It’s Time to Normalize Daytime Sleep
With global temperatures likely to rise significantly in the coming decades and U.S. jobs still reeling from the pandemic, now is the perfect time for Americans to demand fundamental changes in how we live and work. And we should start with the normalization of sleep after dinner.
Blowing off air at the hottest time of the day to get some sleep has a long history and is practiced across cultures, and more widespread use will reduce strain on the power grid at the hottest time of the day, reduce heat-related injuries in people who work outdoors, and generally cheer everyone up. Dozing is not laziness. It’s just a good idea.
History of the siesta
Siesta is often associated with Spain, but the true origin of the siesta is in ancient Rome, where the sixth hour of daylight after dawn, around 13:00 in winter and 15:00 in summer, was used for eating, resting, and recuperating. . The practice of turning everything off for a while in the middle of the day is still practiced in most of Italy and in many other countries, especially in places where it is hot in the middle of the day. In Spain, midday naps used to be common, but in recent years it has become less common, with only about 40% of Spaniards surveyed saying they sleep in the middle of the day.
The Science of Afternoon Naps
According to sleep scientists, our sleep schedule can be seen as a conflict between two opposing drives. Our “sleep load,” or homeostatic propensity to sleep , increases the longer we stay awake—the farther we are from waking, the more we want to sleep. On the other side of the scale is our circadian wake signal. This usually happens at the beginning of the day to keep us awake. A siesta can take this pleasant place when our desire for sleep is high and the desire for wakefulness has not yet flared up. This is, in the words of noted sleep researcher Charles Zeisler , “the perfect time to sleep.”
Is the siesta our best tool in the fight against global warming?
No, siesta is not the best tool to fight global warming; cheap, renewable energy. But a siesta could still help a little. While we sleep, our body temperature drops and we don’t need as much air conditioning as when we are awake. If everyone took off for a couple of hours in the middle of the day, we would probably use less energy and burn less fossil fuels. Yes, we may have to tweak a few things at the end of the backlight day, but it’s still a good thing.
Personal pros and cons of taking a nap in the middle of the day
Research on the effects of daytime sleep shows conflicting information. A short mid-day nap has been shown to improve cognitive function , but frequent naps have also been linked to higher blood pressure . A 2019 study published in the medical journal Heart found that people who nap once or twice a week had a 48% lower risk of heart disease than those who didn’t, but a 2015 study published in the journal Sleep found that people who sleep for an hour or more a day are almost twice as likely to develop cardiovascular disease than people who don’t sleep during the day. (As a rule, an hour’s sleep is too long.) Daytime naps have been proven to improve athletic performance and our well-being , but longer naps can lead to disorientation and cognitive decline.
Ultimately, there is conflicting evidence about the effects of habitual daytime naps on cognition, blood pressure, obesity, metabolic patterns, and mortality, but there is strong evidence that the desire to take a nap after dinner is genetic. “Daytime naps are driven by biology, not just environmental or behavioral choices,” concludes Hassan Saeed Dashti of the MGH Genomic Medicine Center, co-author of an extensive study of genetics and daytime sleep.
If it’s in our genes to take a nap in the middle of the day, how is it not a tyranny for those who stay awake among us to expect us to stay awake after dinner?
Workplaces of Tomorrow, Comfortable Sleeps of Today
Thankfully, the message of napping is reaching some jobs. Sleeping at work used to be considered a crime, but more and more companies are encouraging employees to catch a few Z’s at work. Google campuses around the world are equipped with “EnergyPods” – high-tech sleep cameras with soothing lights, soft music and relaxing vibrations. At ice cream company Ben & Jerry’s, giving workers time and space to sleep is seen as “another way to take care of the people who work there. ” Even the humble accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers has a sleep room in its Swiss office and offers a sleep-friendly, flexible schedule.
The changing American workplace
The work-from-home revolution sparked by the COVID pandemic has shaken up the meaning of the word “work” around the world. Priorities are being redefined as Americans seek greater work-life balance. With America’s resurgent workforce and an economy with historically low unemployment, now is the perfect time to demand the right to take a nap. We need to normalize the siesta, and we need to do it now. I encourage each of you to walk into your boss’s office and say, “What do we want? Nap! When we want me to… zzz.