Best nap spot: Memorial Union Quad hammocks

 A sunny hideaway perfect for a quick snooze

By AMBER DUHS — alduhs@ucdavis.edu

Whether it be a late-night study session, an evening shift at your part-time job or a night of binge-watching your favorite show, every college student knows the feeling of heavy eyes and brain fog that follows you through your school day. Eventually, many students succumb to the midday nap: a euphoric and semi-forbidden activity that has you rolling the dice on whether you’ll actually feel more rested or be forced to thug out the tiredness.

While the seemingly obvious choice for a nap may be one’s bed, house or even a friend's couch, oftentimes students don’t have time to leave (and come back to) campus before their next class. 

“I tend to have an awkward gap in between classes [...] [it’s] not enough time to lock in or really feel productive,” Catarina Kenat, a first-year sustainable environmental design major, said. “Being productive, to me, is taking a nap or listening to an audiobook while laying down.” 

With this, many students may set out in search of the best nap spot on campus, considering the criteria of what makes a napping area “good.” From the amount of outside noise or foot-traffic you’ll encounter to the availability of sun or shade your chosen spot has, there’s a lot of factors to take into account. 

“I like to have privacy in my place to nap, and a quiet space,” Kenat said. “[I nap] usually where there’s some sun, but not a big crowd of people.” 

As a nap spot, the hammocks at the Memorial Union Quad have many positive features, making them the perfect place to catch up on some sleep or rest your eyes for just a moment. 

“The hammocks rock you back and forth and it’s very calming,” Kaylee Pope, a first-year biological sciences major, said. 

The hammocks were first implemented in 2014, with the intention of encouraging students to rest and relax on campus. Since then they’ve become a coveted rest spot, with students often prowling the Quad while waiting for a comfy spot to open up. 

Beyond the success of the initiative, the hammocks are positioned in a perfectly central and accessible location, near lecture halls and conveniently adjacent to the Coffee House — allowing students to grab a quick bite and then relax. The Quad also tends to get great weather, and yet the hammocks themselves rest in a shaded spot just beneath the oak trees on either side of the grass. 

“[When] it’s sunny or when I have a weird gap between classes [...] I just bike to the hammocks and clock out,” Pope said. “When the weather is nice, it gets peak sun.”

Despite their location in a more grassy area, the leverage of the hammocks allows students to be within nature, but resting just above the dirt and bugs. 

“The hammocks are so comfy and I feel like I can be flat with support and not overthinking bugs crawling on me,” Kenat said. 

All in all, the hammocks in the Quad seem to be the perfect nap spot for students, with their access to sunlight, a slight breeze and lots of people-watching opportunities. Students’ only complaint? The fact that we only have eight of them. 

“There should be more hammocks on campus.” Kenat said. “People need to nap during the day.”

Written by Amber Duhs — alduhs@ucdavis.edu