Ben & Jerry’s, Zappos, Uber and Google have installed dedicated nap spaces in their headquarters in hopes that some midday shuteye will boost employee productivity and creativity.” Research cited by Weir, along with expert interviews she conducted, link napping with “a variety of immediate benefits,’ even for those who have gotten a full night’s sleep. These include improved alertness, logical reasoning, memory performance and ability to pay attention and to learn, as well as less impulsive behavior, greater ability to tolerate frustration and better mood. Good things in a workplace! Although the studies cited indicate benefits based on naps of different lengths, integrating the information collected Weir recommends naps of about 20 minutes.
It makes good scientific sense to design spaces for napping into workplaces – for people who choose to use them. Choice is key. A few of us aren’t good nappers; as Weir reports, we can wake up groggy. The culture of the organization providing the napping spaces must support a little midday shut eye for others, however. It’s not useful to provide napping spaces for people whose culture decrees that nappers are somehow deficient. If cultures don’t support napping, napping spaces will not be used, at least until someone figures out they’re great spaces to store things.
If cultures don’t support napping, napping spaces will not be used, at least until someone figures out they’re great spaces to store things.”
Napping spaces need to be conducive to brief sleeps, but not overnight stays. They should be private, people need to be able to sleep out of view of others, but not so isolated that they host banned activities. Pre-made napping pods are available for purchase. If they’re architectural, nap spaces don’t need floor to ceiling walls and full doors if solid surfaces are artfully deployed to block the view of the person napping and that napper is encircled by a sound system of some sort that thwarts workplace noise with, for example, nature sounds.
Dimmer lights in napping areas are best and electronic systems that increase light levels and gradually change the soundscape after 20 minutes or so as people need to start waking up are desirable; these features often available even in many current bedside alarm-type clocks.
Naps are a good thing, and to harness their power most effectively and efficiently, they should be an option for all who desire them. Naps snuck in cars or other out of the way spaces are haphazard events, and people may not be able to drift off for even a few moments during them. Organizations need to devote some climate-controlled, readily accessible, thoughtfully designed real estate to catching a few Z’s.
Kirsten Weir. 2016. “The Science of Naps.” Monitor on Psychology, vol. 47, no. 7, pp. 48-51.
Sally Augustin, PhD, a cognitive scientist, is the editor of Research Design Connections (www.researchdesignconnections.com), a monthly subscription newsletter and free daily blog, where recent and classic research in the social, design, and physical sciences that can inform designers’ work are presented in straightforward language. Readers learn about the latest research findings immediately, before they’re available elsewhere. Sally, who is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, is also the author of Place Advantage: Applied Psychology for Interior Architecture (Wiley, 2009) and, with Cindy Coleman, The Designer’s Guide to Doing Research: Applying Knowledge to Inform Design (Wiley, 2012). She is a principal at Design With Science (www.designwithscience.com) and can be reached at sallyaugustin@designwithscience.com.