National Workplace Napping Day

National Workplace Napping Day, or National Nap Day, National Napping Day, is an annual celebration on the first Monday after Daylight Savings Time. With sleep missed due to the clock running up, this is the perfect day to take a break from work and catch a nap. Whether you go to the office, work from home or stay at home with the kids, take advantage of this holiday and take a nap!

History of National Workplace Napping Day

National Workplace Napping Day was created by William Anthony, former consulting professor of rehabilitation at Boston University's Sargent College and current professor emeritus (as of 2018), and his wife Camille Anthony. National Workplace Napping Day was mentioned in a Boston University press, released in April 1999, and it was first celebrated on April 4, 1999. It’s called National Workplace Napping Day. Within a few years, it moved from being held on the Sunday of daylight saving time to the Monday following, which is hosted by organizations and individuals for lunch in the middle of the workday. With this change, it also started taking the name National Workplace Napping Day. When explaining why it's a good idea to celebrate the day after daylight saving time, Anthony said, "We thought it would be a good day to celebrate the importance of napping because everyone an hour more sleep deprived than usual." He went on to say that most Americans are sleep deprived even before daylight saving time is included.

The day was established to raise awareness of the benefits of napping and reduce cultural stereotypes about napping, in part by trying to remove the stigma that nappers are lazy. National Workplace Napping Day is not about sleeping during working time, however, it means to have a break during the workday to take a nap. The purpose of this National Workplace Napping Day is that workplace nap is as acceptable as breaks.

Anthony's has promoted the day in various ways over the years. They talked about this day on national television and radio programs. They cited famous nappers such as John F. Kennedy, Winston Churchill, Thomas Edison, Napoleon Bonaparte, Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan, who made the point that nappers can achieve great success. They established The Nap Company and celebrated seminars about the benefits of napping, and sold some products serving for napping. William Anthony has published books related to naps, such as The Art of Napping and The Art of Napping at Work.

Napping can help boost productivity, performance, and mood. Sleeping more and more can help overall health improvement. In 2001, a survey in the National Workplace Napping Day found that 63% of Americans don't get enough sleep. One in five respondents said they felt sleepy during the week and that sleepiness interfered with their functioning. Other statistics show similar results, highlighting that at least 50 percent of Americans are sleep-deprived. About 120 years ago, Americans slept an hour and a half more per night than they do now. While naps don't completely make up for lost sleep, they do help just a 15-minute nap, can help restore body and mind.

How to celebrate National Workplace Napping Day

The way to celebrate National Workplace Napping Day is quite simple, isn't it? Just take a moment in the afternoon (whenever the afternoon is for a break. Whether you can spend 20 minutes or 2 hours on the sofa or on the bed, do not forget taking some time to recharge energy for your health again.

After dinner is the perfect time as the body is spending a lot of energy digesting the food? In the long run, a short nap can help a person feel better and more energized for the day. If you have a regular work schedule, it is little bit difficult, however, whenever the opportunity arises, take… a nap!

In addition to celebrating National Workplace Napping Day, there are a number of other opportunities, including:

Inspired by famous barbers

Some famous and talented people are known for napping, such as:

• Salvador Dali. An eccentric artist from Spain had worked hard to create the micro nap. He purposely fell asleep when sitting and keeping a large key in his hand resting on a metal plate or bowl. When he falls asleep, the key will drop and make a noise, waking him up to start working again - feeling so much restored and revived.
• Eleanor Roosevelt. The wife of the 32nd president of the United States often takes a short nap before giving a public address, which gives her a little extra energy to greet her beloved crowd.
• Napoleon Buonaparte. A military genius, Napoleon was famous at non-sleeping and then falling asleep at will, even in a battlefield.
• Leonardo Da Vinci. This popular artist took it a step up when it came to replacing his normal sleep with a 15-minute nap every 4 hours, now known as "polyphasic sleep".
• Margaret Thatcher. Nicknamed the "Iron Lady", it's no surprise that the British Prime Minister sleeps only four hours a night. However, she is known to regularly schedule a 1-hour nap in the afternoon.

Have a relaxing session

For those who can't necessarily fall asleep in the afternoon, that's not necessarily a negative thing. It may just mean that their body gets enough sleep at night on a regular basis. Even so, it's a good idea to get some rest in the afternoon because the brain and body can still benefit, even without actual sleep.

Instead of taking a nap, have you ever thought about spending a few minutes on practicing mindfulness exercises or meditation. Take some time for deep breathing exercises, check your body for stress response points, listen to some relaxing music, and just take a few minutes to refresh yourself before entering back to the busy world!