Golden sleep for the young

At the Hong Kong College of Technology, there is a room for rest where no smartphones are allowed. Once inside, you will find a space capsule, a small sofa and a comfortable corner carpeted in green. Whenever students feel sleepy and tired, the space welcomes them in to recharge with a nap, unbind knotted nerves and rediscover calm.

"I want young people to know that this is not just a space for rest, but they can also come here if they’re feeling down or lonely,” Ivy Yau, a social worker with Hong Kong Playground Association, said. “I want them to also pay attention to their mental health. I want to help them get more calm and peaceful sleep.”

Ivy has been involved in youth work for 20 years. A few years ago, she observed that emotional problems in young people were becoming an increasingly serious issue, with some choosing to take their lives in the worst cases. She thought hard about how she could serve the young better.

In 2017, she decided to take a proper break from her job and went on a 10-week sabbatical through the InnoPower@JC: Fellowship for Teachers and Social Workers programme. For eight weeks, she received innovation training in Hong Kong with fellow social workers. In the other two weeks, she travelled to the UK and Germany for a professional exchange to seek inspiration from local youth projects and deepen her learnings.

Released from the demands of her job, Ivy had more time and space to think and develop her own ideas. The more research she read, the more she became aware of the link between sleep and mental health. After her return to Hong Kong, she started an innovative service project called “InnoPower@JC: Sleeping Hub ” with the support of The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, setting up ‘sleep hubs’ in four youth centres, Hong Kong Baptist University and the Hong Kong College of Technology.