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Getting a full night’s rest may be a thing of the past, but napping has never been more fashionable. In Tokyo, Japan, a women-only “nap café” opened this week as a haven for ladies who want some peace and quiet in the middle of the bustling city.
With mattresses veiled by lacy white curtains, the nap room looks like something out of a Disney princess’s bedroom. Nap Café Corne also includes a shop and a kitchen where women can relax and refuel. Best of all, 10 minutes in nap heaven costs just 150 yen (about $1.50).
Tokyo may be one of the first big cities to feature public areas for napping (Nap Café Corne isn’t the only snooze-centered venue in Tokyo, and New York also boasts a few areas for urbanites to sleep for free and for a fee). But in the past few years, nap rooms have popped up in a growing number of American office buildings and even university libraries. The trend points to a growing awareness that sleep is crucial to our physical and mental health and that even a 15-minute afternoon snooze can be restorative. Don’t think of the newest napping space as sexist, either: Recent research suggests women are more likely than men to say they’re tired.
As for those of us who don’t live in Tokyo and don’t work or study in a place that encourages napping, fear not. If there’s a (sleepy) will, there’s a way — even if that means working up the confidence to don an eye mask during your lunch break at the office. It could be a good look for you.
Photos courtesy of Nap Café Corne and Facebook.
Would you use a public nap room in your city? Let us know in the comments below or tweet the author at @ShanaDLebowitz.
