There is no denying the four p.m. slump. Without warning, it sneaks up on unsuspecting workers, zapping productivity and prompting emergency caffeine runs. A ten-minute catnap could solve the problem, but crawling under your desk for a few minutes of shuteye is usually frowned upon in American corporations. I don’t know why. The Spanish often indulge in a daily siesta and they seem to being doing fine. [Note, the Spanish siesta is currently under threat of extinction, most likely influenced by our workaholic ways].

I think one of the next presidential candidates should run on a platform of “Siesta for the USA” and sleep therapist Dr. Rubin Naiman should be hired as the medical authority on the benefits of napping. Naiman believes that human beings are built to nap and that modern western society doesn’t comply with our natural biorhythms. Overriding our natural desire for midday rest interferes with the way we sleep at night he explained in a lecture at the 2005 Complementary and Alternative Medicine Conference in Tucson, AZ.

For American adults, sleeping during the day is taboo — nappers are thought of as lazy and unmotivated — Naiman thinks that we avoid napping because, “when we rest, we experience the opportunistic emergence of our shadow issues.” Basically, when we slow down and give our body the chance to do nothing, we are forced to face all of the issues and problems that we’ve been avoiding through excess activity.

Napping is believed to lower diastolic blood pressure, enhance mood, and improve work and school performance. Progressive employers and educators may want to consider implementing a mandatory nap period. Until then, I’m still pushing for the national siesta.

[via News Target]

Image: michaeldougan.com