Home > Latest News > Japanese Sleep Pods To Boost Productivity Says Manufacturer

Japanese Sleep Pods To Boost Productivity Says Manufacturer

Japanese companies are considering making powernaps more acceptable at work by offering new privacy pods to workers to increase productivity.

Allowing workers to use the phonebooth-like pods to nap while standing up maximizes office space, and users can potentially reduce muscle stress for a comfy snooze, say the firms manufacturer of the napping pods.

The manufacturers say the pods can also lessen any stigma for taking a nap, despite it being common to nap Japanese on their desks.

“Now, we are approaching an era where we break down such stereotypes. Take a nap while standing and recover your mind and body in a short time,” says the creator of Giraffenap, the product of the Koyoju Plywood Corporation.

In Japan, the over-productivity of the workforce does have a dark side. The culture has a word for it, “karoshi”, which translates to death by overworking.

Only last year, a 26-year-old Japanese resident physician, Takashima Shingo, allegedly worked more than 207 hours in one month.

As for whether naps can completely address karoshi, it seems like a band-aid for a deeper-seeded issue, but the devices do cut down fatigue and stress, according to Koyoju Plywood Corporation.

Before releasing the new napping device, the Koyoju Plywood Corporation enlisted Hokkaido University researchers to help research the precise amount of sleep to optimise productivity. It was found to be 15-20 minutes and not to allow sleepers to get to a deep sleep, making them too groggy when they awaken.

Koyoju pods will be released in January 2024 for approximately 3 million yen or roughly $31,800 and are targeting corporate Japanese offices, medical facilities, and airports, among others.

A U.S. competitor, EnergyPod from Metronaps, has partnered with Yokohama-based Comotize to offer a pod that they say is best used for brief 20-minute naps to enhance cognitive ability and attention.

The pod includes headphones playing relaxing music and features a dome-shaped area allowing for a semiprivate space covering the upper body to enable a snooze.

The pricing for each EnergyPod session costs 1,500 yen or $15.90.

“There must be a lot of people who want to have a short nap to improve work efficiency but who are worried they might be seen as being lazy if they do,” Kagami Shimizu of Comotize.

“I think you can use [an EnergyPod] in a space you’re sharing with strangers with no worries.”



Popular Posts

Netgear Consumer Business Tanks, Pro B2b Holding The Company Together
Latest News
/
/
Big Sponsor Pulls Plug On All Blacks
Latest News
/
/
Bang & Olufsen Beosound 2 Gradient Collection
Bang & Olufsen Lets Customers Design Their Own Speakers
Latest News
/
/
Leica Launches Sofort 2 Burton Edition Instant Camera
Latest News
/
/
Sony's Singapore filing for the WH-1000XM6
Sony Readies Its Next Generation Premium Headphones
Latest News
/
/

Digital Magazines

Recent Post

Netgear Consumer Business Tanks, Pro B2b Holding The Company Together
Latest News
/
//
Comments are Off
Netgear’s Asia Pacific operation has finally started to deliver growth with the business reporting a climb in revenues in both...
Read More