The University Centers Advisory Board is considering piloting a nap pod program in the Price Center area after being approached by a company called HOHM. The company and UCAB are still deciding the logistics of the program in order to make a concrete decision.

HOHM is a new sleep pod company that designs nap pod rooms for high-volume public places like airports, office buildings, universities, and events. According to their website, the “soundproof unit” is equipped with a twin-sized bed, a charging station, and custom lighting.

Additionally, as UCAB Graduate Student At Large Gary Le told the UCSD Guardian, the program would most likely run “on a reservation system.”

Since the room is personal, it would require maintenance and attendance by a supervisor almost at all times.

“They’d be coming in and using their own supervisors and it looks like they would be providing cleaning and things like that, which is nice as well,” John Muir College Representative Nicholas Laub commented.

The company approached them toward the end of Fall Quarter 2017, but “UCAB has been considering some sort of napping pod program ever since we received requests from students to implement some sort of napping space,” UCAB Chair Ashley Awe stated.

“Napping pods have been on our mind a lot. I know when the hammock garden opened up, that was a big deal,” Laub added.

“UCAB is still working with the company to decide the parameters of the pilot program to decide if we want to proceed,”  Awe said.

In the deciding whether to implement the HOHM nap pods, the board will take into account the reality of the pods and student usage.

“Is the idea of a nap pod better than the actual nap pod? Will people use it if it’s there?” Le questioned. “We have to think about how long will students take a nap for … This is one of the ideas we’re trying out and it’s up to students to decide whether they want something like a nap pod where you have a personal pod … or something more like the zone where there are just bean bags with low costs, but not that comfortable.”

While HOHM prefers a more visible spot, UCAB has not decided on a clear location yet, but there would most likely be two: one by Price Center and one by the Geisel Library.

Laub also considered the effectiveness of the locations.

“Putting napping areas is kinda tough because there’s a lot of noise and, a lot of foot traffic,” he said. “I know the library was trying some initiative to find some space for napping, but that didn’t work out so well.”

UCAB Eleanor Roosevelt College Representative Muhammad Tauha adds that while the program would be a “good idea” and greatly beneficial to off-campus students, “PC is already pretty populated.”

Although UCAB would be interested in implementing the nap pod program, details such as the cost and actual benefits to students in the populated noisy area of Price Center, must be taken into consideration and have not been clearly discussed between the board and HOHM.

“I’m sure by next quarter we might have some more information,” Laub said. UCAB expresses that nothing is set in stone at the moment, and the decision to implement the pilot program has yet to be decided.

The success of the pilot program would determine whether or not an official program would be brought to UC San Diego on a longer-term basis.