Nap time
As the UK’S first permanent nap pods open, Lauren Taylor experiments with a lunch-time snooze
Should we all be having a post lunch snooze?
We all have nights when we fall seriously short of the recommended eight hours of shuteye, and the following day can feel like you’re fighting your way through brain fog and struggling to concentrate, particularly by the afternoon.
It was apparently Winston Churchill who first coined the term ‘power nap’, saying that a daily twohour sleep top-up gave him the ability to think more clearly. In fact, many high-achievers through history are said to have sworn by the benefits of a daily afternoon snooze, including Albert Einstein, Leonardo da Vinci and John F Kennedy.
While most workplaces aren’t going to condone employees having a quick sleep at their desks, there’s a concept new to the UK that might change the future of how we use our lunch breaks, and impact our afternoon productivity – in the form of ‘nap pods’.
The idea originated in Japan. The first – Capsule Inn Osaka – opened in 1979 and coincided with an increase in taxi fares, so it became a more practical alternative than nipping home for a nap for late-working business people. Now, capsule hotels are commonplace in many Japanese cities, usually just a tiny room filled with a bed.
Futuristic-looking one-person ‘Airpods’ were developed this year in Slovenia and are expected to be rolled out in European airports and train stations this autumn, while New York’s Laguardia Airport and Helsinki Airport have similar products for tired travellers.
An early afternoon rest is, of course, a long-embedded part of life in many cultures. The siesta – two or three hours where businesses shut up shop during the hottest part of the day so workers can rest – originated in Spain but also exists in Italy, as well as some Central and South American countries. In China, ‘the right to rest’ is even in the constitution and many workers are encouraged to take a 30-minute nap at their desks after lunch.
In the UK and Ireland, rest has
“Studies of napping have shown improvement in cognitive function”
always been considered a night-time activity, but there are many factors that might increase our need for more daytime resting. According to the TUC, one in eight people now do shift work, often with frequently changing shift patterns. Technology now means we check work emails at home so never really switch off, and the traditional nine-to-five feels like something that belongs to a bygone era, with more and more people expected to work as many hours as necessary to get the job done.
So, maybe we should take a leaf out out of other countries’ books and rest during the day – and there’s now actually a place to do it. Pop and Rest (popnrest.com) has opened its first permanent space in East London, where you can pay per half-hour (or up to three if you need it) for a snooze.
Mauricio Villamizar, CEO of Pop and Rest says people from all walks of life have used the pods so far; local office workers, backpackers, people who work hard and play hard, and new parents: “It helps them get through the day if they’ve only slept for a few hours the night before and have to get up for work.”
The four ‘pods’ are surprisingly spacious, like mini hotel rooms with a single bed and bedside table. Villamizar explains they are designed to be bigger than Japanese capsule hotels, with space to stand up and stretch.
With a pretty bad night’s sleep behind me, I head to Pop and Rest for a 30-minute snooze, which costs £8 (one hour is £15, two is £28). With gentle jungle sounds playing (which you can drown out with earplugs, if you prefer), it’s a little haven in the middle of a busy city.
Back at work, I’m convinced the midday lie-down has done some good, though. I get through the rest of my work efficiently and end up working a couple of hours longer than usual.
And, there’s evidence to suggest it’s not all in my head. Dr Mark Winwood, director of psychological services at AXA PPP Healthcare, says: “Studies of napping have shown improvement in cognitive function, creative thinking, alertness and memory performance.”
But he warns that napping for too long can create a “sleep hangover, aka sleep inertia (the grogginess and disorientation after a deep sleep), which can disturb your normal sleep cycle”. n