I'm a firm believer in the restorative qualities of a power nap; I can take a 10- to 15-minute nap and awaken totally refreshed. But I don't agree with the results of a study you reported on in "Shift Work: Study Supports Power Naps" (Clinical Rounds, September 2008).* The researchers concluded that night-shift nurses should be allowed to sleep on the job during a break.

Working nights is difficult, but that's why night-shift nurses get paid up to $9,000 per year more than those who work days!!

A nurse who's working days would never consider taking a nap at work although he may be just as sleep-deprived as a nurse working the night shift.

How many day-shift nurses have stayed up all night with a sick child or gone to school at night after working a full shift? If naps are allowed at night, why not during all other shifts too? I say, sleep at home like everyone else.

NANCY GOMEZ, RN-BC, BSN

Ossining, N.Y.

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