How can nap time help your employees?

Remember when sleeping on the job could get you fired?Well there is an ever increasing trend that is putting that whole idea on hold.More and more companies are looking to incorporate "nap time" within the work day for a number of reasons outlined in this article.

In our world today we service customers all across the globe and twenty-four hours a day.For someone who wants their cup of coffee on their way to work at 5 a.m., another individual has to be up getting the store ready at 4 a.m. and getting ready at home around 3 a.m.. Many companies and businesses service clients in varying time zones causing employees to work longer hours or odd-hour shifts to accommodate the needs of these clients.

Studies across the globe have identified major health concerns with this new found lack of sleep. Studies have found that individuals that get less than 6 hours of sleep a night have an increased chance of 27% towards obesity. This percentage increases to 50% for individuals who sleep less than 5 hours a night and continues to increase to a 73% chance when individuals sleep less than four hours a night. Is it any wonder that America has a new found obesity challenge with such changes to our sleep patterns?

Other studies have found that individuals that sleep less than 6 hours are eleven times more likely to have work related errors than individuals who get a full 8 hours of sleep.Those that sleep less than 5 hours are two and a half times more likely to end up with diabetes. Those that reduce their sleep at night from 7 hours to 5 hours double their risk of heart disease. Those that get less than 5 hours of sleep have an impaired performance comparable to those who are legally drunk. Finally, general practitioners report that 1 out of 3 patients complain of being tired all the time.

The National Sleep Foundation has found that 56% of adults become drowsy during the day-time and the average sleep time for adults has diminished from 8 hours per night to 6 hours and 58 minutes per night.Reports have identified that lack of sleep can be totaled to about $100 billion per year in costs to businesses.

Companies like MetroNaps and others have begun to provide businesses with a series of products to allow their employees to begin "sleeping at work". They provide seminars and training on developing healthy sleep habits and identifying areas of stress that might contribute to lack of sleep. By providing employees the opportunity to "sleep at work" businesses have found a decrease in errors, accidents, absences, drug use, turnover, and even insurance premiums. Employees that are well rested are more alert and on the job accidents can be reduced, which in turn helps reduce the costs of worker's compensation payouts. They have also found that providing "Nap Pods" or stress reducing programs and exercises have increased productivity. Many companies are providing lunch time stretching and breathing exercise classes, Yoga, or Tai Chi.

NASA did a study and found an increase in their pilot's productivity by 34% by simply allowing them to take a 26 minute nap. Where else can you increase productivity by 34% in 26 minutes? By allowing employees to "sleep at work" studies have found an increase in productivity and enrichment not only in their jobs, but in all other aspects of life. It is important to the full-spectrum of fitness.

So how can "nap time" help your employees?It increases productivity, especially in creative positions. It helps to reward individuals with a benefit that physically rejuvenates, helping to keep an irreplaceable staff in tact and reduce turnover. Who knew that a once punishable offense of sleeping on the job could actually be a good thing?