Best Naps on Campus: RANKED

Whether you are currently a stressed out college student or striving to be a stressed out college student, a common theme we all encounter is sleep deprivation. Now, I could go ahead and start spewing out “advice” on how to avoid this and be a good student. But let’s be realistic and admit that this will never happen to either of us. Let’s call our procrastination issues inevitable and work on dealing with our lack of sleep during the day.

It definitely has been made clear that naps are great for us. Short naps, no more than 90 minutes, can give your memory a boost and reduce stress. So as a student juggling several classes, homework, jobs and other extracurricular activities, a nap can be a great way to recharge during the day. Most likely, you will encounter several long breaks in your schedule. I’m a tad bit insane, so my longest break is eight hours. Yours would probably be shorter. However, even a ten minute nap can be extremely beneficial. So let’s go sleep.

But where?

Thankfully, City College puts your tuition to good use and has many facilities where you can close your eyes for a bit. As we all know, every nap is different and you want to cater to that. So let’s take a look at top spots I think are the best places on campus to take a good nap.

Honorable Mention: Grass

With a campus in Manhattan, you wouldn’t expect a school to even know what “grass” is. But CCNY has plenty of it. We can find a majority of it in the “Quad,” but when our Advanced Science Research Centers open, we’ll have plenty more of it. On a cool spring day, it’s extremely soothing to just lie down on the grass and drown out the sounds of awake students and birds as time drifts by. Unfortunately, as we know, every day is not a cool spring day in New York City.

3. Classroom/Lecture Hall

I’m going to be honest with you on this one. I’ve never slept in a classroom (while class is not in session) and I probably never will. If you are that sleepy AND courageous, then this is the place to go.

The great thing about sleeping in a classroom or lecture hall is that you can do anything you want with the ~30 (for classrooms) or ~250 (for lecture halls) seats that you have available. You can control the lighting to your desires, and you have loads of square feet all to yourself. Unless you are looking for a nap during the late morning or early afternoon, there is a good chance you will find a room for yourself. Wonderful.

But if even one person walks in, it’s over. Stuck in an abyss of awkwardness and embarrassment, you will not be able to sleep anymore and the nap will now become more detrimental than beneficial. Or there could be a class and you’d get kicked out. Either way, the nap can go perfectly as much as it can go horribly. Feeling lucky?

2. Deep Ends of Marshak Library

Also known as the Science and Engineering Library (located in the Marshak Science Building), this is probably the best unpopular spot to sleep on campus. Most students prefer to stay in the front section to do their work, so there are very few students hanging around the back to begin with. As for your temporary bed, you’d have to stick with a traditional cubicle. But with your bag, jacket or hoodie, you can easily turn this into your own temporary personal crib.

The only downfall about this spot is that it’s creepy. There are no windows and depending on the time you go, there maybe be very few or even no people. The cell service is weak and occasionally the temperature is not controlled properly. Also, the lights are all MOTION sensored. This means that some of the lights may turn off if you’re the only one in a certain area, or even worse, turn ON?! But, if you got over the whole ghost/monster thing as a kid, like myself, this may be your spot.

1. Fourth Floor of Cohen Library

Obviously, having control of the largest library in the CUNY system comes with plenty of perks. In our case, there are two “quiet floors” where we can nap – the fourth and the fifth. The fourth floor is by far the more popular one because it is filled with couches and has “private” rooms for you to do “work”. With plenty of options from small couches, long couches, chairs and window seats, this floor is probably the most comfortable place to take a nap.

Unfortunately, all this comfort draws in the masses of sleepy students, which reduces its quality a bit. Despite all the space, you may not find a spot or have to settle for something less desirable. More people also means it’s not the quietest of quiet floors. And, you’d have to understand that you’re not the first person or living organism to sleep on a given couch. If you take your naps during prime time or are a hardcore germophobe, this might not be the place for you.

The Verdict:

As we can see, there is no perfect spot to take a nap. Since most of you are (or will be) commuters, we can’t just go home and sleep on our own beds. Even if you do have access to it, you might not want to get too comfortable when you still have work to do or classes to attend. But CCNY definitely has some great places to take naps depending on your sleepersonality.  So go have a nice sleep, but make sure to wake up in time for your next class!