Working World

Arshad Chowdhury told The DesiConnect that when he was 10 years old, he already knew he wanted to be an entrepreneur or an astronaut. He achieved the first of these goals when he founded MetroNaps at the age of 26. MetroNaps offers weary workers midday naps in specially designed “pods” that look, ironically, like something an astronaut might use.

With business partner Christopher Lindholst, Arshad opened his first location in the Empire State Building in 2004 in a dimly lit suite outfitted with several futuristic “energy pods.” These large contoured recliners tilt to elevate the feet and have a bubble hood to provide privacy, darkness and quiet. Arshad chose the location for its iconic status (it’s easy to find) and its proximity to thousands of New York workers, many of them tired.

The need for a nap, while rarely acknowledged in our go-go-go society, is widespread among American workers, who generally just down another espresso when exhausted. Arshad’s business sense kicked in when he saw coworkers at a banking firm dozing off in meetings or sneaking off to out-of-the-way spots for a quick snooze. Recognizing that “midday napping is an underserved market,” he began developing the idea of providing a place for people to nap.

Later at Carnegie Mellon Business School, he tested the idea by charging students and faculty $1 for 40 minutes in a chaise lounge or lawn chair, which proved to be a very popular idea. He collected his customers’ ideas about what they needed to be comfortable, how much they would pay for a nap, and how far they would go out of their way to get it.

Although the prevailing culture in this country dictates that people should be able to work nonstop and survive on little sleep — and there is even a badge-of-honor mentality for doing this — scientific research is proving that these practices are not healthy or productive. Sleep deprivation causes errors and injuries, while rest improves heart function, cell repair, memory, motor skills and mood.

After a slow start, MetroNaps caught on with the locals, who were soon plunking down $14 for a 20-minute nap. Lunch can be ordered at check-in, to be ready when you are gently awakened by a gentle buzz and light inside your pod. Lemon-scented towels and mineral water spritzes are available at a “wake station” to get you going again, although the naps are deliberately kept short in order to avoid deep REM sleep and the grogginess that would result.

A second location opened at the Vancouver International Airport in late 2004, and since then MetroNaps has been marketing pod leases directly to companies, hospitals and universities. MetroNaps is banking on reaching HR departments that are forwarding-thinking enough to recognize the value of some shut-eye for their hardworking employees: increased alertness and productivity and better health. Clients currently include Google, Procter & Gamble, Cisco, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Stanford VA Hospital and Providence Health Care.

Although early press called them “sleep pods,” the company website, in a brilliant marketing move, now calls them “energy pods” and stresses the benefits of  “fatigue risk management” (instead of naps) and offers “employee fatigue assessments.”

Arshad, a Bangladeshi-American, was inspired and mentored by  two uncles who started their own multimillion-dollar companies. He plans to offer “resting facilities” worldwide and wants to make the MetroNaps pod “as ubiquitous as the office coffee machine.”    

Suzanne Ridgway is a freelance writer and regular columnist for Working World and Working Nurse magazines. Suzanne also writes grant proposals for nonprofit organizations.

1 COMMENTS

• Catherine Rhodes

  Our readers who are interested in the productivity benefits of napping should check out this article, "Why Power Napping Might be Right for the Nurses at Your Hospital" http://tinyurl.com/d3pqwy

  Feb 04, 2009