Tin du lịch The youth of Hanoi are gathering for an all-night coffee session.

Escaping from the hundreds of people in line, Bao Tran stepped into a wide area with dozens of tents of a café in Nhat Tan Ward, Tay Ho District.​

But it took 30 minutes for the 24-year-old girl from Cau Giay to find a satisfactory seat. For the past three months, this café has become her familiar spot when she wants to work overnight.

"After several times arriving at 9 PM only to leave because there were no seats, I tried coming from 7 PM - 8 PM, an hour before the peak time, but it was still crowded," Tran said.

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Bao Tran, 24, from Hanoi, brings her laptop to a 24-hour open space café in Nhat Tan Ward, Tay Ho District to work overnight, on the evening of October 26. Photo: Thanh Nga

As a design staff member, Tran said the nature of her work allows for flexible hours, so she often works overnight whenever she needs to meet deadlines. Instead of sitting in a very quiet room that makes her sleepy or going to other 24-hour cafés in the city with cramped spaces, she prefers to work here to watch the passersby, feeling energized and motivated working alongside others who share her rhythm of life. "I come here every day, sitting in the tent looking out at the sandy area, it feels like a vacation," Tran said.

The 24-hour café model has been present in Hanoi for about 10 years, primarily located in small alleys with a fairly limited number of customers. For the past three months, this 24-hour café in Nhat Tan Ward has become a "hot" spot, attracting many young people because all activities take place in an open space.

The prices of drinks at the café are not much different from regular cafés, ranging from 50,000 to 100,000 VNĐ. In addition to coffee, the café offers fast food, has a large screen for film projections, bean bags, and sets up tents for customers to work while relaxing without any additional fees.

One staff member said that the busiest time is after 9 PM, averaging 200-300 people, double that of the daytime. More than 50% of the customers are aged 18-27, coming here to study and work overnight until 6-7 AM the next day. "Sometimes there are some families and ride-hailing drivers who stop by to rest for a few hours overnight," the staff member said.

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Do May (right), comes with friends to study, on the evening of October 26. Photo: Thanh Nga

Do May (20 years old, from Hoan Kiem District) said she visits the café two or three times a week. Initially, she came because the café was popular on social media, intending to just check-in but now she is "addicted" to coming here to study.

Previously, May often went to 24-hour cafés on Tong Duy Tan Street (Hoan Kiem District) but often felt sleepy because it was too quiet, and there was no place for a break. Here, when she wants to relax and stay alert, she and her friends often go to the garden area a few hundred meters from their seating area.

Psychologist Tran Huong Thao (Ho Chi Minh City) believes that it is understandable why many people prefer cafés with spacious outdoor areas because "the perception of an open space with both width, depth, and height always makes people feel liberated."

"Many young people have the habit of only being effective when working at night, so they really enjoy going to places that make them feel free and comfortable," the expert said.

However, Master's degree holder Nguyen Viet Chung, a lecturer at Hanoi National University of Medicine and Pharmacy, warns young people not to overdo it. "Going to cafés overnight in outdoor spaces has many negative effects on physical and mental health," he said.

According to the health expert, those following the overnight trend often do not have enough sleep time, leading to a biological rhythm disruption, which impairs physical and mental recovery. In the long run, it can cause various health issues such as anxiety, depression, sleep disorders, and decreased concentration.

"Sleeping outdoors has many stimuli such as light, temperature changes, and noise that prevent a smooth sleep, and the body fails to recover, which can lead to more fatigue," Chung added.

Associate Professor, PhD Tran Thanh Nam, Vice Dean of the School of Education, Hanoi National University, believes that the trend of young people flocking to cafés for all-night stays is "very time-consuming and pointless." Many people who can only be creative at night must choose to get enough compensatory sleep to restore their health.

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Customers crowding the walkway during peak hours at 9 PM on October 26. Photo: Thanh Nga

Accompanying a group of friends to the café for check-in on the evening of October 26, Thanh Huyen (25 years old, from Ba Dinh District) realized that the café was not as dreamy as it appeared on social media. The sight of hundreds of people lying down, gathering to eat and sing made Huyen feel more headache and dizziness than relaxation. She left after sitting for about 30 minutes.

"The crowd made it hard for me to concentrate, not to mention that to sit in the tent, I had to wait for others to leave for my turn," Huyen recounted.

At 2 AM, Thuy Trang (22 years old, from Hai Ba Trung District) left because she "could not keep up with the trend of overnight stays here." She said that because there were many trees around, she often got bitten by mosquitoes, not to mention if it was chilly, she had to prepare an extra thin blanket.

"I tried to stay overnight, but my sleep was restless because of so many people passing by; I felt unsafe sleeping. It's only suitable to come for a chat for a couple of hours and then go home," Trang said.