Schools install sleeping pods

Las Cruces, N.M. -- Several New Mexico high schools have installed 'sleep pods' for students to rest between classes or to use as a safe space.  They are being tested at Las Cruces, Chaparral and Onate High Schools in the southern part of the state.

The program was conceived when Linda Summers, an associate professor at New Mexico State univerity, wrote for a federal grant more than six years ago.

"We spend tax payer dollars on a lot of junk. This actually has been used," Summers says.  "What other equipment do you know that's being used so quietly in a school because it's effective."

The Feds ended up giving the money to pay for the pods that cost $14,000 each.

Summers says they are more than just a place to nap.  She says students can use them to take a break if they are stressed out.

She hopes to get another grant to place more of the pods in other schools in the Las Cruces area.

The pods are made by Metronaps, an Edgewood, NY based company.