French designer Marie-Virginie Berbet has designed a sleeping capsule for taking power naps at the office.
Created for office furniture brand Haworth, the booth comes equipped with preset lighting cycles and soundtracks designed to make it easier to fall asleep and then slowly wake back up.
Entitled CalmSpace, it contains a single mattress where users can make themselves comfortable and can be programmed for naps of between and 10 and 20 minutes long. "Never more because after 30 minutes you can fall into a deep sleep, so the awakening is hard and you lose the benefit of a nap," Berbet told Dezeen.
The design team claim that midday naps can help to improve cognitive ability, reduce stress and decrease the risk of heart disease. "Making the idea of sleeping at work acceptable and even obvious thanks to cumulated scientific data and a relevant sound and light device was crucial to overcome cultural barriers," said Berbet.
The product was launched at the Orgatec trade fair in Cologne last week, where Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec also presented stackable chairs and tables designed for a Danish university and KiBiSi showed a mechanical desk that can be cranked up and down.
It seems there's a growing trend for booths and products enabling naps in public and we've previously featured sleeping booths at airports and a squishy hat that lets you sleep at your desk. See more stories about sleeping.
Here's a project description from Haworth:
CalmSpace – Effective recovery in power nap capsule
Haworth joins designer Marie-Virginie Berbet to present CalmSpace, a stand alone, "plug & play" power nap capsule for the office, at Orgatec 2012. Individuals searching for rest enter through an acoustic curtain and lay down on a fabric-upholstered mattress. The user is able to select a power nap period – from 10 to 20 minutes – that includes preset sound and light cycles, which helps the individual fall asleep and wake up smoothly.
CalmSpace allows individuals to refresh, relax, and reenergize to be ready for productive activity. In times of high-speed work and a demanding economy, many companies offer their employees collaborative relaxation areas like lounges and cafeterias, but few are exploring the benefits of calm, individual relaxation. With an unusual background in neuropharmacology, Marie-Virginie Berbet used her scientific knowledge in her CalmSpace design. The short- and long-term benefits of mid-day naps include improved cognitive abilities (e.g., alertness, memory, learning, and creativity), improved mood, stress prevention, better nightly sleep, and can even lower the likelihood of heart disease.
In 2011, Haworth tested a prototype of the CalmSpace concept at the call centre of France Telecom Orange in Lyon. Now, Haworth is extending CalmSpace’s innovative approach to lifestyle at work to all companies. CalmSpace is a helpful retreat area for people who do intense work, have demanding schedules or are subject to jet lag.
Developed by Haworth in cooperation with Zyken, who provided scientifically-validated light and sound technologies, CalmSpace is made of dark grey-blue coloured composite material. Acoustic foam is used between the internal and external skin.