In defence of the office nap

In room number 208 at the School of Life Sciences at Jawaharlal Nehru University, Sushil K Jha, PhD, assistant professor of neurobiology, is at his desk in the chilled, tubelight-lit environment, listening to his student describe the behaviour of two rats in the laboratory. In suggesting to her that since she still has time, she could conduct two more experiments and report back with changes in the physiognomy of said rats, he belies the casualness of his round-neck tee that may as well read Blue Navy. For the last 12 years, why we sleep has been the question Jha has been dealing with in his lab. He starts with the basics. “Sleep helps in memory consolidation.” First scientific word gleaned: ‘adenosine’ (“it’s a biomolecule”). The harder you work, the sleepier you feel. Our brains are like cell phones, says Jha.“What happens when you talk on the phone for a long time?” — he asks in the leading manner of a person used to taking centre stage in a lecture hall — “the battery gets drained.” The harder you work, the more ATP (adenosine triphospate) gets deposited, and more sleep pressure builds. As the joke goes — how much sleep do we need? Just five more minutes.

Rahul Sharma, president, public affairs, Genesis Burson-Marsteller is one of only a few who will come on record to say: “I find a quick nap helps me focus my thoughts.” In the ’90s, Sharma says, he knew a minister “who actually had a jhoola bed in his office.”

Deepak Shourie, director, BBC channels, South Asia, doesn’t take himself too seriously. Shourie explains that he may as well have failed as a delegator if he couldn’t take it easy around noon. “As a CEO I should be the freest person.” Yes, he says, “I close my eyes for a bit. It helps.”

Sharma and Shourie have the advantage of being high up enough in the food chain. Getting small fry to admit they love a nap is trickier. HR people of certain software companies are mortified at the suggestion of a napzone. Sharma says, “We have to understand the kind of pressures people battle these days. In India, the tendency is to work late and sleep late. How do you address that?” Temperatures — the heat, the power cuts at night — don’t help. Second to adenosine build up, rise in temperatures are the next best groggy-makers. AC not working in office is then a legitimate reason to collapse in your cubicle.

Abheek Sen, 38, an IT consultant based in Kolkata says that a decade ago he used to moonlight for another company and would therefore be in a constant state of sleep debt. His habits have since, been set. “I pass out after a rice-lunch. It’s not an everyday affair.” But when drowsiness strikes, he doesn’t fight the urge.“Earlier people used to make fun of me, take photos with their phones, but when they realised how shameless I am, they got bored...” What about snoring? “I always tell someone to nudge me if it becomes audible.” In his defence, Sen says, “It’s not like I’m a bad worker. I just need a 15-minute nap, a cup of tea, a cigarette, and I’m good.”

Back in the temperature-controlled, almost arctic conditions of Jha’s office at the sleep research lab, the multiple awards and honours-bestowed professor admits that as much as he might like his power nap, and understands the scientific importance of sleep in absorbing new information, increasing efficiency and improving output, he would be too embarrassed if a student walked in when his head was bowed and neck muscles relaxed. “Yes, of course even sleep researchers would like to snooze after lunch,” he laughs. But this one simply won’t. The gentle irony: when he walks into the lab and sees a student with their head down, he doesn’t disturb: “It’s good to sleep.”