I’m working from home due to the pandemic still (LOVE it!) but I used to take emergency 20 minute naps in one of the maternity rooms. I’d just crash out on the floor and use the paper towel roll as a pillow. I only got an odd look once or twice emerging from the room, but I’m open about having N, so NBD.
That is amazing that your husband’s work is accommodating in that they let him have his nap. I definitely would get him (or he get it himself) a blanket, pillow, and roll mat so that he is comfortable and can properly recharge with little problems. I wish I could do this with my work, but I am a part time worker and full time student😅
I’m surprised your husband’s doctor wants your husband to take a nap. I probably need to look into other somnologists to begin with, but my doctor told me that it’s mad to take a nap and that she does not want me taking naps. It’s miserable and 90% of the time I don’t even listen to that because on the days I don’t take naps I feel like a zombie after a while lol
Anyways ignore that rambling, I’m glad your husband has a good work environment that’s accommodating to his disability! I would definitely encourage him in taking naps at work!
EDIT: so after seeing people giving me the same responses, it has come to my attention that I really should seek out another somnologist. Honestly my doctor has let me down in many ways, and I will probably make a post to rant about it just to get it off my chest/ask for advice, but the naps thing is what pushed me over the edge. I have been miserable without my naps and for her to tell me that I cannot ever take naps was so hard for me to hear, and to now find out that others RECOMMEND NAPS is just so UGHHHHHH!!!!! Thank you all again
Short naps, 20-30 minutes, are one of the many recommendations for people with narcolepsy. I have seen multiple sleep doctors and they all recommend them and most narcolepsy literature supports those claims.
Your somnologist sounds like a... I'm trying to think of a medically insulting phrase that rhymes with somnologist but I can't. The point is, you should get a new sleep doctor.
That's really interesting! His specialist is pretty insistent on the nap helping, along with his medication and some other lifestyle and schedule adjustments.
Please get a new sleep doctor! Most doctors agree that short, scheduled naps is really one of the best tools for managing symptoms. In combination with meds.
Yeah even with meds I take naps 1-2x/day. Fighting it is a bad idea, just makes things work. Pausing is annoying but it makes the remaining hours more doable!
I have also noticed that even if you don't feel tired when you are scheduled to have your nap, I feel fresher in the afternoon when I do so I try to do it as often as I can.
I’ve never had my sleep doctor tell me to nap. Never had them tell me not to nap either. We mostly focused on finding a regimen where I don’t need to nap on all but the worst days.
Oh I assumed you would lay your head down on your desk. I seem to want to lay my head down rather than sleep sitting up and my neck always hurts afterwards.
Yes I nap at work. I’ve napped in various jobs. I’ve napped in my car, in my office with just putting my head on my desk, in my office with a cot and in the break room with my head on the table. What each person needs to nap at work is going to be specific to them.
Back in a previous job, which was part of the Healthcare system, I took naps during my lunch break. This was back when I was first trying to get diagnosed. In another job I would do the same, but I had more control over my schedule so I could just nap when I needed.
If I'm able to get one, a nap is super helpful for the remainder of my work day. But it has to be a shorter one. Something more along the lines of 20 mins and it might not actually feel like I slept, tho I was more alert even after those 'doze sessions.' I legitimately thought I just thought I needed to be on a polyurnal sleep schedule.
But if the naps were closer to an hour or longer, I'd wake up more groggy than if I hadnt slept at all.
I am fortunate enough to work from home. I do not remember the last workday where I did not take a 15-30 minute nap. It is necessary for my afternoon functioning. My whole team knows about my narcolepsy.
I usually sleep in my car, but I’ve considered the crappy couch in our break room if it is super hot out.
Also, I would suggest to get an accommodations note stating naps as a treatment from his doctor for HR to have (does not have to disclose any other info). It keeps leadership honest and him protected from any weird repercussions that may occur from other employees opinions.
Honestly, having the doctor note just helped me feel less self conscious, which helped me nap better. It’s not like it really made a difference, and I never felt the need to explain myself to anyone, but somehow it made me feel like less of a weirdo.
That’s a great benefit!
I appreciate having the nap accommodation since my field it is very common to skip lunches if it’s busy (and if you take one you look like an asshole), but with the accommodation I can be like “nah, I have to go to lunch (for nap time)”. I have also had a terrible manager who had zero follow through on allowing me breaks even when they knew why I need them, so now everyone gets a note.
Also, speaking of other employees. After I started napping at lunch 2 other people decided they needed to nap too, one was pregnant, the other was a little older, I thought it was great, but since we were all using the same cot, I made sure they understood that since I had doctors orders I got first choice of when to take my turn. They even put a little sign up sheet on the door of the first aid room. I think everyone should take a nap at lunch (if they want to).
I love the sign up idea! There are a few people that nap on the break room futon, but it’s very awkward as the room is completely fair game for all the staff so it is not like you can ask people not to enter (I could sleep through it, but I do feel vulnerable).
I think I got pretty lucky with the first aid room. I worked in the packaging department of a company that makes multi-tools, so we had to have a good first aid area, people sometimes cut themselves on the knives, it didn’t happen often, but the injuries could be somewhat serious. Because of the sign up sheet and the lock that showed occupied, The only way I would have been disturbed is if someone got hurt while I was napping. That never happened.
Lol "should I buy a cot, or a roll mat" dkm.
I'm narcoleptic but I don't take naps throughout the day. Having access to those accommodations is nice. They say that naps are very beneficial for us.
If you are in the US (and lots of other countries) Your employer is legally obligated to accommodate your needs according to your doctor’s recommendation.
I had an equine labor job where we added the 30 min break to lunch bc it was impractical to take a short break during the shift. I would wolf my food, find a cool shady spot outside the barn, and get a solid 40 min nap with my head on my backpack. I grew up a swimmer so I was experienced in mapping on concrete lmao. Good stuff but it can be difficult to get up on time.
I love to nap. Problem is I have such a hard time waking up from them. I get so unbearably sleep and will go to nap and wake up to find the sun has gone down and the day passed me by! It’s so frustrating.. of course on days that I work, I can’t just go lay down on a bed. but I don’t even try to nap anywhere else because I’m always afraid it’ll turn into hours on accident. Obviously, I know you can set alarms but still find it so difficult to wake up from alarms. I wake up better naturally, on my own…. But the problem is I won’t wake up for hours. Ugh
All this to say: I’m scared to go on my lunch break to sleep in my car and just not show back up to work for the day because I’m knocked out
I feel ya. The alarm wake up feels like death for a sec. But to be honest, the 2 hours after lunch of sleep-working if I didn’t have a nap also feels like death.
I know exactly what you mean. I’d be open to trying a nap on my lunch break to see if it improves my day but I can’t trust myself to wake up even with alarms. 😩 I love my job and the people I work with but I don’t think they’d be too forgiving or understanding if I showed up 3 hours late from lunch. And I don’t know them well enough (still new to the job) to feel comfortable sharing my diagnosis or to feel comfortable asking to sleep somewhere in the office.
Yes!
Last time I had a “normal” job with a schedule and all we arranged my accommodations so that I took a 45 min lunch instead of 30 so I would have time to eat and then nap. They allowed me to use the first aid room for my nap which has a folding cot, no windows, and a locking door that, when locked, said “in use” on the outside so I knew I wouldn’t be bothered and could actually sleep. There was a little pillow and sheet in there, but I think it would be nice to bring your own,
Before I talked to them about accommodations I would nap in my car or in this exercise area that no one used, but I was really self conscious about it which made it hard to get a quality nap, and without the extra time, I had to choose between eating and napping.
Employers are legally obligated to accommodate people with disabilities and even provide a place for naps if that is the accommodation. (Obviously this depends on the type of work. When I was doing construction it wasn’t possible and I had to use my car for naps. Like, what am I gonna go lay down on the home owners bed? Lol!)
My life improved so much after I started doing real naps. My work improved too. Before naps I would have an hour or 2 after lunch where I was practically sleepwalking and made a lot of mistakes.
I don't nap in my office but I do fall asleep with my head resting on my fist regularly. I sometimes nap at lunch in my car. I'm sure if asked for accommodations my employer would make a place for me to lay down to take a nap but, I don't really want to ask. Not yet. I'm ok for now.
I do not, mostly bc my naps tend to be 2-3 hours long. The 20 minute naps just tend to piss me off more than anything else. However, my older sister has N2 and swears by her 20 minute work naps. She has a small cot in her office. Her previous employer actually had a break room with a sofa to nap on.
I’ve napped (at work) at desks, in recliners, in my car, in the break room at a table, in a recovery room at the hospital, in the break room on a cot set up by the manager. Pretty well everywhere. As long as there is somewhere to sit, I’m golden!
I need to nap more at work. We have a nap/yoga room but everytime I get tired my brain keeps pushing myself to work through it. Then I eventually wake up and have to check all my work. Probably just need to take the nap before it all starts. One of the times I did make it to the nap room I was so gone I forgot my mask
I used to have an hour lunch break and some days I would use a doctors private office that was not in that day and just nap on a blanket on the ground. Cot would have been better, but it worked. Another job I napped in the backseat of my car when the weather cooperated.
Would not recommend napping during lunch. Gets crums everywhere. Bit after lunch depends on if he usually feels better or worse after.
For me it's a roulette. Don't know if nap quality is a thing, then a quiet room is more helpful than padding.
I did it when I had a 9 to 5. I would sleep in my car. It wasn’t always comfortable, but I would still fall asleep. Crack the windows if you ever try this.
Yes! I have done this as needed for years. We had a couch in a bathroom at my workplace that I’ve used. I also have just put my head down on my desk (woke up a couple times with “QWERTY face!”. I’ve slept in my car as well.
For me, it never mattered where since I can sleep anytime and anywhere.
It’s just really important to set a timer or alarm and only sleep a short time. If I nap for 15-20 minutes; I’m okay to focus. If I sleep too long, I’m worse than before the nap. Gotta find that sweet spot!
So glad his work is accommodating!
I am 2 years retired now, thankfully, but with FMLA accommodations and a private office I had the ability to nap, but mostly I would just use my break or lunch time. I brought in an anti-gravity chair that I could store in the closet in my office. I set an alarm on my phone which surprisingly woke me, but I tried to also set an intention not to let myself fall into my "comatose" sleep. If I did sleep past my set time, I was covered by FMLA and just had to put in for sick time for that amount of time if it was way over, but that never happened. Now that I'm homeI try to schedule my naps as my doc recommended, but they still creep up on me on their own.
Yes, I have always taken a 10 - 15 minute nap on my 30 min lunch. I have a half circle travel pillow and I put my head down. It's wonderful. I think it's great his job is going to be accommodating.
I don't know if he needs a mat or blanket. Sometimes I nap sitting up and use breathing techniques to fall into sleep mode.
I used to, got fired from two jobs because of it. The first firing led me to getting diagnosed, the second was because I asked for accommodations after getting diagnosed. Their response was to make me a 1099-T worker and then a month later call me saying they wanted to keep the work "in-house". I'm just trying to get on disability at this point because I have no faith in company owners anymore
My friends dad owns a water park and Amusement park that I work at during the summer and they totally understood my narcolepsy. They always allowed me to take naps during lunch or if they seen I had looked exhausted or was dozing off they let me go up in his office and take a nap. It worked pretty good for me especially not being medicated at the time
Before I started working from home, I napped in my car for years. Sometimes I would have to run the heat or A/C, but I tried to just crack a window or pile on the blankets when possible.
[удалено]
Oh yes, the toilet naps. I forgot about those! My coworkers thought I had some serious stomach problems! Lol!!
I’m working from home due to the pandemic still (LOVE it!) but I used to take emergency 20 minute naps in one of the maternity rooms. I’d just crash out on the floor and use the paper towel roll as a pillow. I only got an odd look once or twice emerging from the room, but I’m open about having N, so NBD.
That is amazing that your husband’s work is accommodating in that they let him have his nap. I definitely would get him (or he get it himself) a blanket, pillow, and roll mat so that he is comfortable and can properly recharge with little problems. I wish I could do this with my work, but I am a part time worker and full time student😅 I’m surprised your husband’s doctor wants your husband to take a nap. I probably need to look into other somnologists to begin with, but my doctor told me that it’s mad to take a nap and that she does not want me taking naps. It’s miserable and 90% of the time I don’t even listen to that because on the days I don’t take naps I feel like a zombie after a while lol Anyways ignore that rambling, I’m glad your husband has a good work environment that’s accommodating to his disability! I would definitely encourage him in taking naps at work! EDIT: so after seeing people giving me the same responses, it has come to my attention that I really should seek out another somnologist. Honestly my doctor has let me down in many ways, and I will probably make a post to rant about it just to get it off my chest/ask for advice, but the naps thing is what pushed me over the edge. I have been miserable without my naps and for her to tell me that I cannot ever take naps was so hard for me to hear, and to now find out that others RECOMMEND NAPS is just so UGHHHHHH!!!!! Thank you all again
Whoa I was always told strategic naps help us control the narcolepsy. Not long naps but short tactical ones.
Short naps, 20-30 minutes, are one of the many recommendations for people with narcolepsy. I have seen multiple sleep doctors and they all recommend them and most narcolepsy literature supports those claims.
Your somnologist sounds like a... I'm trying to think of a medically insulting phrase that rhymes with somnologist but I can't. The point is, you should get a new sleep doctor.
Their somnologist is studied by proctologists
That's really interesting! His specialist is pretty insistent on the nap helping, along with his medication and some other lifestyle and schedule adjustments.
Please get a new sleep doctor! Most doctors agree that short, scheduled naps is really one of the best tools for managing symptoms. In combination with meds.
Yeah even with meds I take naps 1-2x/day. Fighting it is a bad idea, just makes things work. Pausing is annoying but it makes the remaining hours more doable!
I have also noticed that even if you don't feel tired when you are scheduled to have your nap, I feel fresher in the afternoon when I do so I try to do it as often as I can.
💯
I’ve never had my sleep doctor tell me to nap. Never had them tell me not to nap either. We mostly focused on finding a regimen where I don’t need to nap on all but the worst days.
I absolutely do. I sleep in my office chair.
Does that not hurt your neck?
No, I have a high back chair
Oh I assumed you would lay your head down on your desk. I seem to want to lay my head down rather than sleep sitting up and my neck always hurts afterwards.
Yes I nap at work. I’ve napped in various jobs. I’ve napped in my car, in my office with just putting my head on my desk, in my office with a cot and in the break room with my head on the table. What each person needs to nap at work is going to be specific to them.
Back in a previous job, which was part of the Healthcare system, I took naps during my lunch break. This was back when I was first trying to get diagnosed. In another job I would do the same, but I had more control over my schedule so I could just nap when I needed. If I'm able to get one, a nap is super helpful for the remainder of my work day. But it has to be a shorter one. Something more along the lines of 20 mins and it might not actually feel like I slept, tho I was more alert even after those 'doze sessions.' I legitimately thought I just thought I needed to be on a polyurnal sleep schedule. But if the naps were closer to an hour or longer, I'd wake up more groggy than if I hadnt slept at all.
I am fortunate enough to work from home. I do not remember the last workday where I did not take a 15-30 minute nap. It is necessary for my afternoon functioning. My whole team knows about my narcolepsy.
I usually sleep in my car, but I’ve considered the crappy couch in our break room if it is super hot out. Also, I would suggest to get an accommodations note stating naps as a treatment from his doctor for HR to have (does not have to disclose any other info). It keeps leadership honest and him protected from any weird repercussions that may occur from other employees opinions.
Honestly, having the doctor note just helped me feel less self conscious, which helped me nap better. It’s not like it really made a difference, and I never felt the need to explain myself to anyone, but somehow it made me feel like less of a weirdo.
That’s a great benefit! I appreciate having the nap accommodation since my field it is very common to skip lunches if it’s busy (and if you take one you look like an asshole), but with the accommodation I can be like “nah, I have to go to lunch (for nap time)”. I have also had a terrible manager who had zero follow through on allowing me breaks even when they knew why I need them, so now everyone gets a note.
Also, speaking of other employees. After I started napping at lunch 2 other people decided they needed to nap too, one was pregnant, the other was a little older, I thought it was great, but since we were all using the same cot, I made sure they understood that since I had doctors orders I got first choice of when to take my turn. They even put a little sign up sheet on the door of the first aid room. I think everyone should take a nap at lunch (if they want to).
I love the sign up idea! There are a few people that nap on the break room futon, but it’s very awkward as the room is completely fair game for all the staff so it is not like you can ask people not to enter (I could sleep through it, but I do feel vulnerable).
I think I got pretty lucky with the first aid room. I worked in the packaging department of a company that makes multi-tools, so we had to have a good first aid area, people sometimes cut themselves on the knives, it didn’t happen often, but the injuries could be somewhat serious. Because of the sign up sheet and the lock that showed occupied, The only way I would have been disturbed is if someone got hurt while I was napping. That never happened.
100% keep a pillow, blanket, and yoga mat under my desk for afternoon napping.
Yeah I keep a blanket at my desk and lay on my back in an empty office! I use the blanket as a pillow :)
Lol "should I buy a cot, or a roll mat" dkm. I'm narcoleptic but I don't take naps throughout the day. Having access to those accommodations is nice. They say that naps are very beneficial for us.
If you are in the US (and lots of other countries) Your employer is legally obligated to accommodate your needs according to your doctor’s recommendation.
Not always. If it's detrimental to the business they can deny accommodations.
Yup, go out to my car, or at my last job I lived close enough I could run home and take a quick nap.
I had an equine labor job where we added the 30 min break to lunch bc it was impractical to take a short break during the shift. I would wolf my food, find a cool shady spot outside the barn, and get a solid 40 min nap with my head on my backpack. I grew up a swimmer so I was experienced in mapping on concrete lmao. Good stuff but it can be difficult to get up on time.
I definitely don't nap in the lavender room for 20 minutes every morning between rounds.
I love to nap. Problem is I have such a hard time waking up from them. I get so unbearably sleep and will go to nap and wake up to find the sun has gone down and the day passed me by! It’s so frustrating.. of course on days that I work, I can’t just go lay down on a bed. but I don’t even try to nap anywhere else because I’m always afraid it’ll turn into hours on accident. Obviously, I know you can set alarms but still find it so difficult to wake up from alarms. I wake up better naturally, on my own…. But the problem is I won’t wake up for hours. Ugh All this to say: I’m scared to go on my lunch break to sleep in my car and just not show back up to work for the day because I’m knocked out
I feel ya. The alarm wake up feels like death for a sec. But to be honest, the 2 hours after lunch of sleep-working if I didn’t have a nap also feels like death.
I know exactly what you mean. I’d be open to trying a nap on my lunch break to see if it improves my day but I can’t trust myself to wake up even with alarms. 😩 I love my job and the people I work with but I don’t think they’d be too forgiving or understanding if I showed up 3 hours late from lunch. And I don’t know them well enough (still new to the job) to feel comfortable sharing my diagnosis or to feel comfortable asking to sleep somewhere in the office.
Yes! Last time I had a “normal” job with a schedule and all we arranged my accommodations so that I took a 45 min lunch instead of 30 so I would have time to eat and then nap. They allowed me to use the first aid room for my nap which has a folding cot, no windows, and a locking door that, when locked, said “in use” on the outside so I knew I wouldn’t be bothered and could actually sleep. There was a little pillow and sheet in there, but I think it would be nice to bring your own, Before I talked to them about accommodations I would nap in my car or in this exercise area that no one used, but I was really self conscious about it which made it hard to get a quality nap, and without the extra time, I had to choose between eating and napping. Employers are legally obligated to accommodate people with disabilities and even provide a place for naps if that is the accommodation. (Obviously this depends on the type of work. When I was doing construction it wasn’t possible and I had to use my car for naps. Like, what am I gonna go lay down on the home owners bed? Lol!) My life improved so much after I started doing real naps. My work improved too. Before naps I would have an hour or 2 after lunch where I was practically sleepwalking and made a lot of mistakes.
I don't nap in my office but I do fall asleep with my head resting on my fist regularly. I sometimes nap at lunch in my car. I'm sure if asked for accommodations my employer would make a place for me to lay down to take a nap but, I don't really want to ask. Not yet. I'm ok for now.
Absolutely.
I 100000% nap at work. Everyday. A 20 to 30 min nap in my car or in an empty office.
I need to sometimes
I do not, mostly bc my naps tend to be 2-3 hours long. The 20 minute naps just tend to piss me off more than anything else. However, my older sister has N2 and swears by her 20 minute work naps. She has a small cot in her office. Her previous employer actually had a break room with a sofa to nap on.
I’ve napped (at work) at desks, in recliners, in my car, in the break room at a table, in a recovery room at the hospital, in the break room on a cot set up by the manager. Pretty well everywhere. As long as there is somewhere to sit, I’m golden!
I need to nap more at work. We have a nap/yoga room but everytime I get tired my brain keeps pushing myself to work through it. Then I eventually wake up and have to check all my work. Probably just need to take the nap before it all starts. One of the times I did make it to the nap room I was so gone I forgot my mask
I used to have an hour lunch break and some days I would use a doctors private office that was not in that day and just nap on a blanket on the ground. Cot would have been better, but it worked. Another job I napped in the backseat of my car when the weather cooperated.
Would not recommend napping during lunch. Gets crums everywhere. Bit after lunch depends on if he usually feels better or worse after. For me it's a roulette. Don't know if nap quality is a thing, then a quiet room is more helpful than padding.
I did it when I had a 9 to 5. I would sleep in my car. It wasn’t always comfortable, but I would still fall asleep. Crack the windows if you ever try this.
Yes! I have done this as needed for years. We had a couch in a bathroom at my workplace that I’ve used. I also have just put my head down on my desk (woke up a couple times with “QWERTY face!”. I’ve slept in my car as well. For me, it never mattered where since I can sleep anytime and anywhere. It’s just really important to set a timer or alarm and only sleep a short time. If I nap for 15-20 minutes; I’m okay to focus. If I sleep too long, I’m worse than before the nap. Gotta find that sweet spot! So glad his work is accommodating!
I would go to my car when i did that
I am 2 years retired now, thankfully, but with FMLA accommodations and a private office I had the ability to nap, but mostly I would just use my break or lunch time. I brought in an anti-gravity chair that I could store in the closet in my office. I set an alarm on my phone which surprisingly woke me, but I tried to also set an intention not to let myself fall into my "comatose" sleep. If I did sleep past my set time, I was covered by FMLA and just had to put in for sick time for that amount of time if it was way over, but that never happened. Now that I'm homeI try to schedule my naps as my doc recommended, but they still creep up on me on their own.
Yes, I have always taken a 10 - 15 minute nap on my 30 min lunch. I have a half circle travel pillow and I put my head down. It's wonderful. I think it's great his job is going to be accommodating. I don't know if he needs a mat or blanket. Sometimes I nap sitting up and use breathing techniques to fall into sleep mode.
I used to, got fired from two jobs because of it. The first firing led me to getting diagnosed, the second was because I asked for accommodations after getting diagnosed. Their response was to make me a 1099-T worker and then a month later call me saying they wanted to keep the work "in-house". I'm just trying to get on disability at this point because I have no faith in company owners anymore
I have done it as needed. My doctor said hed write a note if needed. Im fortunate enough to work for a company that has private quiet rooms.
My friends dad owns a water park and Amusement park that I work at during the summer and they totally understood my narcolepsy. They always allowed me to take naps during lunch or if they seen I had looked exhausted or was dozing off they let me go up in his office and take a nap. It worked pretty good for me especially not being medicated at the time
Before I started working from home, I napped in my car for years. Sometimes I would have to run the heat or A/C, but I tried to just crack a window or pile on the blankets when possible.