{"id":11276,"date":"2017-05-15T08:38:00","date_gmt":"2017-05-15T08:38:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/associatednews.us\/content\/2017\/05\/15\/stressed-out-high-schoolers-advised-to-take-a-nap-pod\/"},"modified":"2017-05-15T08:38:00","modified_gmt":"2017-05-15T08:38:00","slug":"stressed-out-high-schoolers-advised-to-take-a-nap-pod","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/associatednews.us\/content\/stressed-out-high-schoolers-advised-to-take-a-nap-pod\/","title":{"rendered":"Stressed-Out High Schoolers Advised To Take A Nap Pod"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Patti Neighmond<\/a><\/span> <\/p>\n

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\n Hannah Vanderkooy demonstrates the napping pod she uses at Las Cruces High School in Las Cruces, N.M.<\/p>\n

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Joe Suarez for NPR<\/p>\n

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Joe Suarez for NPR<\/p>\n

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When 18-year-old Hannah Vanderkooy feels extremely tired or anxious, she heads to a space-like capsule for a nap \u2014 during school. Like many teens struggling to get good grades and maybe even a college scholarship, Vanderkooy doesn’t get enough sleep.<\/p>\n

And she’s not alone. Various studies indicate that chronically sleepy and stressed-out teenagers might be the new normal among U.S. adolescents who are competing for grades, colleges and, eventually, jobs.<\/p>\n

Studies have shown teenagers actually need between nine and 10 hours<\/a> of sleep a night. But the vast majority (69 percent) aren’t<\/a> getting it.<\/p>\n

Enter “napping pods.” They’re essentially an egg-shaped lounge chair that reclines, with a circular lid that can be pulled over the chest to shield against light.<\/p>\n

“It just sort of envelops you in a really nice darkness, with soft lighting behind you,” says Vanderkooy, a frequent user of the pods. She says she typically gets only four to five hours of sleep a night.<\/p>\n

There’s soft music playing in the pod and “you just feel extremely relaxed,” she says. The 20-minute experience is a wonderful “oasis” amidst all the worry and stress of school, she says.<\/p>\n

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\n Las Cruces High School has one napping pod, which students use for 20 minutes when they are tired, stressed or angry.<\/p>\n

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Joe Suarez for NPR<\/p>\n

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“Being a senior, I have to apply for scholarships, do all my homework,” she says \u2014 noting that she’s taking three advanced placement courses. “So my sleep cycle has just sort of become this night-owl life, and it’s just kind of the new normal.”<\/p>\n