your seat on the train or plane or just that bench on the park

OSTRICH offers a micro environment in which to take a warm and comfortable power nap at ease. It is neither a pillow nor a cushion, nor a bed, nor a garment, but a bit of each at the same time. Its soothing cave-like interior shelters and isolates our head and hands (mind, senses and body) for a few minutes, without needing to leave our desk.A company claims to have found the ideal product to help travellers counter the ill effects of jet lag and long-haul flights.“With the kind of schedule I have, I usually end up working for more than 12 hours a day and my power naps are very important to me.It's getting louder. You turn to look. An eldritch creature emerges from a gray pod! Oh wait, it's just a fellow traveler removing his Ostrich Pillow. No need to panic.The Ostrich Pillow looks a bit like a giant garden squash gone soft. It has a hole for your face so you can breath and two side holes to stick your hands in.The Kickstarter project page refers to it as "a micro environment in which to take a comfortable power nap in the office, traveling, or wherever you want." I like to catch my naps while being driven to meetings or simply during a five-minute break that I take from work while working at my computer. However, ambient noise and light used to be a problem. That is, till I discovered the ostrich pillow. Now, I just have to slide it over my head and drop off to dreamland,” says Rakesh Khatri, a self-employed media professional.You're waiting for your flight at the airport. A snuffling sound emanates from behind you. 

Technology blogs were among the first to contribute to the Ostrich Pillow’s ascent. CNET, the Next Web and TechCrunch each published posts linking to the project’s Kickstarter page, helping it reach the more than 1,000 people who have pledged money.The Ostrich Pillow is not the first awkward attempt at creating a sleep aid for cubicle rats, so why did it resonate so strongly within the tech industry?It’s a refreshing concoction that combines the early-adopter appeal of crowd-funding with the universal need to unplug and rest, Ali Ganjavian, one of the inventors, said by phone from Switzerland.Enter the Ostrich Pillow, an invention out of a Madrid architecture and design studio that basically allows a human to do the equivalent of an ostrich putting their head in the sand in order to create a quiet space anywhere to nap — from the office to an airport.The product, which has been called everything from “super cool” (The next Web) to “the most ridiculous idea ever to get funded on Kickstarter” (BusinessInsider.com) was born from the fact that its creators themselves worked long hours, had peaks and troughs in productivity and creativity — and learned that a nap could make a huge difference.“You can use this to disconnect for a little while,” he said. The pillow “responds to a very contemporary need. I think a lot of people are recognizing that. That’s why a lot of people within the technology industry are supporting this.”It probably also helps that Ganjavian, both in the promotional video and in my interview with him, channels Steve Jobs. Ganjavian said consumers often don’t know what they want until you show it to them, borrowing a phrase often used by the Apple co-founder.“Go back 100 years, and imagine the first person walking down a rainy street with an umbrella,” he said. “You think, ‘Well, what is he doing? Oh, he’s not getting wet.’”The money from Kickstarter will enable Ganjavian’s company to start mass producing Ostrich Pillows. While he has worked on some six-dozen products in his career, this will be the first such endeavor for his 42-person Studio Banana, which also offers advertising and other creative services. They currently have seven prototypes floating around an office in Switzerland that get plenty of use.By using Kickstarter, the 14-person team that designed the pillow was able to gauge whether the product could reach a broader audience beyond themselves and their friends. Not unlike a certain blanket-poncho phenomenon, the Ostrich Pillow is quickly winning sleepy fans.The concept of power naps, long regarded to be a productivity booster, recently received a boost itself with the invention of the “ostrich pillow”. A contraption the size of the average human head, it fits snugly over your head, effectively shutting out the noise and light around you. It lets you take a nap anywhere, be it your desk at work, your seat on the train or plane or just that bench on the park.

The pillow will set you back a $75 pledge, but it will earn you plenty of attention when you try it out in public.“With the kind of schedule I have, I usually end up working for more than 12 hours a day and my power naps are very important to me. I like to catch my naps while being driven to meetings or simply during a five-minute break that I take from work while working at my computer. However, ambient noise and light used to be a problem. That is, till I discovered the ostrich pillow. Now, I just have to slide it over my head and drop off to dreamland,” says Rakesh Khatri, a self-employed media professional.You're waiting for your flight at the airport. A snuffling sound emanates from behind you. It's getting louder. You turn to look. An eldritch creature emerges from a gray pod! Oh wait, it's just a fellow traveler removing his Ostrich Pillow. No need to panic.The Ostrich Pillow looks a bit like a giant garden squash gone soft. It has a hole for your face so you can breath and two side holes to stick your hands in.The Kickstarter project page refers to it as "a micro environment in which to take a comfortable power nap in the office, traveling, or wherever you want."Considering the level of antsiness from the TSA at airports, you may also earn yourself a visit from a security officer if you attempt a pillow power nap before catching your plane.Personally, I wouldn't be caught out in public with an Ostrich Pillow on my head, but I could see it being a pleasant wintertime companion on a cold night -- in the privacy of my own home.Napping has been endorsed by everyone from NASA to the NBA. Studies have shown it can boost your brainpower, improve performance, help with weight loss and even enhance your libido!