In a growing trend across China, an increasing number of schools are upgrading their classroom furniture to include desks and chairs that can be easily converted into recliner beds, allowing students to enjoy more comfortable naps during the school day.
Huichang, a county in eastern China’s Jiangxi province, has taken the lead by equipping eight of its schools with 1,966 sets of these innovative recliner chairs and foldable desks. The initiative, which began in August, is designed to improve students’ comfort during their midday breaks.
The process of converting the furniture is quick and straightforward. Students can pull out a leg rest from under the chair, push back the backrest, and tip up the desktop to create a space where they can lie down and rest. This is a significant improvement from the traditional practice of students hunching over their desks for naps, which often leads to discomfort and neck pain.
“In the past, when we took our naps, we could only hunch over the desk to rest, which made our necks sore. Now we can lie down straight,” said Cai Minhui, a student at Fucheng Central Elementary School, one of the schools in Huichang that received the new classroom furniture.
Ms. Liang Yuling, the vice-principal of the school, believes that this change will help students focus better in class, as a comfortable rest can lead to improved concentration and overall well-being.
In China, it is common for students to have naps at school during the middle of the day. However, the traditional method of napping by leaning over desks has been criticized by experts, who warn that it could be detrimental to children’s physical development. In response, the Ministry of Education in 2021 issued guidelines urging schools to ensure that students get sufficient sleep.
The ministry’s recommendations include at least 10 hours of sleep per day for primary school pupils, and nine and eight hours for junior middle school and high school students, respectively.
The introduction of these recliner chairs has been widely praised on Chinese social media platforms like Weibo. Many users shared their appreciation for the initiative, with one remarking that his chair didn’t even have a backrest in his school days, while another recalled not having food to eat during break time in high school.
However, some netizens raised concerns about whether typical classrooms have enough space to accommodate these reclining chairs. “There are 55 students in my child’s class. Where are they going to find the space for these?” questioned one user, Fu Hua 12345, on the WeChat messaging and social media app.
Despite these concerns, the move to introduce recliner chairs in schools represents a significant step toward enhancing the well-being of students, ensuring they can rest comfortably and be more prepared for their studies.