Skip to main content

Sleeping on the Job May Be a Good Thing

By William Vogeler, Esq. on July 13, 2018 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

For truck drivers, falling asleep at the wheel is a bad thing. Sleeping in between stops is a good thing.

It's more or less the same for all workers. It's better to get good sleep than to push through on an empty tank.

So how to make sure employees get the rest to do their best? It starts with setting nature's clock.

Nature's Clock

Christine Hansen, an international sleep consultant, says people should start their workday only after a good night's rest. While research has long confirmed the benefits of an eight-hour sleep cycle, Hansen says it's better to let nature wake you up.

"I sleep in every morning, which is the best thing in the world," she told Forbes. "It's a little thing, but it changed my life because it's just the best feeling ever to wake up naturally and to wake up when you want to."

Naturally, everybody is different. Some famous people -- like Benjamin Franklin -- seem to thrive on very little sleep. But he's dead now, so yeah.

New York lawyers and California counsel alike could take a page from the sleep experts. Studies say that sleeping less than seven hours a night can cause "adverse health outcomes, including weight gain and obesity, diabetes, hypertension, heart disease and stroke, depression and increased risk of death."

Sleeping on the Job

In a time-management way, it's even a good idea to sleep on the job. Can you say, "siesta?"

From Mexico to Spain to China, many cultures make naptime a part of lunchtime. Twenty minutes midday and you're good to go.

Bigtime lawyers have seen the benefits of the nap habit. White & Case, with 5,000 employees around the world, installed napping pods at its Washington, D.C. office. 

Many of the 300 workers there, including partners and associates, have used it to recharge and refresh. They probably don't count naptime as billable hours, and that's a good thing, too.

Related Resources:

Copied to clipboard