The Coolest Real World Nap Rooms

Google has them. So does the University of Michigan. Nap rooms are springing up in the nation’s top businesses and best colleges. Why? Lots of research suggests a little shuteye beats coffee or a 5-Hour Energy if you’re hitting the books or putting in long hours on the job.

In fact, a recent study from China found a daytime nap has the power to replenish “higher order cognitive functions” like problem solving, strategizing, and task vigilance. Research from the University of California, Riverside suggests a quick 15 to 20 minute “power nap” is all you need to recharge your mental batteries and fend off the sandman for a few more hours. 

Here, some of the coolest, most progressive nap rooms.

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Scattered throughout the Internet behemoth’s Mountain View, CA headquarters, these futuristic-looking “nap pods” provide workers shelter from external light and sound, as well as access to a built-in Bose music system. According to MetroNaps, the company that manufactures the pods, the reclining napping chair is designed to optimize full-body blood flow, ensuring a restful snooze. 

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Airport lounges are becoming more and more luxurious, and many feature private nap quarters. At the Vancouver International Airport’s Plaza Premium Lounge, private nap chambers look more like mini-hotel rooms. Located nearby: showers, just in case you need to refresh post-nap and pre-flight. 

Filled with beanbag sleepers students can reserve space ahead of time for up to 40 minutes. The Nap Nook provides peace and quiet (and antimicrobial pillows) to weary coeds.

Yelo, a Manhattan-based spa, provides sensory deprivation “cabins,” available by the minute, for weary office workers searching for a peaceful place for a catnap. Each of the cabins features customizable aromatherapy and sound settings, as well as zero gravity YeloBeds.

The online media outlet’s private “Napquest” rooms feature the same type of pods found at Google. Even cooler: Outside of the rooms there are light indicators to let other hopeful nappers know whether the room is occupied and, if so, how much time the current napper has left in her pod. 

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The online shoe and clothing retailer used to have nap pods à la Google, but employees said they preferred couches. Now the company’s nap room features not only cozy sofas but also fish tanks (so you can drift away to soothing visions of underwater life).