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Sleep Room - Better Rest From A To Zzz
The Sleep Room from Matsushita Electric Works may recieve a welcome yawn from consumers in Japan. Japan is the land of the rising sun - a sun that rises all too soon for weary commuters and hard-working students who burn the midnight oil.
(From Sleep Room)
A recent Health Ministry survey revealed that 31 percent of Japanese said they didn't get enough sleep. Multiple-hour commutes, stress and long hours robbed grown-ups of the sleep they needed. And students aren't any better off.
The weary are invited to a Vitality Diagnostic Corner, where a sleep counselor leads the visitor through a software program designed to create a sleep profile. Once profiled, the prospective sleeper enters the sleep room - about the size of a small hotel room, with a reclining bed with a big TV screen in position. Gentle music, backdrop of natural sounds, room lights dim, the bed reclines fully, the massage starts and - Zzzzz.
Is a restful night's sleep worth $30,000? Matsushita is going to find out.
SF readers may recall the napcap rental facility from Larry Niven's recent novel Saturn's Race:
She punched her card into the Napcap's slot. The lid lifted and she crawled inside. It shooshed down. The inside received her as a womb. The prospect of rest triggered an avalanche of yawns, and she was asleep before the lid sealed fully back in place. (More)
See the reference story Sleep room featuring sounds, images, massage opens in Japan for more information.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 6/14/2004)
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