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How Siestas Can Make You Healthy, Wealthy & Wise

11/2/2021

21 Comments

 
Siestas Make You Healthy, Wealthy & Wise / Karen McCann / EnjoyLivingAbroad.com
The term "siesta" comes from the Latin for sixth hour, as people tend to get sleepy about six hours after sunrise. Painting: "The Hammock," Gustave Courbet, 1844.

​When I mention my daily siestas to Americans, they often look at me sideways, obviously wondering if I’ve entered my dotage, never matured past the age of five, or deteriorated into a day-drinking couch potato during the pandemic.
 
Some sidle away in quiet alarm at this point, but the hardier souls ask, “You take a nap every afternoon? Really? But then how can you sleep at night?”
 
‘I sleep better at night when I take a siesta,” I explain. “I’m a more relaxed person. My days have a gentler rhythm. And it’s like having fourteen mornings a week!”
 
If they’re still unconvinced, I can now point out that Spain was just awarded the highest health grade on the planet in a sleep study comparing life expectancy, the Bloomberg Healthiest Country Index, and average sleep time. ”Bloomberg gave Spain the highest health grade: 93 percent (that's a solid A), while the U.S. came in 35th with a score of 73 (eek, that's a D...minus),“ reported Well + Good. You may be surprised to learn more snooze time doesn’t automatically earn a higher health grade. Spain averages a modest 7 hours and 10 minutes, while Mexico, despite a solid 9 hours nightly, has the lowest life expectancy of the 37 countries in the study.

Siestas Make You Healthy, Wealthy & Wise / Karen McCann / EnjoyLivingAbroad.com
After a long morning driving tourists around Seville, this caballero sensibly opted for a restorative siesta under the trees.

​Lots of factors influence Spain’s health grade, of course, including the famous Mediterranean diet. But I am convinced (based on completely random, unscientific, anecdotal evidence) that another key element is their relaxed attitude toward sleep. As far as I can tell, nobody here in Seville worries about how many hours of shut-eye they’re getting. In the US, we’re bombarded with articles such as the CDC’s “1 in 3 adults don’t get enough sleep” with the ominous subhead, “A good night’s sleep is critical for good health” and an opening sentence citing the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Yikes! One minute into the article and I’m already feeling doomed.
 
When I moved to Seville, I was staggered by everyone’s insouciant attitude toward sleep. Last night, for instance, dinner with friends lasted until 1:30 AM — on a weeknight. You get even less snooze time during the annual seven-day Feria de Abril (April Fair). For this giant party, more than a million people dress up and spend every night drinking and dancing until dawn. They then stagger homeward, stopping briefly to refuel at a churros and chocolate stand before navigating the stairs to their apartment and falling into bed. Two hours later, they’re up, gulping coffee, and stumbling off to work. And nobody seems concerned.
 
“It’s just a week,” they say with a shrug. “I’ll be fine.” And so they are. Although to be honest, I wouldn’t schedule elective surgery, car repair, or even a haircut that week. Not everyone will be operating at peak efficiency. 

Seville Feria de Abril / Siestas Make You Healthy, Wealthy & Wise / Karen McCann / EnjoyLivingAbroad.com
I've been told that during the Feria de Abril, Sevillanos average about two hours of sleep a night. Photo: Poncho Tours

​A few years ago, rocket scientists started putting the siesta under a microscope to see if it might prove useful in outer space. “NASA’s research showed that naps really can fully restore cognitive function at the same rate as a full night’s sleep,” reported Business Insider. “The space agency found that pilots who slept in the cockpit for 26 minutes showed alertness improvements up to 54% and job performance improvements by 34%.” Astronauts call this a NASA nap.

NASA naps / Siestas Make You Healthy, Wealthy & Wise / Karen McCann / EnjoyLivingAbroad.com
Nothing says NASA like a nap t-shirt.

In business circles, the preferred term is power nap, to make it sound more grown-up, professional, and goal-oriented. Executive nappers like to point out how many success icons, such as Winston Churchill, Margaret Thatcher, and Albert Einstein, snoozed every afternoon. They’ll then cite the health benefits: siestas reduce the chance of a fatal heart attack by 37% and can reverse information overload and prevent burnout. It’s not difficult to do a cost-benefit analysis that favors siestas. Oops, sorry, I mean power naps.

Power naps / Siestas Make You Healthy, Wealthy & Wise / Karen McCann / EnjoyLivingAbroad.com

And then there’s the coffee nap. I personally have not tried this, but apparently you begin your rest period by downing a latte or espresso, then immediately lie down to sleep or just relax for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, the caffeine molecules are fitting themselves into receptors in the brain that are normally occupied by a chemical called adenosine, which tends to build up during the day, making you sleepy. By around the 20-minute mark, stimulating caffeine molecules have replaced all the sleepy adenosine molecules, leaving you feeling bright-eyed, bushy-tailed, and zippity doo dah. Proponents rave about the reinvigorating effects of this process, which has been dubbed the nappuccino.
 
Of course, it can be tough to find a suitable spot for a doze, especially if you’re traveling or working in a busy office. That’s why humanitarians in Barcelona, Spain created Nappuccino Corner, a café where, for the price of a modest lunch and a coffee, you get a free siesta in one of their individual resting pods. “They are not completely closed in order to prevent any claustrophobic feeling,” says the website, although I suspect it’s mostly to prevent any shenanigans from taking place inside.
​
Nappucchino Corner, Barcelona, Spain / Siestas Make You Healthy, Wealthy & Wise / Karen McCann / EnjoyLivingAbroad.com
At Nappuccino Corner in Barcelona, you can enjoy some postprandial shut-eye in one of their individual resting pods.

With or without coffee, a siesta should only last about 20 minutes. That's because you want to stop before reaching deep REM sleep, which can leave you groggy afterwards. To avoid this, Einstein used to nap with a pencil loosely clasped in one hand, knowing that when he edged toward more profound slumber, the pencil would fall to the floor with a clatter and wake him. Even if you don't sleep but simply rest for 20 minutes, you get the benefits of a siesta. Afterwards, the Spanish advise reanimating yourself with a marienda (afternoon snack) of coffee and sweet pastry — essentially another breakfast — and why not?

​​“Napping gets a bad rap in our culture,” says Psychology Today. “There’s a stubborn perception that napping is a sign of laziness. In fact, it’s just the opposite.” The article explains how a siesta can increase alertness, improve concentration and accuracy, help you make better decisions, and enhance memory and learning.

Churchill & Power Naps / Siestas Make You Healthy, Wealthy & Wise / Karen McCann / EnjoyLivingAbroad.com
​​
Afternoon siestas not only improve your mental and physical wellbeing, they give you something pleasurable to look forward to every day. I begin by closing the shutters to create a cozy twilight, then stretch out on the couch; if it's cool enough, I wrap up in cozy blanket. I open my Kindle, read a few pages, then close my eyes, just for a moment … and wake up twenty minutes or so later, feeling deeply refreshed.

​Do siestas really make you healthy, wealthy, and wise? Science says yes, but don’t take my word for it, or even Einstein’s. Try it for yourself. This will, of course, be easier if you work at home or live in Spain, where everything shuts down for the midday break. And no doubt your schedule is pretty full already. But hey, if Churchill could squeeze in naps while fighting off Hitler, maybe you can find twenty spare minutes in your schedule, too. Just be prepared for a few quizzical looks from friends, neighbors, and co-workers who have yet to discover the happy truth: taking a siesta is hitting the reset button on your day. And who doesn’t want to do that?
​
Siestas Make You Healthy, Wealthy & Wise / Karen McCann / EnjoyLivingAbroad.com
Rich is blessed with the ability to sleep anywhere: trains, planes, even (on one memorable occasion) the dentist's chair. Here's he's stretched out on a Czech train a few years ago, lost in dreamland.

Now that I'm back home in Seville, my favorite city on the planet, I'm taking a fresh look at local culture and customs while discovering how the pandemic has reshaped the landscape. 

​CLICK HERE TO RECEIVE FREE UPDATES 

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21 Comments
Shéa MacLeod link
11/2/2021 06:31:04 pm

After my surgery a few weeks ago, I was ordered to take naps. No joke. Ordered. Even if I didn't sleep I was to rest every afternoon. 3 weeks later at my post-op I told my doc I was still resting, not sleeping, just resting, every afternoon. She told me it was a good thing. 3 weeks on from that, and I'm still resting every afternoon. Mostly with a book, I admit. But I feel better. More relaxed. And hot dang if I'm not gonna try the nappucino!

Reply
Karen McCann
11/3/2021 08:21:32 am

You have a wise doctor, Shéa. Napping is so underrated, even among medical professionals who should know how much good resting does for you. I don't believe that humans were built to race through every day going 100 miles an hour for 16 straight hours.

I hope you are fully recovered from your surgery (or getting there, at least) as you hit the six-week mark, and it's good to know that siestas have helped. If you do try the nappuccino, I want a full report!

Reply
Shéa MacLeod link
11/3/2021 06:52:41 pm

I tried the napuccino yesterday! I can't say it was life changing, but it was a nice 20 minutes of relaxation.

Nancy Solak
11/2/2021 06:49:33 pm

In the photo of Rich napping, reminds me of how I like to nap--in the sun, like a cat!

Reply
Karen McCann
11/3/2021 08:25:27 am

I know what you mean, Nancy. Sleeping in the sun is like wrapping a warm blanket around yourself; there's nothing cozier than that feeling of warm contentment.

Reply
Vida
11/2/2021 07:00:06 pm

Another winner article, Karen! I've been taking naps all my life and I love them. I just stop what I'm doing and darken the bedroom and fall out for a half hour. Yeah, I get the sideways look too, when I tell folks I take naps, some say, You're getting old, and I respond, nope, just taking are of myself :) We miss Sevilla and often think of our time there with you and Rich. You were both so kind to us and we are still so grateful to have spent time with you and Rich. Thank you!!! Hope to see you again once the pandemic drifts away and out of our lives. Besitos, Vida.

Reply
Karen McCann
11/3/2021 08:29:44 am

I love your response, Vida: "Nope, just taking care of myself." Those same people who look at us askance will often go on to talk about their nervous anxiety, exhaustion during the afternoon slump, and dwindling memory and focus. Gosh if only there was something they could do to help with all that!!

I hope you two get back to Seville one of these days. It would be great to see you again!

Reply
Phyllis
11/2/2021 10:38:35 pm

I resisted for a long time because they made me feel so sluggish, but now realize that the short kind of just 20-30 minutes is a reallly good thing. And glad to know about the schedules during Feria. I always wondered how people could continue to work during that time. "It's only for a week."
PS I LOVE the picture of pillows and books!

Reply
Karen McCann
11/3/2021 08:36:43 am

Yes, try shorter naps, Phyllis, and you won't fall into the deep REM sleep which can lead to grogginess. My siestas are generally short, although sometimes I seem to need longer ones, and then I may feel groggy for a little while. But it doesn't last long and I'm soon zipping around again.

I'm so glad you like the photo; it's one of my all-time favorites. I took it in the library of the Duqesa of Alba's Seville home, Las Dueñas, now a museum. Every time I look at it, I just want to plop down on those pillows and start pulling books off the shelves.

Reply
Alicia Bay Laurel link
11/2/2021 11:56:47 pm

Another winning essay, dear Karen! Thank you!

Joe and I actually qualify for having entered our dotage, and Joe does nap daily. I think about it, but I get side-tracked by, well, everything.

Hooray for Spain and the Spanish. We miss both. But getting ourselves over there requires some paperwork, some organizing of things, some gumption, of which, in our dotage, we are falling short. After 19 months of self-quarantine, we're sort of like bears slowly coming out of hibernation.

Reply
Karen McCann
11/3/2021 08:45:33 am

Coming out of self-quarantine takes profound mental and emotional energy, Alicia, and you and Joe are wise to take it slowly. When Rich and I began the process some months ago, we found ourselves exhausted by the simplest things: sitting on a deck with friends or having coffee at a sidewalk table. They key, as the Spanish say about everything, is to go "poco a poco." Easing out of hibernation is definitely the way to go. Don't rush it! You'll get there just when you need to.

Reply
Alicia Bay Laurel link
11/4/2021 01:03:24 am

So true. Everyone says don't even bother starting to renew your passport in November in Panama. It's almost non-stop holidays for government offices until mid-January. Ours don't expire until July, so I think we're OK. The good news is that we are not required to return to the USA to renew them - the embassy in Panama City has been empowered to renew US passports...eventually. Still waiting for our vaccine Q-codes - 2 months later.

All blessings to you and Rich, and thanks for the wonderful essay!

Rebecca Fleenor
11/3/2021 05:52:26 am

So glad you are back in Sevilla so I can live vicariously through you until we get back in the travel mode again.
I absolutely love your blog and your books!
(I don’t think the link to Winters in Sevilla is working?)

Reply
Karen McCann
11/3/2021 08:47:58 am

So glad you liked the post, Rebecca. And thanks for the tip about the missing link. I try to double check every one of the darn things before I publish, but somehow that one slipped through the cracks. It's fixed now, and if you'd like to check it out, go to https://www.enjoylivingabroad.com/my-blog/what-you-wont-find-in-sevilles-winter-wonderland

Reply
Kim Day
11/3/2021 02:36:53 pm

You have done it again!! Another great blog post written with wit and wisdom.

Reply
Karen McCann
11/3/2021 03:32:39 pm

Gosh, thanks, Kim! So glad you enjoyed the post. It was great fun to write, and of course, I've been diligently researching the subject for the better part of two decades.

Reply
Faye
11/4/2021 03:58:43 am

Never been much of a napper but the nappuccino sounds very appealing. I think my golden years are calling me to change a bit!

Love the “Hammock” but I could never sleep in that position. One of my daughters-in-law could as she can sleep anywhere anytime, even sitting down!

I really enjoyed this post, Karen. Good content, fun, interesting, and love the photos too.

Reply
Karen McCann
11/4/2021 08:09:59 am

Fay, almost nobody (except your daughter-in-law) could sleep in that position, and absolutely nobody looks that good when they siesta. Most of us look, at best, like that photo of Rich, crumpled and splay-footed. As for the nappuccino, Shéa tried it and wrote, "I can't say it was life changing, but it was a nice 20 minutes of relaxation." So I consider that a thumb's up! Let me know if you decide to give it a go.

Reply
Maria Shipley link
11/4/2021 07:11:51 pm

I've been taking naps for the past 20 years or so.
I work from home, and have been able to set aside 40 minutes each day for reading and napping.

It happens occasionally that I fall asleep while on my first page. But most times I read for about 20 minutes (it is important not to check the time though), and I sleep for the remainder.

I'm fortunate, I know. I usually wake up feeling grateful as well.

Reply
Walter George
11/9/2021 08:33:03 am

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Reply
nathalie link
11/9/2021 10:20:58 am

Thanks for sharing !

Reply



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