Take Back That Hour! It’s National Napping Day.

Well, it isn’t actually a holiday but the NoHo Arts District dot Com team treats it as one. We think it couldn’t come at a better time, after Daylight Savings/Sleep Stealing/You Stole My Hour Time. So Monday (03/09/15) we say “Happy Napping Day, North Hollywood!”


Founded by Boston University professor William Anthony and his wife Camille in 1999,
Napping Day is the unofficial holiday set aside to help people adjust to Daylight Saving Time and to highlight the health and productivity benefits of napping.

They have written two widely acclaimed books, The Art of Napping and The Art of Napping at Work,  which explain their findings on the value of a nice nap.

According to the power nap couple, napping helps in the following ways:

1. Napping improves mood – makes you feel better 
2. Napping improves performance – makes you more productive
3. Napping is no cost – no expensive clothes or equipment needed
4. Napping is no sweat – no shower needed
5. Napping is self prescribed – no doctor’s orders needed
6. Napping is non-fattening – you cannot eat while napping
7. Napping is a non-invasive procedure – no one does anything to you
8. Napping has no dangerous side effects – unless you are driving

“We chose this particular Monday because Americans are more ‘nap-ready’ than usual after losing an hour of sleep to daylight savings time,” William Anthony said in the Boston University news release announcing the holiday.

When we are forced to “spring forward,” we lose that precious hour so it’s much easier than normal to nap. We can all relate to that 3:30 mid-afternoon blah, especially after a bad night’s sleep with one less hour on the clock. Since most of us are at work, we must settle for the power nap, a 20 to 30 minute snooze. It’s just a quickie to rejuvenate your mind and body. 

Remember Seinfeld’s George Costanza made a bed under his desk? Well, here are some other ways to nap at work:

  • Try a bathroom stall (take off your shoes so they won’t know who is in the stall)
  • Inventory/stock room is usually not frequented much.
  • Duck in the office of an employee out sick
  • Take the “stairs” is something most people don’t do…bring something comfortable to sit on.

In Bangladesh and Indian Bengal it is called bhat-ghum, literally meaning “rice-sleep.” Spaniards take their infamous siestas and Germans enjoy ein Schläfchen. In China and Taiwan it is called wujiao. Most Chinese schools have a half-hour nap programmed straight after lunch. And best of all, Japanese businesses have created “Nap Rooms” for their employees.

So Los Angelenos join the rest of the world in celebrating the art of the nap! Close your office door, roll up your jacket and take a snooze under your desk.

If your boss asks you what you’re doing. It’s simple, ask: “Didn’t you know it’s National Napping Day?”

Happy Napping!

 

 

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