Dali and Da Vinci did it! Einstein and Edison enjoyed it! Churchill and Kennedy were converts! Even Thatcher was a fan! But do you?

Sleeping during the day, once stigmatised, is no longer sanctuary of the slothful as more of us workers are empowered by power naps.
Nap-iness in the workplaceNap-iness in the workplace
Nap-iness in the workplace

Tellingly 35% of British staff admit to having got away with some shut-eye on the job with only 12 per cent seemingly disciplined by office bosses for snores amid chores, here illustrated by classic sleeping under desk Seinfeld footage.

A to zed of recent research reveals workplace nap happiness adds up to dream job for many prospective employees.

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More than one in five (21 per cent) would be more inclined to take a job were staff allowed to sleep while 23 per cent believe option to start work later would make normal nine-to-five more attractive. Further 15 per cent would feel more productive if they could shut their eyes mid-shift.

Online bed retailer Time4Sleep's 1,000-sample study is already endorsed by business bosses who believe if you snooze ... you win!

Ice cream giants Ben & Jerry’s, sportswear brand Nike and search engine gurus Google are reportedly among forward-thinking firms offering on-site “quiet rooms” and nap policies.

But the drowsy dream became a nightmare for one tech firm that suffered 30 per cent productivity drop.

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“It didn’t take us long to figure out naps were counter-productive,” concedes Nabeel Mushtaq, chief operating officer and co-founder of Toronto-based AskforTask.

"Despite a 15-minute cap on power naps, employees continually overslept. The whole process would waste anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour-and-a-half.”

Time4Sleep's blog post https://www.time4sleep.co.uk/blog/how-to-avoid-napping-at-work/ carries better kip tips.

Latest poll of British workers found home working is increasingly attractive to workers in the UK, with being able to nap at work a key factor. A job with the ability to work from home was considered attractive by 42 per cent of survey participants.

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It seems while many would welcome the chance to work from home, they may not be being entirely truthful with their superiors about their motives for doing so.

One in five females (20 per cent) said they had taken a work from home day to nurse a sore head after an office party and a further one in ten respondents said they had worked from the sofa to watch sport.

Some of the nation’s youngest employees even went a step further with 17 per cent of 18 to 24-year-olds saying they had taken a work from home day to secretly go shopping.

The research also revealed some of the habits of home workers including:

49% worked in lounge wear or PJs

40% had a lie in

35% had a nap/fell asleep during the day

32% watched daytime television

32% worked from their bed

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Time4sleep.co.uk director Jonathan Warren says: “We found it amusing so many of us are working from home in our pyjamas and even Skype calling and interviewing in our lounge wear.

“Although it’s interesting to learn what many get up to when working from home, it’s clear it can sometimes prove to be a challenge for our concentration levels.”

And, as online news source Huffington Post also has nap room at their New York HQ - where Healthy Living Channel managing editor Amanda Chan admits to "resting my eyes for a few minutes" - I'm currently considering plumping my pillow. I wishhhh ...

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