Sleeping on the job: Power naps making their way into some company policies.

• Author: Siebrase, Jamie
• Position: HEALTH REPORT

Get caught snoozing on the job, and you might be scouring the Help-Wanted ads (or the modern-day equivalent). Back in less enlightened times, "Seinfeld's" George Costanza was nearly busted for office-hour sleeping sessions after secretly installing catnap conveniences--an alarm clock shelf, a blanket drawer--under his desk. Today, though, a growing number of companies are waking up to the benefits of power naps, and some employers are embracing daytime slumber with employer-sponsored nap rooms and snooze-friendly policies.

Costanza certainly wasn't alone in his crusade for more sleep: Fatigue and sleepiness are serious issues for working professionals. According to the National Sleep Foundation, for example, 29 percent of employees report falling asleep or becoming very drowsy at work.

That isn't surprising considering most adults don't get enough consolidated nighttime sleep. The average adult needs seven to nine hours of sleep nightly, yet 40 percent of those surveyed through a recent Gallup poll said they catch six hours or less, with the average reported slumber lasting 6.8 hours.

"The average adult is coming up short every night," says Dr. Robert Ballard, founder of the Colorado Sleep & Pulmonary Center. On top of that, many adults report restless, low-quality sleep. Thirty-five percent of Americans, in fact, classify their sleep quality as "poor" or "only fair," according to the National Sleep Foundation.

Being part of a world economy keeps professionals up--and 24-hour access to stimulus via screens doesn't encourage rest, either. Whatever the cause, insufficient sleep translates to poor overall health. Chronic deprivation can lead to high blood pressure, obesity, attention deficit disorder, depression, heart attack and stroke, among other ailments. And, workplace fatigue is associated with increased on-the-job accident rates and has been linked to large-scale disasters, such as the Exxon Valdez oil spill and the nuclear accident at Chernobyl.

Conversely, research shows that adequate sleep improves individual health and strengthens the immune system; sleep can also reduce anxiety and depression by minimizing one's levels of Cortisol, a hormone that elevates blood sugar. And, beyond physical wellbeing, sleep improves employee performance, which improves an employer's bottom line. The loss of productivity associated with employee sleepiness costs the U.S. an estimated $63 billion annually.

"Being overtired is the norm," Ballard says...