By Shea Gunther

Contributing Writer, [GAS]

One of the things that your typical geek does not get enough of, besides sex of course, is sleep. Whether it’s because we’re staying up late at night surfing Digg, writing code, or Photoshopping George Bush’s head onto Linsey Lohan’s body, it’s a good bet we’re all a few hours short of getting the recommended eight hours of snooze-time a night. Coffee and soda companies bank on this fact and most of us make it through the day riding a sleepy/hyper/sleepy rollercoaster.

Despite the fact that studies have shown that power naps are more effective than caffeine, most companies and managers frown upon employees sleeping on the job.

But not the Japanese. They may have crazy ass TV shows and an unnatural affinity for strange robots, but they’re surprisingly enlightened on the subject of workplace naps (perhaps because they are all expected to overwork themselves to death). They call them “inemuri“, which translates to “to be asleep while present”. There are some strict ground rules though. First, you have to stay upright. You can’t put your face down on your keyboard to show that you are still “socially engaged”. Secondly, you have to be either high up or low down in the company; the middle managers get screwed out of the benefits of inemuri.

The next time your boss yells at you for sleeping on the job tell them to chill out and send them to this post. Your quick round of inemuri will keep you alert, on your toes, and productive. Bonzai!!!

Link [BBC News]