Why napping at work is (yes!) a really good thing?
How can we do more with less?
That’s the quintessential question that’s at the heart of workforce productivity and economic efficiency.
Turns out there’s a simple and scalable solution.
Harvard and MIT economists recently ran an experiment where they looked at the returns of getting some extra sleep.
Turns out that adults in Chennai, India (formerly known as Madras, home of Chicken Madras Curry!) have strikingly low quantity and quality of sleep relative to standard guidelines.
Despite spending 8 hours in bed, they achieve only 5.6 hours per night of sleep, with upwards of 32 awakenings per night!
In the experiment, one group of adults received nearly half an hour of extra sleep each night.
Surprisingly, however, that extra sleep didn’t translate into measurable effects on cognition, productivity, decision-making or well-being.
The other group was able to take high-quality naps during work.
The research shows these naps produced higher levels of productivity, cognition, psychological well-being and patience.
While these are preliminary findings, they show extra time of good quality sleep has important benefits and invaluable economic returns for people and employers alike.
What’s next?
Get some sleep, then think about it.
🔮ps - read more about sleep in Bill Gates’ blog.