news

our reporter lu yue □ wang ziqian

with the arrival of the new semester, schools in many parts of the country have introduced reclining desks and chairs. this innovative move not only brings students a more comfortable lunch break experience, but also promotes the development of the "sleeping economy."

industry insiders pointed out that the popularity of reclining desks and chairs not only reflects the school's emphasis on the physical and mental health of students, but also brings important changes to the traditional way of taking lunch breaks.

many schools introduce reclining desks and chairs

innovating the traditional lunch break

at the beginning of the new semester, many schools across the country have introduced reclining desks and chairs, bringing a new experience to students' lunch breaks. reporters learned that this move not only reflects the school's emphasis on students' physical and mental health, but is also an important innovation in the traditional way of lunch breaks. according to cctv.com, with the arrival of the new semester in the fall of 2024, schools in ji'an, jiangxi, jiaxing, zhejiang, luohe, henan and other places have taken the lead in using reclining desks and chairs to create a more comfortable lunch break environment for students.

for a long time, primary and secondary school students have generally faced the problem of insufficient sleep due to heavy schoolwork. as an important period for regulating students' physical and mental state, the quality of lunch break directly affects students' learning efficiency in the afternoon. however, the design of traditional desks and chairs is not suitable for students' lunch breaks. sleeping prone not only leads to poor sleep quality, but also may cause health problems such as decreased vision and cervical spine damage. therefore, exploring a more scientific and reasonable way of lunch break has become the focus of common concern of relevant departments and schools.

in this context, reclining desks and chairs came into being. the reporter noticed that this type of desk and chair is not much different from ordinary desks and chairs in appearance, but through clever design, it can be quickly transformed into a comfortable "small bed" during lunch break. for example, the top of the chair is equipped with a stretchable headrest to support the neck; the lower part of the chair hides a folding footrest, which can be pulled out to place the feet; and the backrest can be adjusted according to the needs to achieve different angles of lying down. in addition, the desk part is also designed with the function of lifting or side lifting to leave enough space for students lying down.

reclining desks and chairs are well received

boosting the development of the "sleeping economy"

since the introduction of reclining desks and chairs to campus, they have been widely praised by teachers, students and parents. students from the affiliated primary school of the national ocean normal university (haiguang campus) in nantong, jiangsu province, are full of praise for the new desks and chairs.

one student said: "i used to sleep on the table and my hands would always feel sore when i woke up, but the reclining tables and chairs are easy to operate and we can have a comfortable lunch break." luo weixu, the vice principal of the school, also introduced that the school has placed the tables and chairs in the public interactive classroom to facilitate all students who come to the classroom to participate in activities. he plans to gradually expand the scope of the pilot program to allow more students to enjoy this benefit.

the reporter saw that similar situations also occurred in other pilot schools. wufeng central primary school in wan'an county, ji'an city, jiangxi province has currently installed 610 sets of reclining desks and chairs. gao liang, the party branch secretary and principal of the school, said in an interview with the media, "the school has equipped first and second grade students with reclining desks and chairs, which effectively solves the problem of students' mental state being affected by bad sleeping postures. nowadays, students sleep well during lunch breaks and are in a very good mental state during afternoon classes."

the reporter learned that zhang qiongli, a deputy to the national people's congress and a young teacher at enshi high school, had proposed a proposal on "accelerating the promotion of primary and secondary school students' change from 'slumping sleep' to 'lying sleep'". she pointed out that "the relevant departments should add detailed rules for 'primary and secondary school lunch break management' on the basis of the original 'sleep order', and uniformly promote and categorize the 'lying sleep' of primary and secondary school students. it is recommended that the finance departments at all levels set up special funds for 'primary and secondary school campus lunch break facilities' to provide financial support and policy guarantees for the venues and facilities needed for primary and secondary school students to take naps at school." it is not difficult to see that the promotion of reclining desks and chairs is a positive response to this proposal.

in addition, the introduction of reclining desks and chairs has also driven the development of related industries. it is reported that some companies in zhejiang and other places have formed a "reclining economy" of initial scale. this not only brings new growth points to the market, but also provides more options for solving the problem of students' lunch breaks.

formulate scientific and reasonable policy plans

expand the popularity of reclining desks and chairs

although the promotion of reclining desks and chairs has achieved remarkable results, there are still some challenges in the implementation process. lin xianping, secretary general of the institute of culture and creativity of zhejiang university city college, said in an interview with reporters, "first, the replacement of desks and chairs requires a lot of capital investment, which will bring certain pressure to schools. secondly, some schools may not understand and accept this new type of desks and chairs enough, and need to strengthen publicity and education. finally, the quality and safety of reclining desks and chairs also need to be strengthened to ensure the health and safety of students."

in this regard, lin xianping suggested that in order to regulate this emerging market, the government should strengthen supervision over manufacturers of reclining desks and chairs to ensure product quality and safety; schools should strengthen communication and cooperation with relevant departments to jointly promote the healthy development of this field; schools can also establish a feedback mechanism to collect students' opinions and suggestions in order to improve and optimize desks and chairs.

"in the future, reclining desks and chairs are expected to become one of the mainstream trends in school furniture selection. first, as the government pays more attention to the physical and mental health of students, reclining desks and chairs can better meet the needs of students for lunch breaks. secondly, teachers and students are paying more and more attention to the quality of students' lunch breaks, which has promoted the rapid development of the reclining desks and chairs market. in addition, governments in many places have introduced policies to support the promotion and application of reclining desks and chairs, providing a good policy environment for the market. therefore, relevant departments can conduct a comprehensive assessment of the economic conditions of schools in different regions, understand the actual needs and purchasing capabilities of each school, continuously track and evaluate the effectiveness of policy implementation, and adjust and improve policy measures in a timely manner. in short, the promotion and application of reclining desks and chairs is a significant task that requires the joint efforts and support of the government, schools, and all sectors of society. by formulating scientific and reasonable policies and financial support plans, strengthening standardized management and publicity and guidance, we can promote the popularization of reclining desks and chairs across the country." wang peng, a researcher at the beijing academy of social sciences, said in an interview with reporters.