I am standing on a tube platform, staring into the dark tunnel, feeling tired but anxious. If a train doesn’t come soon, I am going to be late for my nap.
The idea of a post-lunch power nap isn’t new. I have one most days, by accident – but then I work from home. If you are out and about in the city, between meetings or waiting to travel, where can you catch a quick 40 winks?
A venture called Pop & Rest has stepped in to fill that need, offering sleep and meditation spaces near Old Street roundabout in London. It is not dissimilar to the Dreamery, a pay-per-nap store set up this month by a mattress company in New York. Headspace, a co-working office chain, also offers nap rooms at its Manchester site.
In the end, I am 20 minutes late for my one-hour, £18 nap, but the receptionist doesn’t mind, and he only charges me for the half hour. I am led to one of four pods – a little bedroom carved out of what once might have been an office. The pod is dark with a high ceiling and a made-up single bed. A sleep mask and some earplugs are provided. Soft music begins to play. I kick off my shoes, lie down and close my eyes.
I can’t sleep. I am far too preoccupied by where I am and what I’m doing. The construction noise going on outside doesn’t help (to be fair, I was warned about this when I booked). The music becomes birdsong. I try the earplugs. They can shut out the birds, but not the hammering. Never mind, I think. It’s nice just being alone.
I look around. There is a potted palm in the corner. A peaceful, leafy motif is painted on the wall by the bed; in the middle it says HOL Group – Integrated Retail, which I will later learn is a company that makes mannequins. I think I might be lying down in their old reception area.
I set my alarm for 4pm in case I do fall asleep – I don’t want to be woken by a stranger – but I’m actually checking my email when it goes off. Still, I enjoyed the break. I leave feeling calm and relaxed; so relaxed that I drift off on the way home and nearly miss my stop.
