The important business of napping

World Today

woman sleepingCorrespondent Li Jiejun gets some shut eye at one of Hong Kong’s new nap salons.

Napping is a serious matter for some in Hong Kong, but finding a tranquil space is hard in the expensive and cramped city. Some enterprising companies are now taking steps to make a quick snooze their business.

CCTV’s Li Jiejun reported from Hong Kong.

The Nap Lounge is a new lunchtime haven for hangover sufferers. Bleary-eyed professionals can come to take a rest in the middle of a hectic day.

They can reserve a cabin for a 15-minute power nap at about HKD40 ($5 USD), or book for a more refreshing one-hour recharge which costs around HKD 100 ($13 USD).

There are slippers, eye-masks, magazines and free Wi-Fi in the room. Coffee and snacks are also available for when customers wake up.

A recent survey showed that people in Hong Kong work the most overtime in Asia.

Nineteen percent of workers put in an extra six to eight hours a week, while 20 percent work an extra four to six.

Many people in Hong Kong don’t make a habit of napping, but for some it’s rather important. After all, a 30-minute rest can make all the difference to how the rest of the day goes.&

Chillazy, another fashionable place to “chillax,” is growing in popularity among young people.

It costs HKD 60($8 USD) for the first hour on work days, and additional half hours are charged at HKD15. If you pay the rate for a 3-hour session, you can stay as long as you like.

It’s an oasis in one of the city’s busiest industrial areas.

Paying to take a nap is a new concept in Hong Kong, but more and more people are embracing the idea. While it’s enjoying a boom in popularity now, it remains to be seen whether paying to nap will become big business in the eternally busy metropolis.


Dr. Dmitri Alden on the importance of sleep

To take a deeper look at the value of a good night’s sleep, CCTV America’s Susan Roberts spoke to Dr. Dmitri Alden, a liver and pancreatic-cancer surgeon at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York.