Selling Sleep

Yup, that's right - Sleep isn't free anymore.

It may sound ridiculous, but rent-a-nap stores are emerging in the downtown areas of many large cities in North America. Their prime targets are HR managers looking to find ways for their company's employees to get rest during lunch breaks or other times during the day.

Some companies are subsidizing 20-40 minute naps in soundproof, cozy, egg-shaped cocoons engineered for maximum tranquility. There's even mood-lighting to calm you down.

In Atlanta, Susan Vanyo joined the trend when she opened Rejuvenate Spas in November 2007. Vanyo, who formerly worked in the real estate industry, placed her spa in SunTrust Plaza in downtown Atlanta , where she knew she could attract a corporate clientele.

"I thought, 'I can't be the only person that needs this,'" she said.

Rejuvenate has five separate napping rooms, each equipped with a nap "pod." Two of the pods are MetroNaps EnergyPods. The other three are egg-shaped Alpha pods, which cover the body from the neck down and featured heated, vibrating beds. A 20-minute nap sells for $14. Vanyo targets corporate HR departments: Some local employers subsidize their staff napping.

Nicholas Ronco, the owner of another sleep boutique in New York says it best...

"The old '80s or '90s attitude of 'I'm a type A personality; I can get by on four to five hours of sleep' is going out the window,"

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