Sleep Pods Offer Relief For Weary People of Hong Kong

As Hong Kong's already-frantic workers cling to their jobs amid the global economic downturn, the hectic and the exhausted are being offered a haven of relaxation in the overcrowded finance hub.

One of the ubiquitous shopping malls in the city's most frantic shopping district of Causeway Bay has installed high-tech beds where tired executives and exhausted shoppers can escape the fast lane for a quick snooze.

Looking like futuristic first-class airplane seats, the pods are designed to provide overwrought Hong Kongers with 20 minutes of down time during which the city's sounds and sights are blanked out in total darkness.

And there is whale music, too.

''Hong Kong is a really crazy place, you do not have time to rest at all,'' said Benjamin Lau, founder of Delay No Mall, where the sleep-pods are based, and chief executive officer of trendy style firm G.O.D.

''Lots of people cannot sleep very well at night, there's so much stress and pressure. We put these sleep pods in the mall because we wanted a place where people could relax.''

Lau said that at 90 Hong Kong dollars (12 US) a nap, the shut-eye is worth the investment.

''I think there's always a negative connotation of sleeping, and it shouldn't be considered sleeping, it is a place to re-energise really,'' said the Australian-educated entrepreneur.

According to Metronaps, the US-based firm which launched the sleep capsule in New York in 2003, the benefits of a mid-afternoon nap have proven scientific value.