Have you ever been so tired that you felt like you could sleep while standing? Well, now you can finally try it out, thanks to a new pod developed by Koyoju Plywood Corporation, a company based in Hokkaido, Japan. 

The Giraffepod, as it’s called, is a vertical pod solution fitted with a head, back, and knee rest that helps people take a nap in an almost-standing position. 
In its marketing materials, the company says it intends to dispel the myth associating napping with laziness. The best way to do it is ostensibly to show your boss that, although you’re taking a rest, you are formally still standing.

The Giraffepod comes in a wooden version that looks like an uncomfortably small Swedish sauna and a “Spacia” version with a near-future sci-fi vibe. They’re both quite dystopian in their own way, but the design of the second one, in our opinion, is a better fit for the corporate hellscape undertone of the product.

Nonetheless, the idea of sleeping while standing (i.e., properly supported in a vertical position) is worth exploring. The problem of lying down when taking a nap is that it’s too easy to enter the REM state if the rest is prolonged. That is detrimental to the idea of a power nap, though, which is not supposed to give us the equivalent of a full-on night-time sleep but serves as a quick brain-fatigue cleanser.

The type of sleep that works best to refresh the brain and body in a short time is Stage 2, which usually happens in the first 20-30 minutes after falling asleep. Napping while standing is a great way to avoid going past this stage, and taking a siesta in a Giraffepod could make a short sleeping break more effective while showing your boss or your judgemental peers that sure, you’re unbearably tired, but at least you’re still standing.