Nu-age: The Secret Power of Naps
As a busy and sleep-deprived graduate student, Arshlavi Auleear had a revelation when she started taking intentional breaks and naps. She felt less stressed, more energetic, and was increasingly productive. In response, she designed Nu-age, an app and service that promotes napping as a tool for increasing productivity and wellness.
“The secret power of naps. Nu-age has been developed to combat fatigue and stay on top of tasks to improve your well-being.”
"We often get so lost in our work that we forget to take breaks, which in turn affects our performance. Moreover, our mental health also suffers," Arshlavi shares. "Building onto the core values of taking intentional breaks to increase productivity, I looked into the Pomodoro Method, a simple and effective tool for people to prioritize their well-being." She also did a deep dive into different types of naps and their corresponding benefits.
Arshlavi noticed that, like her peers, she spent a substantial amount of time working on assignments while forgetting to prioritize her own mental health. As part of the Nu-age suite, she designed an app to provide students with health care techniques focused on bringing more awareness to their work habits and break time. The app uses the same principles of the Pomodoro Method, allowing users to customize their favorite activities during breaks. They can set goals for the week and choose their "joy activity," whether it's going on coffee breaks or taking naps. Arshlavi explains that "the goal is to improve the user's well-being to help them stay focused during their work, and also to take some time off to unwind and recharge." Let's take a look at how the app works:
Another exciting aspect of Nu-age is the suite of nap services, ranging from the “Scandinavian Winter Nap” to the “Spanish Siesta.” Here is a sampling of some of these innovative nap experiences:
