Where are the best dark, quiet places to snooze on the BYU campus? The answers are revealed by agents of The Secret Nap Society — and listed on its website.
The Secret Nap Society is a Web page created by a BYU student that informs students about the best spots to nap on campus and allows them to rate the spots as well as share their own napping venues.
Nathan Haines, a senior from Sandy, started the website a year ago. He said his dad gave him the idea for the nap society when he was in high school.
“I thought that was a really cool idea because I enjoy taking naps and a lot of my friends do too, so I felt this urge to do something about it,” Haines said. “Now we’re in college and I had some extra time, so I threw this together as a fun project, almost like a fun experiment to see how involved I could get other nappers.”
Anyone can submit a nap spot through the website. When submitting a spot, students enter a code name, email address, a brief description of the spot and the building where the spot is located.
Haines said the society has a unique way of recruiting. After submitting a nap spot on the Web page, a student receives an email in which he or she is given a mission to find a stack of recruiting letters and a candy bar that is hidden on campus. From there, the agent is supposed to distribute the recruiting letters to people he or she finds sleeping on campus, who hopefully find the letter about The Secret Nap Society and spread the word.
Haines said he is not using The Secret Nap Society just to make a club, but to inspire a napping culture at BYU.
“There’s a whole underground culture of people taking naps on campus,” Haines said. “Some people can, some people can’t. But for those who do it, I feel that there’s a way we can help others out as far as finding good spots.”
The site allows students to rate nap spots on darkness level, noise level, accessibility level and overall nap experience. It also offers things such as pillows and earplugs for sale to “enhance napping experiences,” according to Haines.
Taft Memmott, a sophomore from Susanville, Calif., found out about The Secret Nap Society from a co-worker and entered a nap spot on the site. He accepted the mission to hand out recruitment letters to nappers.
“The first time I was really nervous because I didn’t want to wake the people up,” Memmott said. “It’s way more fun when it’s covert and clandestine.”
Memmott said he is an avid napper on campus when time allows it, and he hopes The Secret Nap Society will bring a greater diversity of napping spots to BYU.
“I know sometimes you have a favorite napping spot and there is already someone sitting there or napping there, and you have to go find another spot,” Memmott said.
Chloe Jensen, a senior from Westminster, Colo., submitted a review of a napping spot in the Joseph Smith Building that is usually open and quiet. She said she decided to share her napping spot since she is a senior.
Haines said napping is important to rejuvenate and refresh students.
“It creates less stress, relaxes you and gives you a boost in the middle of the day,” he said. “It’s a lot healthier to take a short nap in a good spot that is relatively dark and quiet than trying to stay awake during a whole two-hour class.”
To find a napping location on the BYU campus, visit the website.
