The strange half-egg-half-bench in the back corner of the first floor of the library strikes me as a strange fusion of hyper-productive corporate weirdness and science fiction’s idea of a bed. I can’t help but finish every idea I have about it with “does this thing seriously cost twenty-two thousand dollars?” The Energy Pod was given to BU as a gift last year by Fusion Credit Union. One might think that, for that price, they could have “promoted student wellness and productivity” (and popularized the idea of taking a quick twenty-minute nap) by providing a dozen sofas and other lounging furniture. Or to best “boost learning,” perhaps twenty thousand dollars in food and a fridge that students could access and donate to would help. I’m not trying to reject the University having accepted this, but it seems necessary to preface my review with the fact that at least one student is thinking about how they are going to get food today, rather than where they are going to take a twenty-minute nap. If there were other options considered instead of a $22,000 device, that money might have been spent on something more directed towards assisting students’ most pressing needs.
But what we have is not all those things, it is this funky Energy Pod. Is it anything special? From the outside it looks like a big egg from space. Turning it on is a bit startling - sudden corporate elevator music noises as you are reclined made me use the Pod itself as a standard reclining chair. It goes up and down, gives you a nice shade as well as a bit of privacy so you do not feel so strange to be sitting in the thing. Once you lay back you feel quite comfortable. I sat there with my laptop and wrote a few emails rather than taking a nap, but it was certainly comfortable. The structure itself is rigid. It tilts up and down with a surprisingly large range of movement, but the position seems ergonomic. I can see myself taking a nap or doing work, especially because
many study spaces around campus are well-used. Having a closed-off space that is tucked away and quiet is a great idea, and I am sure that other people would appreciate it for that same reason.
One of the big features then (that I missed out on, but you do not have to) is that the Energy Pod uses a technology called “psychoacoustics” to try to help you get faster, more restful sleep. Other ways that you can do this, both in and out of the Energy Pod, are having a regular sleep pattern, or trying to sleep for a twenty-minute window and then getting up to do something rather than struggling for an hour to rest. Do not take stimulants like coffee or nicotine anywhere close to bedtime, make your sleeping space as dark as possible, and consider a sleep mask. Perform regular physical activity to help your body actually get tired. This will not prevent the existential terror of wondering what you are doing with your life from keeping you awake, but I promise that implementing some of these tips might help just as much as trying the Sleep Pod. As well, there are soundtracks that use psychoacoustics online - if you want better sleep, it is a free technology for you to try.
As for the idea behind the Sleep Pod, it seems that there is in fact data to back up the claim that naps can increase a full range of different positive attributes associated with being a student, or just a person. From short twenty-minute naps to longer sixty and ninety-minute naps, the people that take them can find benefits in memory, attentiveness, creativity, and reduce stress. You could begin a study session with a twenty-minute nap. If you see my legs sticking out of that little pod, you might be able to guess that I have a midterm the next day!
Finally, it seems like a good question is “who asked for this?” in the relationship between
BUSU, the University and Fusion Credit Union. I would appreciate hearing from them about how it came to the installation of the Pod, above other things. However, taking on the experience alone, I feel the Energy Pod is a fine addition to campus that more people should try, and potentially take ideas from to consider how they can better sleep.