Harvard student argues campus needs nap pods

Harvard student argues campus needs nap pods


Sleep is important, therefore Harvard students require the best technology to get it on the go

Harvard University students need more sleep, and the school should promote and facilitate their rest with special furniture designed for naps, a Harvard Crimson editorial editor, stated in a recent op-ed.

“Our collective lack of sleep shows readily across campus,” human evolutionary biology major Alessandro Hammond wrote for the student newspaper. “People nap in chairs, or even on the library floor, to catch much-needed shuteye before they return to the grind.”

Lack of sleep is associated with many unfortunate known effects, Hammond said, including increased student athlete injury, decreased attention, impaired cognitive development, and increased risk-taking.

Harvard has responded to the need with a required sleep habits survey and a general education class on sleep, Gen Ed 1038, but that’s not enough, Hammond wrote.

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Other universities provide superior nap technology

Harvard should look to institutions that have taken more progressive steps towards nap pod provisions, Hammond argued. The University of Akron set up four nap pods in three different study spaces. University of Ohio Cleveland Medical Center partnered with San Diego nap pod maker HOHM to secure two free nap stations.

“HOHM is a custom-engineered, sound-blocking sleep pod designed to safely provide individuals with comfort, privacy, and a place to decompress,” according to an October 2020 University Hospitals news release about providing the pods [pictured] to essential hospital workers at the northeast Ohio health system.

“In each 43.5 square-foot pod, HOHM features a comfortable twin-sized bed, a privacy and sound-blocking curtain, charging stations, and a tablet to control reservations.”



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