Napping took a twist today when I found out there's a whole movement around Power Napping for Increased Productivity, Stress Management based on technology from companies like PZIZZ, which attempt to help people solve their sleep problems and increase energy levels during the day using select audio soundtracks.  Also, WikiPedia has a page on Power Napping

"…pzizz is a software application for Mac and PC that creates audio soundtracks that help you to nap during the day or get to sleep at night. The wonderful thing is that you can tailor them to suit you and they're different every time!"

 

I think, the fact the music is different every time is part of what makes it work.  I'm going to buy it because the free demo for 5 minutes (playing the PZIZZ energizer music) was helpful, but I see I'm going to need more - and maybe I should have more.  I have no problem sleeping, so I would not see I'd need PZIZZ for that, but who knows, maybe I should buy both modules (sleep and energizer).

Found a page on Sleep Machines that suggests people ought to nap at work and that corporations are counting sheep not numbers:

"..William A. Anthony, Ph.D. and Camille W. Anthony, M.Ed, authors of The Art of Napping at Work, say, "Workplace napping is a natural, no-cost way to increase worker productivity."

"…In their previous book, The Art of Napping, they explained that some of history's most important figures, including Napoleon, President Kennedy, Winston Churchill, Thomas Edison (and many more) were all productive nappers.

Their new book describes the "seven habits of highly effective workplace nappers," and identifies, "…some worker groups that are already employing productivity napping. Pilots, sales people, firefighters, the military, shift workers, truckers, etc. are finally going public about the benefits of napping to energize, focus and enhance job performance."

WikiPedia says there is a difference between a Power Nap and a Catnap (besides the Cat):

"….While a power nap and a catnap can be considered to be synonymous in terms of duration and effect, the vernacular usage often makes a behavioral distinction where a power nap involves a break from activity, while a catnap is of a more leisurely nature. Thus, one may take a power nap in the middle of a busy work day, and a catnap on the couch during a lazy afternoon, but not vice versa."

I think a Power Nap is something you plan to do - while a Catnap just happens, when you feel tired and are able to take a nap.

There are actually companies that make their living off of our naps, such as Napping.com that puts out a book on the Art of Napping at Work or just the Art of Napping by itself:

But PZIZZ is different, it's not a book, it's music you listen to that changes your mental and emotional state - sorta like a relaxation tape, but randomly generated yet able to be programmed, somewhat, by the person who owns it.

According tot the PZIZZ website - several large corporations allow employees to nap at work and here's a whole writeup a couple of the larger corporations that are allowing naps at work:

"…nike

At Nike employees have access to "relaxation rooms". Nike also urges its employees to just do it, although it calls its nap room a "relaxation room."

The relaxation rooms offer a place of solitude and rest where the senses are engaged by soothing sounds and visuals and delighted by elegant materials and calming scents. Usually they feature massage chairs, large flat-panel screens, aromatherapy machines, color kinetic arrays for light therapy, integrated surround sound audio systems, and even surround-visual displays that present large scale images seen through headsets.

british airways

Rosekind's real-world research at NASA resulted in at least one airline, British Airways, allowing pilots on trans-oceanic flights to catch a few winks so they will be more alert when landing.

great dane trailers

Kit Hammond, President of Great Dane Trailers in Savannah, Ga., one of the largest manufactures of trailers and trucks says he’d give his office staff and plant supervisors a chance to try napping at work because he suspects fourty winks will not only make his employees feel better, but might even make them more productive. He turned to Tom Deluca, one of the gurus of corporate napping to train his workers on the art of power napping and sixty of Great Dane Trailers employees signed up for the workshop.

trc

TRC, an engineering consultancy in Mountain View, California, touts a "quiet room" where employees can grab a pillow and a blanket and stretch out on the couch. OP Contract, the wholesale office furniture has instituted a napping and rest program.

gould evans goodman associates

Kansas City based architectural firm Gould Evans Goodman Associates pitched three "spent tents" in a corner of its office. Each outfitted with air mattress, sleeping bag, foam pad, flannel pillow, Walkman, eye shades and alarm clock. Employees doze in "spent tents" in a fairly secluded second-floor loft space. According to the company spokesperson Mindy Highfill, no stigma is attached to those using them. "When it’s the middle of the afternoon and I’m not getting work done because I’m tired, I know I’m better off taking a 10-15 minute nap," she says. "Then, when I go back to work, I’m refreshed and revitalized and able to get a lot more done."

u.s. army

U.S. Army’s studies have convinced their top brass to allow officers a nod or two while on the job.

burlington northern santa fe railroad

A railroad company, the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad, allows train conductors and engineers to take scheduled naps of up to 45 minutes long when the train is stopped and as long as one crew member is on watch. Burlington Northern-Santa Fe, the second largest railroad in the country, instituted a policy allowing sleep-deprived employees to take short naps. Tommy Gibson of Burlington Northern-Santa Fe said "We found that production has gone up since we implemented the napping policy and that we do have much more alert employees."

union pacific railroad

At Union Pacific Railroad their napping policy is aimed at the road freight teams. They permit one crew member a 45 minute nap. Dennis Holland Ph.D., Union Pacific’s director of Alertness Management, anticipates napping programs for other segments of the company. "Employees find napping to be an effective management and employee relations benefit — management’s willingness to colour outside the box has impressed employees" Holland says. "Our society is sleep-deprived" he added, which adopted a pro-napping policy in 1998. "It’s worse than it was in the past, and we have to address it.”

Once I formally buy PZIZZ, I'll try it and formally review it here.  Maybe I'll listen to it on my way to XChange next week after I buy the Pzizz Bundle.

BTW, I notice PZIZZ first on Google HotTrends, where Google HotTrends say 33% of the searches today were in New York City (where I live) and 5% in West Hollywood, CA.  I wonder what is driving that "Buzz"?  An Event?  I can't find anything that explains why people who all of sudden be talking about PZIZZ Power Napping software just now yet "Power Napping" seems to be getting spikes of attention in the Blogosphere, so maybe that's where the Buzz is coming from: