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[Rest Space] was born when I realised I wasn't the only person who loved napping during the day. I was working in finance and particularly remember this one week when I was really struggling with lots of early mornings and late nights. Every time I jumped in the lift someone would be talking about needing a nap. That's when it hit me I'm not the only one who naps. I tried searching for the best locations to nap in Canary Wharf and the only thing that came up was the most commonplace for people to nap at work was in the toilets. I began talking openly about napping at work, a topic that has a lot of stigma around it. People started opening up to me about the cheeky naps they have taken, the social pressure that caused them to hide the fact they nap and how they felt after napping. I really resonated with the stories about the desperation and places people have resorted to napping because there is nowhere else to go. With something so frowned upon, I began to search for the benefits of napping or whether there was just something wrong with us. My co-founder Supa and I started to dig deep into the research, and we were dumbfounded by the amount of research showing how good napping is for our health. That's when we decided we need to open a place for people to nap and address the stigma associated with it. Get in touch with RestSpaceLDN if you would like to learn more about our [Rest Space] journey so far, click here.

To nap or not to nap is often the question. Limiting it to these binary conditions means we often ignore all the grey areas in-between; like when to nap? How to nap? What to do if you are unsuccessfully trying to nap? Following on from our last piece on why you should nap on nightshifts we will dive into tips on how to nap on a night time shift and how you can improve your sleep. What does napping help with The list of what napping helps with is endless, but in short, napping IS sleep, so its benefits are related to the benefits you receive from sleep, just a few of which: Makes you more alert Improves memory Improves heart health Reduces stress Keeps off the pounds Improves your mood Boosts your immune system Refines physical performance Sharpens sensory perception Enhances creativity How best to approach napping on shift work? When in the shift to nap? The best time to nap on a shift depends on your internal circadian rhythm. A good indication based on sleep deprivation research on airline pilots suggests that preventing the onset of tiredness is more effective in treating it. Therefore, to nap earlier on on your shift before the fatigue hits you would be much more effective than spending that same amount of time napping after it has hit you. For people with a late circadian rhythm, your natural dip will be later in the shift, potentially 3 am - 6 am. For early types, your natural dip may be as early as 11 pm-12 am and you may struggle even more with night shifts compared to late types. Try to get your rest in before your dip. If you drive home, think about taking a short nap towards or at the end of your shift; the occurrence of fatal accidents for night shift workers is significantly higher. When you are sleep deprived, your brain goes into micro-sleeps lasting a couple of seconds at the most but we don't always realise it is happening. When you are driving these split seconds of unconsciousness are the most dangerous. How long should you nap for? If you have the luxury of choosing how long you can nap; I’d base it on the amount of sleep you achieved before your shift. If you were lucky and got your ~8 hours, a shorter nap of 15 mins - 30 mins may be enough to hold off the effects of fatigue later in your shift. If your sleep is heavily disrupted I would consider taking longer naps of 40 mins to 90 mins if possible, this will take you through more of the sleep cycle, increasing the recovery benefits. Where to nap Time is precious, so make the most of it by having a good environment to nap. If you don’t have access to a Rest Space or other forms of sleeping areas or sleeping pods then think quiet, dark, and cool. If you can get away from your work area your brain may find it a bit easier to switch off. Our sleep quality is impacted by the psychological arousal caused by our work environments. Studies on patients found their sleep quality was reduced in hospital environments with the noise of monitors and machines compared to the same environments with music to mask this noise. Laying down also improves your sleep quality as opposed to sleeping on a chair When we sleep our temperature drops, so having a cosy but cool environment can help with the time it takes to fall asleep Light is a key signal to our bodies that it's daytime and we need to be awake, getting somewhere dark, or covering your face will improve the quality of your nap What other factors can help to adjust to night shifts On top of napping, you can help your body adjust slightly better to nightshifts, by understanding your own body clock and find out when it is tuned to being awake and active. Knowing this can help you adjust your mealtimes, light exposure and sleep patterns to make the adjustment a bit smoother. If you are an early type and like to go to bed early and wake up early you may find it more beneficial to have your main sleep period just before your night shift. If you are a late-type and tend to go to bed a bit later and wake up a bit later you would probably adjust a bit better if you had your main sleep period straight after your nightshift. Limiting the light you are exposed to a few hours before you sleep can help with the adjustment and improve the quality of sleep you are able to get. Closing the curtains in your home, wearing sunglasses if you are outside, or on your way home from work, dimming your indoor lighting, and avoiding devices are some of the ways you can do this. Increasing the light when you wake up will also help your body adjust to your new rhythm slightly better. If it is still daylight, spend at least 10 min outside in the first couple hours of you waking up, a great time to have your ‘morning’ cuppa. Optimal eating times vary for all of us, here are some things to think about: Large high protein meals close to our bedtime generally interfere with our sleep as our body is spending time and energy digesting food instead of getting you ready to switch off Caffeine has a quarter-life of 12 hours so try to avoid it in the second half of your shift. Caffeine blocks your adenosine receptors, which is a key hormone for getting you ready to sleep More research needs to be done on this but one case study by Dr Amy M. Bender found one of her athletes was waking up to 22 times an hour when he drank caffeine before bed without realising. Like many of us, he had no trouble falling asleep after a coffee and didn’t think it impacted his sleep. Alcohol and sleeping pills also impact the quality of your sleep so reconsider using these as sleeping aides. Your brain is very active during sleep with brain waves looking similar to waking levels, sleeping pills sedate you and are suspected to minimize the brain's activity levels that are generally seen in sleep. The last thing I would mention is don’t let the stigma of napping on the job stop you from getting the rest you need. From our research, we have found that most health care workers think they are being judged by colleagues for napping at work, but in fact, most of the people we surveyed said napping on the job makes them better at their work. In the case of nightshifts, your work directly impacts your sleep so your work should be supportive of your efforts to counteract this and improve your wellbeing and performance. Get in touch with RestSpaceLDN if you would like to learn more about night shift naps. Related reading Napping for night shift bliss - How to nap on night shifts (Part 2/2) How to transform UK healthcare environments to support doctors and medical students to care for patients - Professor Michael West and Dame Denise Coia on behalf of General Medical Council Are nap pods in hospitals here to stay? Why should you get paid to sleep on the job?

I often find napping ‘advice’ not so straightforward. News articles tries to give you tips from authors who have little interest in sleep, and often just pick up on the ‘latest’ study and apply it to the general population. To nap or not to nap is often the question. Limiting it to these binary conditions means we often ignore all the grey areas in-between; like when to nap? How to nap? What to do if you are unsuccessfully trying to nap? Many scientific papers have already concluded that napping is good for you. The few reasons not to nap is generally based on if you have insomnia or medical reasons not to nap. If you live your life on a regular daytime schedule and you are napping 1 or more hours a day, then you need to understand why you need to nap so much so regularly. There may be an underlying health problem or issues with your nighttime sleep. If you are a night shift worker, you are already subjected to sleep deprivation and need to understand how napping supplements this sleep deprivation. Circadian disruption and your environment are two factors that play a role in night shift sleep deprivation. Let’s look at what roles they play. Circadian disruption Circadian disruption is one of the many challenges that come with shift work. Your circadian rhythm regulates many key processes in your body such as your sleep wake cycle. Your circadian rhythm makes sure your body’s processes are optimised at various points across a 24hr day and are connected to your internal clock in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN). Humans are strongly governed by the sun, with light being one of the strongest timekeepers (zeitgeber) that our internal body clock uses to stay on track with the 24hr day. Jürgen Aschoff found in his bunker experiments that when our internal body clocks are left to ‘run freely’ they struggle to keep to 24hrs. Exposure to light at certain times of day will either lengthen or shorten your internal day to keep it in sync with the Earth’s rotation. Within the 24hr cycle, we all have different times when our body processes are optimal such as our sleep-wake cycle or digestive system. In our sleep-wake cycle, some people get the onset of sleep earlier and prefer to wake up earlier, while others are late types and prefer to sleep later and wake up later. We also see a difference in how much sleep people need; some of us it's around 7 hours and others can be 9 hours. The great thing with averages is that few people fit into the average, so it is often useful to look at sleep need and timing as a range with 8 hours being the average. When working night shifts, our internal clock never fully adjusts to it; that’s why many of us struggle the most during a shift in the few hours after we would have normally gone to bed. The exposure to light and the challenges to keep a regular eating schedule for many nightshift workers makes it harder to adjust. The result is sleep deprivation; when you finally get a chance to sleep your body doesn’t want to sleep and your circadian rhythms are all over the place. Even though you are exhausted, you tend to not get the full amount of sleep you would need and the quality of sleep you have is more disrupted. It's like living in constant jetlag. Over 20 years of research has shown the impact circadian disruption has on the health of nightshift workers, to an extent that the world health organisation now classifies circadian disruption as a potential carcinogen. Environmental disruption The environment around us plays a big part in being able to switch off and fall asleep. If you sleep during the day, you can be affected by the light around you, as mentioned before light plays a big part in the circadian disruption. The noise from the street, cars and housemates can impact the quality of sleep we have even if we are able to nod off. In addition to this, you tend to be more physiologically aroused as people are out and about doing things and the world around you is awake. These factors can shorten your sleep time; it is the sociable hours where we want to meet our friends, do our shopping, and go to the bank. Many night shift workers feel some level of pressure to do things during the day when they should actually be sleeping. How does shift work disrupt – and how can napping help counteract them? I am only going to talk about the short-term impact of shift work sleep disruption and how it affects your day. There is lots of research on the long-term implications of sleep disruption from night shifts but that’s for another article. Sleep deprivation can affect your appetite and cravings, cognitive ability and alertness, your mood, and insomnia (your ability to get to sleep and stay asleep at night). These are just some of the impacts of sleep deprivation. When you are sleep deprived even for a couple of hours your body craves foods rich in carbohydrates and sugar, your hormones (ghrelin and leptin) are disrupted so you tend to get hungry more and eat more food when sleep deprived and on top of this, your self-control is also reduced. This doesn’t just impact your decision-making with food but all of your general decision-making. A lack of sleep depletes your self-control; the less you sleep, the worse you become at filtering the prejudices you know are wrong. Napping can improve the time it takes to make a decision and the quality of the decision. Research led by the University of Bristol looked at whether a short period of sleep can help us process unconscious information and how this might affect behavior and reaction time. The findings reveal the benefits of a short bout of sleep on cognitive brain function and found that even during short bouts of sleep we process information that we are not consciously aware of. A few hours of sleep deprivation can also impact your mood; you tend to adopt a more negative bias towards events around you, which can result in higher emotive responses to stressful situations. When you are sleeping your body reduces your cortisol levels and helps your brain process what you have been through the previous day. People suffering from sleep deprivation will tend to have higher levels of cortisol (the hormone associated with fight or flight) and their reactions to events around them will tend to be more erratic. A study at the University of Michigan by Jennifer Goldschmied found that after waking from a 60-minute midday nap, people were less impulsive and had a greater tolerance for frustration than people who watched an hour-long nature documentary instead. One of the most commonly touted reasons for not having a nap is sleep inertia; the groggy feeling you have when you wake up. I feel the message is delivered wrong, we shouldn’t avoid napping because of sleep inertia, we should manage sleep inertia. Generally, the groggy feeling will last for 15 minutes after you wake up and you will not get it after every nap. You can anticipate this by taking a walk, getting fresh air, or not diving into mentally straining work as soon as you come out of your nap. This can make the inertia period more pleasant. Overall the improvements you get from the nap far outweigh a groggy feeling when you wake up. An analysis of 13 mixed-method studies found that ‘despite short periods of sleep inertia immediately following naps; night shift napping can lead to decreased sleepiness and improved sleep-related performance. As you can see, there is a significant impact on your day from sleep deprivation, and getting a nap to compensate for this can be very valuable. I often hear that a health care workers operating at 50% is still equivalent to ‘the average person’ operating at 100%, it makes me smile because I can appreciate how hard they work but you deserve the opportunity to function at 100%. Don’t limit yourself or your team by failing to get enough rest. Check out our next piece on how to nap during a night shift. We will look at what times, how long, and where. We will also look at ways you can improve your sleep when you are working night shifts. Get in touch with RestSpaceLDN if you would like to learn more about nightshift naps. Related reading Napping for night shift bliss - How to nap on night shifts (Part 2/2) How to transform UK healthcare environments to support doctors and medical students to care for patients - Professor Michael West and Dame Denise Coia on behalf of General Medical Council Are nap pods in hospitals here to stay? Why should you get paid to sleep on the job? #nappods #sleeppods #workplacewellbeing

Have we lost control of our time, our sleep cycle and the natural rhythm of our lives? Have we forgotten how to pay attention to the world around us, or to daydream? - Jonathan Crary The 24/7 exhibition at Somerset House was a much-needed reflection on the way I live from day to day. Reflection isn’t something just for the new year but undeniably I reflect more at this time, whether it's the gloomy winter days that have me pondering the meaning of life or all possibilities of the year and the dreams to aspire to. The key theme of this exhibition is in the name, exploring the impact of how we live 24/7 and what this means. We are under pressure to produce and consume around the clock sacrificing one of our most basic needs - sleep. Are we filling our lives with meaningless activity in the place of thought? Productivity, automation, and dreaming This exhibition changed the perspective from which I view the relationship between productivity, automation, and dreaming. I entered the exhibition to face a robot programmed to continually improve even though it did not know the purpose of its work - until eventually, it burnt out. This was an interesting parallel to the useless jobs we create and companies optimising for ‘meaningless’ outcomes. One of my top discoveries at this exhibition was the work of John Butlers Xerox’s Paradox - Xerox's Paradox is technology's inverse effect. Xerox's fear of a paperless office led to the of the GUI, which, in turn, led to an explosion in the amount of printed matter. The more we automate the more we must work - John Butler Something that has stuck with me from this is the lack of time we have to daydream and think. These extracts from the artists explain it much better than I could. '[We are on the verge] of loosing a basic human faculty: the power of bringing visions to focus with our eyes shut' - Italo Calvino ‘One of the forms of disempowerment within the 24/7 environments is the incapacitation of daydream or any other mode of absent-minded introspection that would otherwise occur in intervals of slow or vacant time' - Johnathan Crary The significance of daydreaming makes me sad to realise how the distractions around us are taking this superpower away. I have some hope in the growing awareness of meditation that we may realise how valuable this is to us before we forget what it is all together. Sleep A key theme throughout this exhibition is the biggest sacrifice for our 24/7 lives is our sleep. Our body regulates sleep much the same way it regulates eating, drinking and breathing suggesting the importance of sleep to our survival. Over the 200000 years of our existence evolution has not been able to minimize the amount we sleep despite how vulnerable we are during sleep, again eluding to the importance of sleep to us. This exhibition explored the pressures we are under to undermine our basic needs and look into what is taking us away from sleep. Here are some of the points from Jonathan Crary that stuck with me. ‘We need sleep to survive, 24/7 life with its pressure to constantly pay attention is indifferent to this need. Sleep is now a symbol for the shrinking part of our lives when we are not paying attention, browsing or consuming’ 500 hours of video are uploaded onto YouTube every minute ‘Because of the infinity of content accessible 24/7 there will always be something more informative, surprising, funny, diverting, impressive than anything in one's immediate actual circumstances’ With over 50 different installations from numerous artists bringing to light the theme Jonathan Crary explores in his book 24/7 I couldn't possibly do it justice from a short blog post. 'Reclaiming time to dream could allow a new routine of waking up - to ‘recover authenticity' - Johnathan Crary 24/7 Exhibition is running until 23rd Feb 2020 in London I highly recommend you take the time to see it https://www.somersethouse.org.uk/whats-on/247/ Get in touch with RestSpaceLDN if you would like to know more about the 24/7 exhibition at Somerset house.

I sleep for ~9 hours a night and I wake up at ~9.30 am. I am NORMAL. I am not LAZY, I don't have ISSUES with my sleep. This is NOT something I need to fix. We NEED to fix our society's attitudes and expectations with sleep, and not feed into the sleep-deprived, society that feels guilty for getting the sleep they need. I am sharing this post because we generally have damaging views on how much sleep we need. Most of us agree sleep is important but beyond that, we are educated by wrong attitudes to how much we should be sleeping and when. We look at outliers that are successful and attribute their success to living in extremes. No one mentions the famous prime ministers who developed dementia when they mention they only slept 4 hours a night ( A relationship has been identified with less sleep and dementia.). The early bird catches the worm, early to bed early to rise makes a man wealthy, healthy, and wise. Where were these cultural sayings reinforced by farming and factory work that required us to be up at the crack of dawn? Sleep timing recommendations are based on what time you actually sleep not what time you go to bed, many of us miscalculate our sleep time and overestimate it not taking to account the time it takes for us to fall asleep. The 'average' amount of sleep you need ranges from 7 hrs to 9, but with few people needing as little as 6 or as much as 10. There is a genetic predisposition to this so there is little you can do to change it drastically. The time you need to sleep is also has a genetic predisposition with an extreme early-type sleeping from 9 pm to 5 am and an extreme late-type preferring to sleep at 4 am to 11 am (they can almost share a bed and never be in it at the same time ). We are all different and not everyone fits into the 8hrs sleep in a 9 to 5 life. I have just finished my chronobiology course by leading chronobiologist Till Roenneberg. Which has inspired me to share this. On top of reading his books and loads of other books on the subject of sleep, I find chronobiology and sleep extremely fascinating. I recommend Internal Time by Till Roenneberg for an easy read on this subject. This is a picture of my chronobiology profile in comparison to the rest of the population. The MCTQ (Munich Chronotype Questionnaire) is based on Till's work and holds data of over 200000 people across the globe. Want to find out if you are an early or late type in your sleep timing? You can try it here https://thewep.org/survey/index.php/389831?lang=en What can you do with this information? Figure out what your sleep need is and protect it. If you manage a team embrace a flexible working culture that embraces night owls as well as the early birds Question the views and attitudes that promote a sleep-deprived society Get in touch with RestSpaceLDN if you would like to learn more about sleep related topics.

Ramadan is a holy month of fasting, introspection and prayer for Muslims; during this period Muslims would fast from sunrise to sunset. This year however Ramadan falls on a period where the days are longer (London approximates sunrise and sunset is 5.30am and 8pm respectively). We are fortunate to have flexible working hours becoming the norm in many companies so we can balance those early mornings with an afternoon nap. We found a great article from UAE Health talking about sleep deprivation. They have outlined and highlighted some ways to fight sleep deprivation during this Ramadan period: Try to get at least 4 hours of uninterrupted sleep at night Dr Sobia Farooq - “Planning for the sleep disruptions people can experience during Ramadan can be very helpful to help introduce a new routine. Find a solution that works for you and try to stick to it.” Naps can be a fantastic way to catch up on a bit of sleep and help people feel more energised Here at Rest Space, we have done extensive research into an ideal sleep or napping environment. We have come to a conclusion that having low lighting, cool and familiar environments will help you fall asleep faster and therefore using your time more efficiently. Let us know if you like to see more sleeping tips especially to use in this Ramadan period. We commend the companies such as Thames Waters, Facebook and Hootsuite who have dedicated areas for their employees to nap. Let us know if your company has napping/sleeping pods, wellbeing areas or rest spaces for you to catch 40 winks or if you want to share one of your napping stories.

We all know the importance of sleep, and ensuring we get enough every night is essential for both our physical and mental wellbeing. However, in the hustle and bustle of modern life, it is becoming increasingly more challenging to get the required eight hours a night. In fact, research has shown that 36% of adults struggle to get to sleep each week, while over half struggle with insomnia at least once a month. The health and wellness of your staff are becoming some of the most important elements of the workplace, but not getting enough sleep can impact the mood, alertness performance of your employees. That is why an increasing number of companies are beginning to look at the benefits of incorporating nap-friendly spaces within the workplace. Sleeping on the job… The idea of sleeping at work might seem a little strange, but there is a growing number of studies exploring how a short nap during the day can transform the productivity and wellness of employees. Here in the UK, and for much of the world, napping during the day when we are children is incredibly common. However, as we age and begin our education, the practice of napping ends, and it is not a culturally acceptable practice. However, there are certain countries around the world that have a different attitude to napping. In Italy and Spain, mid-afternoon breaks are incredibly popular and taking a siesta during the day is completely normal. Equally, in Japan sleeping during the day, or inemuri as it is known, is actually seen as a sign of being completely dedicated to your job, and it has given rise to sleep pods being placed around major cities. In these countries, these short power naps are encouraged as they help to re-energise employees and maximise their concentration through the afternoon and evening. While insomnia is a major issue impacting employees in this fast-paced world, it is not the only reason behind having an afternoon nap. Despite the stigma of napping at work we have found that more than half of the employees we have spoken to have napped at work with 70% saying napping during working hours is positive. "there is only so much focus your brain can handle in one day and a nap helps to rest the eyes and mind from the hard focus on screens and thinking throughout the day" London worker Our body’s natural circadian rhythm dictates when we need sleep, controlling bodily processes such as our blood pressure, body temperature and digestive secretion. These progressions determine how tired we feel, and during the afternoon, we often face a rising homeostatic drive which results in reduced alertness and increased tiredness. How napping can boost employee wellness Helping to maximise the wellness of employees is something that every business is looking to incorporate. In recent years, work spaces have been working hard to implement benefits for their staff that help to improve wellness, boost innovation and create an increased sense of community. These benefits are incredibly varied, from meditation sessions and on-site gyms to implementing standing desks, but could offering a space to nap also help to improve wellness? Creating a designated space for your staff to nap can provide a wide range of benefits for your employees, including: More alert One of the biggest benefits of taking a nap is that it helps to significantly increase alertness. When employees are able to take a short nap during the working day, they will benefit from increased focus while undertaking their work alongside being more alert through meetings with colleagues and clients. Harmonious environment When we become tired, we are more likely to be irritable and tense, which can result in tension within the workplace. Being able to take a nap will help to remove any irritability from tired staff, resulting in a more harmonious working environment. Tiredness can also lead to impulsiveness, which can result in poor decisions and increased frustration. Allowing your employees to take a nap throughout the day will ensure that they are better able to deal with the day-to-day issues of work. More creative Napping does not only help to keep your staff more motivated and happier, but it can also lead to an increased level of creativity. Napping helps to keep the brain active and ensures it is able to process data more effectively. How long should naps last? While naps are a proven way of helping to improve the wellness of your employees, the length of the nap is crucial. Research by NASA found that a 26-minute nap was the optimal time for pilots, improving alertness by 54% and performance by 34%. However, further research has shown that a longer nap is more beneficial and keeping it in multiples of twenty minutes can prove more restorative. A 40 to 60 minute nap can help to improve with memory, although it can take the mind and body a few minutes before it is ready to jump back into work. Some people can even benefit from longer naps, with a 90 minute nap being shown to help improve procedural memory, creativity, and emotions. One of the biggest issues that employees have when it comes to taking a nap is finding a suitable environment. Trying to nap at your desk or in your car during a lunch break is incredibly uncomfortable and will result in disruption. To truly rest and recharge during the nap, employees need a space that is tranquil and free from distraction. How Rest Space can help you Here at Rest Space, we know how important napping can be in helping to improve employee wellness. That is why we have created an innovative solution that allows you to create a truly relaxing environment that has been specifically designed around your requirements. Our unique spaces offer employees a private and spacious environment to sleep in. With voice-activated soothing lights and high-quality Bluetooth speakers playing gentle sounds, the area can provide the most relaxing nap possible. To maximise hygiene, each space also features ventilation fans to keep air circulating throughout while the mattress can be wiped clean and is made from antimicrobial fabrics. In this fast-paced modern world, being able to recharge in the workplace is crucial in helping to improve the wellness and functionality of your team. Our unique spaces are inspired by the traditional Japanese nap pods. If you would like to find out more about our products, you can get in touch with RestspaceLDN.

Without the stressful commute or jarring early morning alarm, I’ve found that working from home has allowed for an easier transition into the working day. I’ve been able to have a better night's sleep and I’m more well-rested during the day. I’ve found that I’m able to combat the usual workplace fatigue and be increasingly productive as a result of napping. There are 4 different time frames for napping, and I want to share what I’ve found of these rest times. 15-20 Minute Nap This nap does wonders for me. I found that a short 15-20 minutes was plenty for me and enough to restore my energy when I couldn’t get through a paragraph without having to re-read it 3 times. When I feel like I’m slowing down in the workday and need a boost, this nap allows me to get into a REM stage of sleep which helps with mental restoration whilst ensuring that I don’t wake up feeling too groggy or tired. 40-60 Minute Nap Like many people, I found myself working from home when I was sick or had a red-eye flight back into London and, on occasion, the work party from the night before. In these scenarios, it was rare that I managed a good night's sleep. In fact, I found a more restorative 40 to 60 minutes nap was what I really needed. This allowed me to get more restorative deep sleep which helps with memory. The downside was, sometimes I would wake up feeling groggy or still a bit tired. Knowing I may wake up feeling groggy, I wouldn’t plan to jump straight back into work. To resist the urge to carry on napping or move my workstation to the bed, I started with menial tasks. Getting up and making a cup of tea, hanging up the washing or rearranging my work environment usually was the slow start that my mind and body needed to fully wake up and be ready to jump back into work. Of course, it takes kicking the initial grogginess but a 40-60 minutes nap can sometimes be the necessary longer rest required. 90 Minute Nap The 90 minutes nap was rare for me. I simply didn’t want to finish work later because I spent more time napping. I thought I would share the 90 minutes nap for those of you who's working hours are less time-bound. This nap has the best impact on improving procedural memory, creativity, and emotions. If timed right, you’re also likely to avoid the groggy sleep feeling. Naps Longer Than 90 Minutes If you are regularly napping for longer than 90 min, I would start to pay attention to the quality of sleep you are getting at night. Napping shouldn’t be a substitute for poor sleep. Nothing beats a good night's sleep, and unfortunately, sleep is not something you can catch up on. Naps will help but you won't regain the full benefits of the sleep you lost out on. How you regulate these nap times is up to you but I would suggest gentle alarms. Loud intrusive noises tense your body and wake you up in a stressed flight or fight mode - which is counter-productive when your goal is to relax and restore. I use a music alarm to ease out of my sleep cycle and not be shocked out of sleep. Smart watches also have a more gentle vibration alarm. You may have different experiences of each of these nap times periods, as we all have various optimal napping times. See what works for you but it’s best to keep the nap time to multiples of 20 minutes in order to ensure you wake up at good points during your sleep cycle. Get in touch with RestSpaceLDN if you would like to learn more about the length of napping.

Imagine this scenario, you wake up before sunrise to catch an early morning flight into a foreign city to attend an in-person conference on the latest business trends, pharmaceutical discoveries or financial technologies. When you reach the conference site, you dump your luggage in the cloakroom and rush off to your first session, but not without grabbing a free coffee first. Some people find this to be exhilarating, fun and a great chance to meet and communicate with other people in the industry. Others are dreading the long days, the demanding environment and the need to just take a moment to themselves. Relatable? Ultimately no matter which group you fall under, we are all human and we will get to a certain point during the day where we will start to lag. Our concentration and productivity dwindles and our eyelids become heavy; your feet start to feel the pressure and the only thing keeping you going is the next coffee break and the free lunch (sometimes underwhelming). At this point, what do you do? We’ve all seen people sitting on their own in the corner of the conference hall, on sofas and sometimes in a quiet corridor trying to catch those 40 winks. Some even attend random talks and seminars sitting in the back row waiting for the lights to dim with their headphones on and cheekily closing their eyes. In the past year, it was easy to attend online conferences. Everything is recorded so you could always go back to rewatch them or you could just turn off your webcam and passively take in the information. But as we return to our in-person fiascos, don’t you think the conferencing offering should change? With our new focus on our health and wellbeing, should conferences shift to cater for this too? At Rest Space, we understand that no one is a superhuman as much as we all believe we may be. Susan Cain, author of the international best seller, “Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking” says that 30%-50% of the workforce are introverts. Among what is already being done to make events more inclusive, including rest spaces will really make a difference to those that need it the most. This includes the people who are pregnant, carrying a hidden illness or experiencing stressful life events. The benefits of having a quick nap can increase your creativity and productivity. It will also improve learning, aid memory formation and reduce sleepiness, which would be vital at an all day conference, don’t you think? Imagine not dreading your red-eye flight to an event because you know you will have the opportunity to get a nap when it all starts to catch up. Imagine not worrying about overloading your brain because you will get a quiet space to take time out, imagine being more switched on because you got the opportunity to switch off. With more conferences offering yoga, and group meditation. Speakers inviting attendees to take a breath or have a moment of calm before bombarding them with shocking facts and exciting discoveries, wellbeing at events is getting some much needed attention. We have [Rest Spaces] for people to retreat into during the day for 10/20 minutes, allowing them to get the head space needed in the demanding environments we are surrounded by. Our aim is to enable people with a much needed tool to look after their wellbeing and make the most of what the day has to offer them. We are now offering sleeping pod rentals to conferences in the UK; we are on a mission to provide the best space to rest and bring back the power nap to the people. Our new Rest Space Everest has been designed and built based on the latest sleep research and we want everyone at the very least to give it a try. We are changing the landscape of workplace wellness and we’re hoping conference organisers will come join the journey with us! Get in touch with RestSpaceLDN if you would like to learn more about napping at conferences.

We have covered extensively the benefits of resting during work ranging from improving health, safety, quality, productivity, diversity, inclusivity and employee wellbeing. “Sleep is the best form of physiologically injected venture capital you could ever wish for. When you’ve had insufficient sleep you can’t think as quickly and you’re not as creative,” Matthew Walker professor of neuroscience and psychology at the University of California, Berkeley and best selling author of ‘Why We Sleep’. Beyond these benefits there is a wealth of professional bodies that recognise, recommend and state the importance of including adequate rest spaces in organisations and ensuring the work culture is accepting of it. You know rest facilities at work should be the standard, we are working to make that possible for many organisations. We have compiled this list of what government and professional bodies recommend regarding rest facilities at work. You can use this to build a business case for rest facilities in your organisation. “Working night shifts has about a 25-30% higher risk of injury than working day shifts” - Public Health England Report “Shift work-related fatigue was an important factor in accidents such as the Clapham Junction rail crash in 1988 and the Exxon Valdez oil spill. To prevent such incidents, safety-critical industries such as aviation and rail are subject to additional regulations defining appropriate working conditions and hours.” - Houses of Parliament Report What some government and professional bodies have to say about napping and providing rest facilities at work: Public Health England from Business in the Community ‘Historically, sleeping on shifts used to be discouraged. We are working to promote taking a short nap at long breaks during night duties as it helps improve sleep patterns. To establish this, some groundwork is needed to shift the culture to accept that taking breaks and sleeping during breaks is important, but also to support this to happen. For instance, you need a place for people to sleep, planning for breaks in advance and proper handovers to ensure the continuity of care. ‘ - Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust case study Mental Health Foundation Employees should be encouraged to rest and prioritise sleep before, during and after shifts, including taking a nap before or during shifts. Houses of Parliament Office of Science and Technology Strategies to prevent and manage the effects of shift work: Rest breaks and/or naps Providing opportunities and facilities to rest. Short naps increase alertness, counteracting the cognitive impairments of sleep deprivation 10–20 minute naps are more immediately effective, with longer naps inducing grogginess and impaired performance. Naps’ effectiveness may also be mediated by their timing in the day and by prior sleep deprivation. HSE: Health and Safety Executive In regards to providing a resting room for pregnant women: Yes, if it is ‘reasonably practicable for you to do so. You may need to provide a room for pregnant women/nursing mothers to rest or lie down. General Medical Council All healthcare employers should provide all doctors with places and time to rest and sleep, access to nutritious food and drink, the tools needed to do their job and should implement the BMA’s Fatigue and Facilities charter. The leadership and boards of every organisation employing doctors should review facilities to ensure compliance with the BMA’s Fatigue and Facilities charter NHS Employers Provide dedicated spaces separate from patients to enable staff to properly rest and recharge throughout their working day. This is vital for physical and mental wellbeing as well as preventing errors and mistakes. The Association of Anaesthetists. Having appropriate facilities available is one aspect of improving rest culture. However, this must be accompanied by supportive behaviours from departments. The report outlines what are the standard expected for good rest facilities Royal College of Nursing Organisations are increasingly aware that health, safety and wellbeing is more than just the absence of work-related disease or injury. There is also an emphasis on achieving physical, mental and social contentment amongst staff. The organisation: ensures that staff have access to welfare facilities including rest rooms, locker, and showers takes a holistic view on health and safety risks and wellbeing issues related to protected characteristics including (but not limited to) age, gender, ethnicity and disability. This includes the interface between the menopause and work; domestic abuse; reasonable adjustments; age related risks to workers’ health and safety and third-party harassment. British Medical Association A framework for a comprehensive approach to managing fatigue in the medical profession: Supporting staff: – Provide appropriate facilities overnight to rest and nap during shifts. – Encourage team-based approaches to provide cover and allow staff to take breaks without interruptions. – Offer beds, free of charge, for sleep post duty periods for staff who feel too tired to drive home Office of Rail regulation The ‘quality’ of breaks is also important. A food and drink preparation area, a quiet rest area at a suitable temperature and with suitable seating, and the facility to talk to colleagues and to take a walk are positive points. In the case of safety-critical workers on night shift, the facility to take a short nap during a break can be especially beneficial. Loughborough University, Transport Safety Research Group - Bus Driver Fatigue report Of particular importance in a workplace, context is that individuals need to be provided with the opportunity to implement learnt strategies, whether that be adequate rest periods between duties to ensure sufficient sleep, suitable facilities and the open culture to allow drivers to nap during breaks, or the system in place to be able to report fatigue National Transport Commission AU Guidelines for Using Napping to Prevent Commercial Vehicle Driver Fatigue The very minimum amount of time for a short nap should be at least 10 minutes. In most cases, a nap should last up to 30 minutes. For a driver who has had adequate rest, during a standard driving shift, an occasional nap of 30 minutes should be enough to maintain a safe level of alertness. Get in touch with RestSpaceLDN if you would like to learn more about recommendations from professional bodies for workplace wellbeing.

We spoke to just under 100 caregivers across the UK about their days and quite quickly it became evident why they are in dire need of places to rest during and after their shifts. 95% told us they feel tired during their working day and 70% said this impacted their efficiency and ability to concentrate. 'It is very difficult to concentrate and simple tasks can take much longer. During emergencies, a lot more mistakes happen which need to be caught by other team members' - Ophthalmology, London (I am) ‘Very sluggish and I feel like my head is clouded’ - Respiratory, South West ‘I struggle on ward rounds or large tasks before midday’ - Neonatology, London The impact of fatigue and the need for dedicated staff rest space has been strongly recognized by NHS Employers, the Association of Anesthetists, the General Medical Council, the Royal College of Nursing, the British Medical Association and many other professional bodies. However, there is still little to no interventions for the most presented solution to help counteract the fatigue – providing a proper rest space in the workplace. The biggest challenge is finding a place to nap especially during the day shifts where it's harder to find dark corners or empty offices. This is an important challenge to address as 52% of the people we spoke to said that their biggest dip is in the afternoon. Although night shift fatigue is very important, there is generally more healthcare staff working during the day but there are fewer places to rest during the day. Nap pods give everyone a dedicated space to rest whether it’s a night or day shift. ‘A bed is provided but only during nights’ - Anaesthetics, Manchester ‘Doctors mess on night shifts only (would not be possible during day)’ - Obstetrics and Gynaecology, South West ‘Best case, a camp bed/sofa; Worst case - sitting upright/hard chairs pushed together’ - Anaesthetics, London The great news is hospitals across the country are listening to their staff and investing in nap pods. With over 30 nap pods finding their homes in hospitals all over the UK in the first half of this year. Why are napping pods becoming a common investment for hospitals? The data and benefits for allowing staff to nap make this an easy case. Not only is quality and productivity of work increased, but staff happiness and wellbeing are also improved. The most noteworthy benefit is reducing accidents which in a healthcare setting can be a risk to patient lives. There is also research on the increasing likelihood of healthcare workers having a car accident after finishing their night shifts. Access to [Rest Spaces] can provide that much-needed recharge before they jump in their cars and head home. Although there is a clear case for napping on the job many healthcare workers are skeptical as to whether their employers see it this way. 80% of the people we spoke to said they are aware napping is good for them and helps them work better, but they feel that most people judge them as lazy if they do. There is a need to also address the stigma associated with napping on the job. (If I nap I feel)‘A bit guilty I could have used it to push through paperwork instead’ - Physiotherapy, Edinburgh Why should our healthcare workers be encouraged to sleep on the job? Shift work There are libraries of research into the effects of shift work and how to try and adjust. One recurring conclusion is our bodies struggle to adjust to night time shift work and it's not something that gets easier over time. But for healthcare workers, patients need to be seen around the clock. Among other things, naps can be effective in reducing fatigue during shifts. Overload It's indisputable that caregivers' jobs are mentally and physically demanding. They not only require complex problem solving but they also need to engage and relate to their patients and colleagues. Resting their mind and body during the shift can help to reduce experiencing overload and exhaustion. 8 to 12 hours of this demanding work will justify a lunchtime nap for anyone. Especially as napping improves your ability to engage with people as well as improves your problem-solving skills. It is a great way for healthcare professionals to stay on top of their game throughout the whole shift. General human napping needs Humans have napped for as long as we can look back; many scientists say that the natural temperature dip we experience during the day is a biological indicator we are supposed to nap. From a well-being perspective, getting some downtime during the day is great for us and our brains. [Rest Spaces] in hospitals reintroduce an effective natural solution to our healthcare providers. It is really promising to see the increasing uptake in nap pods within hospitals. Leave some comments, we are keen to hear more from you. Further reading NHS Employers - Healthy working environments Association of Anaesthetists - Standards for rest facilities General Medical Council - Caring for doctors, caring for patients Royal College of Nursing - Fatigue survey headlines and call for action British Medical Association - Fatigue and sleep deprivation

It’s time to admit it - when we have the freedom, flexibility and lack of judgment, many of us choose to incorporate rest into the working day. Since working from home many people have been able to nap or take breaks whilst working, knowing that there’s actually not a negative impact on the workload by doing so. Free from the stigma of ‘looking unproductive’ or even ‘lazy’, employees have discovered just how beneficial rest at work can be. Now that employers have begun the transition from home into the office, what happens to newfound habits that so positively affect employees? How can employers support the transition back to the office and bridge the gap between busy office environments and working from the comfort of home? If the approach is to go back to the standard office practice before COVID-19, employers must realise that can no longer be the attitude towards post-pandemic life. Whilst for the vast majority of things, we want things to ‘go back to normal’, opinion on working from home is pretty divided. A recent survey by Ipsos in partnership with the World Economic Forum surveyed employed adults in over 29 countries about working from home. They found that the majority of employees surveyed miss working with other people and being around their colleagues but 65% of those surveyed also feel more productive with a flexible work schedule. However, 38% of people did find their home a difficult place to be productive. "If you’ve got used to the flexibility of working from home - napping or resting more - that shouldn’t have to be sacrificed once you return to the office." These preferences can be supported in workplaces and the best way to navigate these differing opinions is through incorporating flexible working within the office. In fact, flexible working is something that many organisations are seeking to encompass. It’s not just about working from home, it’s the attitude to the working day, the office environment and recognising that rest is essential to better productivity. Employers can better support their employees by providing adequate spaces for rest and napping in the workplace. Through recognising the benefits of workplace napping, reducing the stigma of rest and giving employees the opportunity to determine the schedule which works best for them, employers can continue benefiting from new habits formed during the pandemic whilst moving forward. There’s a lot to look forward to with returning to the office and the benefits of a more distinct work-life balance, working alongside colleagues and perhaps a better sense of routine. However, it’s important for workplaces to support employees in this transition. It’s time to acknowledge the flexible working pattern that we’ve all become accustomed to in the past year or so, it’s here to stay. There’s no way around it - working from home has led more people to incorporate rest (whether that’s naps or just short breaks) into the working day - and it’s not a bad thing. Studies have shown how useful napping and resting is to productivity. It’s time to reduce the stigma of workplace napping and rest, let’s learn what we can from this past year and continue to utilise what works. If you’ve got used to the flexibility of working from home - napping or resting more - that shouldn’t have to be sacrificed once you return to the office. Get in touch if you’d like to know more about getting rest spaces at your workplace.