Tampa Has Nap Pods Now and It’s Just What It Sounds Like
According to science, we should be getting 7-9 hours of sleep a night. In 1942, we were getting an average of 7.9 hours. Today, that average is down to 6.5. We’re not even hitting the low end of the “sufficient sleep” scale anymore. Neuroscientist Matthew Walker says this situation is, in clinical terms, not good. “There’s no aspect of your health, mind or wellness that isn’t dependent on sufficient sleep.”
A few years back, somebody figured out that lack of sleep costs most nations 2% of their GDP—at which point some of the more progressive companies began to consider the impact of under-slept employees on their own bottom lines. Enter the nap pod; a cross between BarcaLounger and Pac-Man.
Scott Chester, Nap Pod CEO
Sleep pods have been around for a little while, but up until now have been fairly scarce. As business owners have begun realizing the positive impact of a well-slept workforce on their productivity, they’ve been popping up more often.
Scott Chester and his coworker buddies at Raymond James Financial used to throw around ideas for making the workday more productive: “What if we had pods like they do at Google and Zappos?” they proposed. After all, Nike has a meditation room, and OG forward-thinkers Ben & Jerry have had a nap room for over a decade. The idea did not receive enthusiastic support.
And like with so many entrepreneurs before him, that disappointment sparked an idea: He would provide a centrally-located sleep environment to serve Tampa’s deprived workforce and replenish its esprit de corps. Enter Scott Chester’s Nap Pod.
Nap Pod offers two private rooms outfitted with zero-gravity nap pods, plus a serene lounge area, chair massage and IV vitamin therapy. The private rooms are filled with calming scents, relaxing sounds and ambient lighting. Nap sessions are 20 minutes each.
If you’re worried about taking a nap during the day and then not being able to sleep later on, Ohio State University sleep specialist Rita Aouad says, “A nap of about 20 minutes in the afternoon has a positive effect on attention, vigilance, mood and alertness, without interfering with nighttime sleep.”
You had me at nap.
NAP POD · MON-FRI 10 AM-4 PM · 408 E MADISON ST · 813-906-7773
