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jezebel.com: If humans do their best work after a good night’s sleep, then naps have to be included in there too, right? University of Michigan has taken that advice to the mattresses and invested in sleep pods for their students so they’ll never stop working. Go Blue!
5 comments:
Jess Bergson
said...
While many college students would vouch for the idea of nap pods, I am personally against them. I think placing nap pods in a student library is sending a dangerous message to students. While there may be scientific proof that people's work habits benefit from naps, I believe students should not be napping in a library. Yes, college students should be working hard. However, placing nap pods in a library so students do not have to leave will backfire when those students are so delirious from being in one place for such an extended period of time. While naps are proven to have a positive impact on work, taking regular breaks also are proven to increase productivity. By creating a space within the library to nap, students are not truly taking a break from the place where they work.
As someone who really likes their sleep, I fully support this, although I understand Jess' point. The problem is at a school like ours, it's hard to make crazy hard workers stop working that hard. So if you can't get them to leave the library, at least make it a healthier experience. Last semester I spent a lot of time finding other places on campus other than in Purnell to do my homework. I found the nap pod in the library to be extremely useful, although it was hardly ever available. I have a hard time going home and still getting work done, so I was often taking naps on tables in the back of the library behind a book stack--not comfortable! So I was waking up still feeling exhausted, which was only causing me to focus on how tired I was instead of the work I was doing. This year I have made the effort to plan my work flow to allow for six to eight hours of sleep every night if at all possible. So far, I’ve been alert and ready to go every day! Perhaps we should get a nap pod in the green room or the grad studio.
I've actually seen these before, and the science behind their existance is really interesting. While the technology of the pod themselves is fairly simple; the science of sleep is fairly complex. The have been various studies showing the positive and negative repercussions of interrupting your bodies regular sleep cycle with naps and also many studies debating the ideal length of a nap. I's very interesting to see them making these sleep pods to increase productivity, when we're still not even sure "how" to sleep!
I completely agree with Jess' point that nap pods in the library are dangerous. Last year in PTM, we talked a lot about separating where you work and where you sleep, going along the lines on how doing work on your bed isn't really productive. This is along that same line. Nap pods in the library might give people the wrong idea, whether it be consciously or subconsciously. However, I am all for naps. In fact, I am a firm believer in napping every day. Whether it happens or not is what it is. Nap pods would increase the mental and physical health of our students so much more. Especially if they were placed in a building like the UC (in a quiet room, of course).
I personally think that colleges need to provide students with a place to take naps during the school day and late at night and not expect them to go back to their housing. Nap pods might not be the best solution, but they are good for places that don't have much space. The design of the pods themselves is what annoys me the most. You lay down and from your waist up is covered with a protective screen to block out light and noise. I wouldn't want my legs to be exposed while napping to allow the public to do as they wish with them. I also wouldn't want to leave my bag unattended while sleeping in a pod where I can't see out of. Seems like the perfect place to get your bag stolen, your basically asking for it. Overall a good idea, but needs some further work.
5 comments:
While many college students would vouch for the idea of nap pods, I am personally against them. I think placing nap pods in a student library is sending a dangerous message to students. While there may be scientific proof that people's work habits benefit from naps, I believe students should not be napping in a library. Yes, college students should be working hard. However, placing nap pods in a library so students do not have to leave will backfire when those students are so delirious from being in one place for such an extended period of time. While naps are proven to have a positive impact on work, taking regular breaks also are proven to increase productivity. By creating a space within the library to nap, students are not truly taking a break from the place where they work.
As someone who really likes their sleep, I fully support this, although I understand Jess' point. The problem is at a school like ours, it's hard to make crazy hard workers stop working that hard. So if you can't get them to leave the library, at least make it a healthier experience. Last semester I spent a lot of time finding other places on campus other than in Purnell to do my homework. I found the nap pod in the library to be extremely useful, although it was hardly ever available. I have a hard time going home and still getting work done, so I was often taking naps on tables in the back of the library behind a book stack--not comfortable! So I was waking up still feeling exhausted, which was only causing me to focus on how tired I was instead of the work I was doing. This year I have made the effort to plan my work flow to allow for six to eight hours of sleep every night if at all possible. So far, I’ve been alert and ready to go every day! Perhaps we should get a nap pod in the green room or the grad studio.
I've actually seen these before, and the science behind their existance is really interesting. While the technology of the pod themselves is fairly simple; the science of sleep is fairly complex. The have been various studies showing the positive and negative repercussions of interrupting your bodies regular sleep cycle with naps and also many studies debating the ideal length of a nap. I's very interesting to see them making these sleep pods to increase productivity, when we're still not even sure "how" to sleep!
I completely agree with Jess' point that nap pods in the library are dangerous. Last year in PTM, we talked a lot about separating where you work and where you sleep, going along the lines on how doing work on your bed isn't really productive. This is along that same line. Nap pods in the library might give people the wrong idea, whether it be consciously or subconsciously. However, I am all for naps. In fact, I am a firm believer in napping every day. Whether it happens or not is what it is. Nap pods would increase the mental and physical health of our students so much more. Especially if they were placed in a building like the UC (in a quiet room, of course).
I personally think that colleges need to provide students with a place to take naps during the school day and late at night and not expect them to go back to their housing. Nap pods might not be the best solution, but they are good for places that don't have much space. The design of the pods themselves is what annoys me the most. You lay down and from your waist up is covered with a protective screen to block out light and noise. I wouldn't want my legs to be exposed while napping to allow the public to do as they wish with them. I also wouldn't want to leave my bag unattended while sleeping in a pod where I can't see out of. Seems like the perfect place to get your bag stolen, your basically asking for it. Overall a good idea, but needs some further work.
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