Posted on 01/14/2007 7:37:01 PM PST by CAWats
BANGKOK, Thailand — A Bangkok municipal office has launched a new program to increase productivity: Lights go out just past noon and civil servants are invited to take an afternoon nap. Seeking to infuse city workers with a bit more pep, the Pathumwan district office in central Bangkok has set up a lunchtime "nap room" with soft music, sweet-smelling flowers and strict rules barring mobile phones and talking, said Surakiet Limcharoen, the district's top official who started the program. "I've been taking naps at lunchtime for a long time, and decided to introduce the project to my staff in November," he said, noting many use the naps to recharge their batteries ahead of evening shifts. The Bangkok Post showed a photograph in its Monday edition of the nap room — a wood-paneled room with civil servants seated around a conference table, their heads down on desks with the blinds drawn. Of 200 employees at the municipal office, there are about 20 regular nappers who have reported feeling "fresher and brighter" after a midday snooze, Surakiet said. When they aren't sleeping, the civil servants handle all municipal matters for the district, including taxes and identification card registration.
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Thai Ping
I love this idea.
I've always said that I could work a lot longer if I could take a nap after lunch. I could probably parlay a 20-minute nap into two hours' more work.
I nap on my breaks sometimes. Even 15-30 minutes gives me more energy.
Works for me.
As a college student I was able to do this sometimes. There is nothing better than a nice 20 minute nap. You wake up feeling refreshed and it feels like a new day.
If someone can't work eight hours without a nap, giving them one won't increase their productivity.
Even closing my eyes for 10 minutes gives me a boost.
I used to do this. I'd hang right on the edge of sleep- so that I'd be aware of the sounds around me, although they'd sound distant, for about twenty minutes on break. I'd feel like I slept for a couple of hours. It made me much more energetic and enthusiastic in the afternoons.
The most effective nap is what I refer to as a "coffee nap". I read a study by Harvard (I think) and they found that the most effective way to nap was to drink a cup of coffee then immediately take a 15 minute nap. The recommendation was to nap only 15 minutes - no more and no less - and you must sleep immediately after the coffee.
It works great for me.
This is news? Try finding a Thai government officer NOT sleeping during lunch. I have an idea for the plot of Mission Impossible IV. Tom Cruise arrives at a Bangkok government office at 11:30 AM and trys to get an official document stamped before 2:00 PM.
As my company is located in Bangkok, I will suggest this to my boss. Hopefully this idea will catch on!
It works because you get the benefit of both the nap and the caffeine kick. It's important to nap immediately before the coffee has time to take effect.
LOL.
Bangkok?
I've heard these kinds of ideas before. Whatever works best, but then again, it might be up to an individual worker.
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