Students at the University of Calgary (U of C) will have the option to stop by a designated napping room on campus for 30-50 minutes during “Stress Less Week” this fall.
The newly-elected union vice-president (student life), Kirsty McGowan, begins her term in May and plans to make this idea a reality.
McGowan included the room as part of her platform in the student elections, and said she hopes to implement it by November so students can catch up on sleep during the day.
“In the National College Health Assessment, 45 per cent of U of C students reported feeling tired during the day. It’s a big problem,” she said. “I think sleep is overlooked a lot by the students. They tend to wear it like a medal. You’ll hear students say, ‘I got no sleep last night studying for an exam’ and expect to be congratulated by their peers. We want to get rid of that dialogue and let students know that sleep is very important, especially to mental health.”
McGowan said she intends to use the “That Empty Space” multi-purpose room on campus as the napping room, with mats from the gym for beds. Before November, she needs to have a cleanliness plan in place, book time slots, and organize volunteers to monitor the room at all times.
If the napping room is a success during Stress Less Week, McGowan said she will try and continue the program for the rest of the school year.
Urban studies student Rheagan Quigg said she voted for McGowan at the student elections because of her napping room platform.
“The nap rooms might work at U of C if it relieves people who are sleeping in places that they shouldn’t be sleeping,” Quigg said. “When Kirsty McGowan was making her pitch for the nap room, I thought it made a lot of sense.”
Quigg said she doesn’t see herself using it and would rather have a cup of coffee instead.
Many other students who didn’t vote in the elections said they support the idea in principle, but don’t see how a napping room could work on campus.
“I think security and hygiene are the biggest issues I thought of when I heard of a napping room. If they had the cleaning wipes we use in the hospitals, I would feel more comfortable, but that would get pricey,” said Sarah Thibeau, a third-year nursing student. “I still think the idea of it is nice, but I don’t know how they’ll get around all of that.”
Liz Steele, a second-year law student, expressed other concerns.
“It’s a bunch of mattresses in the same room and with a bunch of people you don’t know. It’s quite odd to me. I probably wouldn’t use it. Sharing a gym mat with other people is not my cup of tea,” she said.
However, Steele said she does believe it may help students in need of some shut-eye between cramming sessions.
“I suspect that people would use it, because closer to exams, you notice that anywhere people are crashed out all over the place. This is something that people will likely take advantage of, especially since their other wellness activities in That Empty Space, like puppy rooms, seem extremely popular,” she said.
