Written by Nor Diyana Abd Kadir
As the saying goes by “Sleeping is not a luxury, it is a necessity”, one should consider having a good night sleep in maintaining their health, a beautiful appearance and having a mental wellbeing to kick start their day. According to a study conducted by National Sleep Foundation in 2016, the optimal amount of sleep needed for an American adult is about seven to nine hours per night. The study also concluded that having minimal amount of sleeping hours has detrimental effect on a person’s mood, anxiety, depression, work performance, productivity, communication skills, and general wellbeing. A person with sleeping disorder will also show lack of energy to exercise regularly and also loss of appetite to eat healthily due to tiredness during the day. This will in turn have negative effects on their mental and physical health in the long run.
However, this situation has been approached rather differently in United Kingdom where a new phenomenon has spread across the country that help to combat sleeping disorder. David Lloyd Club has introduced a new fitness regime known as ‘Napercise’ which consists of nothing but sleeping – yes, you read it right. The classes have been scientifically designed to reinvigorate the mind, improve moods and burn calories. Unlike any other regular gym you are familiar with, the exercise only involves climbing into bed and napping for 45 minutes.
Welcomed guests will find themselves in a rather unusual setting from the regular run of the mill fitness clubs as bench presses are swapped for beds and upbeat music ditched in favor of ambient sounds all in name of creating the perfect mood setting. Participants will indulge in a nap session in one of the beds offered for a much needed regeneration before moving on with their day. Interestingly, the club temperature was also set to a level that promotes calorie burning during sleep.
The revolutionary workout routine was inspired base on a research which revealed on ‘tiredness epidemic’ which have spread across United Kingdom, with 86 percent of parents suffering from fatigue and 26 percent regularly getting less than five hours sleep per night. From the same research, statistic has showed that almost one in five tired parents admitting to skip from work and five per cent have forgotten to pick up their children from school due to tiredness from sleeping disorder. Recognizing the important of health benefit for a napping in the daytime David Lloyd Club has partnered with Dreams sleep expert Kathryn Pinkham to address sleeping problems among the exhausted parents and those stressed out with modern life.
Response from the public has been promising ranging from the feedbacks obtained. As one of the club’s representative explains: “Filling an exercise studio with beds might look unusual, but if it proves to be a success, we’re definitely excited at the possibility of rolling out the programme to more of our clubs down the line.”
References
New gym class consists of nothing but SLEEPING for 45 minutes. (2017, May 18). Birmingham Mail. Retrieved from http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/napercise-sleeping-david-lloyd-clubs-12952352?service=responsive
The Importance of Beauty Sleep. (2017). Health Business. Retrieved from https://healthpositiveinfo.com/beauty-sleep.html