Falling asleep in public

There are times when there is a need to take break in the day and sometimes when I need a small nap; especially when spending a whole day in city, and planning to stay out at night.

Over the years I have felt this at various times, and have often wondered if it is simply that I have a mild form of narcolepsy, or if it is a normal feeling that most people just ignore or overcome by having a coffee.

So recently when in London, (well in fact yesterday), I went back to the one space that I remember as being truly possible to relax for free. It may seem unexpected, but it is in fact the Tate Modern Gallery. As on the second floor they have a set of black leather sofas, which are simply very comfortable. I had some time to pass before meeting my friends that evening to go to the theater, and I had been out all day on the go.

So decided to go to this spot and relax a little. I stayed there for about 1 hour and a half, and managed to nap for at least 45 minutes of that. Now, to some people, this may be like a strange thing to do in public. However, on these particular set of sofas...there are many people dozing off, it is a little like a permanent art exhibition.
In fact, the two on the two occasions that I have dosed off on these sofas, I have woken up to find many people on the surrounding sofas doing the same thing. So this time I stayed a little longer to observe a little.

The results, many people use these seats to stop and doze. Which makes this space somewhat unique to me.In fact, I can't think of many other places that serve this same purpose. There are coffee shops, with comfortable sofas, in which it is possible to relax...but not really acceptable to snooze. There are the multitude of people that "rest their eyes" on the metro /train / bus/underground but this is usually a mere few minutes escape ... I can't think of many more.
There is of course the park in summer, but as soon as it begins to get a little cold or rains(quite common in Scotland), this opportunity is not possible.

So is there a need for more public spaces in which to relax...is this really a viable idea. There is likely to be abuse, as one main market that you do often see "relaxing" in public is homeless people, and would it have to for commercial gain? Is it a space that is necessary or a product, something to shut you off from the world for a short amount of time.

So I decided to Google "sleeping in public" and from the results I found a few interesting things.
One is a sleeping jacket. However, this has been taken to the next level, with considerations of supports necessary to support the body whilst sleeping in public spaces, therefore it is very interesting and impressive product.





So yes, opposite is the Jacket for sleeping on public transportation by Mathew Gale










Then I noticed this flickr group Sleep in public, which has a myriad of images displaying the fact that I am not the only one whom likes to take a little break at some point during the day.

It is also interesting to notice different opinions in relation to the subject, depending upon whom the person falling asleep is. As it is often deemed unacceptable for homeless people to be caught sleeping in public, and in various cities around the world, it is banned for this reason. Yet, for your average jo, to take a break, although some people find it quite comical and take photos to post online, it is generally acceptable.
ok thats enough for now