If you want to be more productive, you need this 'nap desk' in your life

The afternoon slump at work is a commonality. You know exactly what I'm talking about. It's those few hours right after lunch when everything is gloomy and slow, and all you can think of is a nap, but there's nowhere you can go to sneak in a cheeky little shut-eye. Even though you're sure a nap is exactly what you need to feel more productive, you also know you'll get a crick in your neck and an intimidating glare from your boss if they catch you resting your head at your desk. That's why you need this ingenious nap desk.

Created by architecture and design firm Studio NL's Nancy (Athanasia) Leivaditou and Angeliki Leivaditou, both architects, the nap desk encourages people to rest when their body asks them to. After all, many studies have proven that naps actually have the power to make you more productive. According to the National Sleep Foundation, naps can restore alertness, enhance performance, and reduce any possible mistakes and accidents. In addition to this, naps have also been known to "increase alertness in the period directly following the nap and may extend alertness a few hours later in the day."

The design is simple and functional yet sleek and modern. The desk measures about 2 meters long and 0.8 meters wide, making it perfect for pretty much any space, whether that's your home workspace or an office workspace. Owing to its dimensions, it's named 1.6 S.M. of Life Desk. Nancy developed it as a solution to the drowsiness she experienced at work when working and studying in New York. As for how it works, the top layer of the desk is a sturdy piece of lacquered wood. A mattress is hooked up on one side beneath it. The two sides that are used to accommodate the head and feet are boarded up by plywood. This can be reclined as per user preferences.

Now, if you're wondering how to convert it from desk to bed (and back again), it's pretty easy. You simply have to slide the top board backward from your sitting position before pushing back the hinged mattress. And there you have it! Your workspace is now a cozy little napping nook. If you work from home, you may have had a sneaky little nap between projects just to fuel up and fallen into the trap of just staying in bed and doing nothing at all. This desk can solve for that. If you work in an office space, this is the perfect way to get away from annoying coworkers and reenergize (did we mention the desk even has a TV hooked into one of the boards?). More importantly, the 1.6 S.M. of Life Desk can help us, as a society, shift away from the "grind until you die" work culture we've created. Rest and relaxation are important and it's about time that we all took a step back to recognize that.