The Financial Benefits of Siesta
I learned about siesta first as a child visiting Mexico and then as an adult from pure necessity. I used to be a preschool teacher from 8-1 every day. That half-day would feel like I had been running ragged for twelve hours. At exactly 2:30 I would get home and not be able to stay awake to work on my creative projects. I did that in the evening, after napping.
At about this time of year, when it finally gets hot in the Northwest, I start needing a daily nap. I was shaking my fist recently at some radio news as some financial people interviewed poo-pooed the idea of a siesta benefiting corporate America. It’s cut-throat survival of the fittest here and fit seems to mean exhausted and jacked-up on caffeine. Mediterranean climates, and our neighbors to the south have historically known a different kind of work day.
The numbers are there as the Siesta Awareness website notes:
‘œA short 10-20 minute nap in the middle of a working day can increase productivity by over 30% and alertness by 100% as well as improve memory and concentration, according to NASA.’
And in tests in the States, siesta does great things for business:
‘œThe benefits of napping have been well documented. Research has shown that a nap can promote physical well-being, improve mood and memory, sharpen senses and revitalize a person. The neurons in brain functioning get to rest and recuperate from the day’s stress. Intellectual performance improves from the boost a midday nap provides and accuracy in performance increases too. MRI’s of nappers show that brain activity stays high throughout the day with a nap. Without one, it declines as the day wears on.’
An article taking the city of Stockton , CA, as an example, talks about the great economic benefits of nap time in the hot months being good for small businesses which would remain open and be visited or can close down during the slow afternoon hours. It also boasts the benefit of businesses saving energy in the middle of the day when it is most expensive. Something simple makes a big impact:
‘œManagers could cut back AC from, say, 78 to 85 while they are gone.Workers would return later when cooler evening temperatures required less air conditioning’
It would be an adjustment, to be sure. Siesta time means having to work later into the evening. It would re-arrange the world of child-care for sure. Dinner would be pushed back. It definitely would be hard to implement in the corporate world. So I think I’m actually talking more to the self-employed, part-timers or the increasing numbers of people who are making their own hours at work.
If you get to arrange your day, try taking anywhere from a 10 minute to a one hour nap. (The jury is out about what th ebest amount of time is. I find either 20 minutes or two hours to be best). See if your productivity, creativity or alertness is effected. It could actually help you make more money.
I know without a doubt that my ability to nap in the afternoon this summer makes me get housework done faster, gets me to write more songs, I’m a better life coach, and somehow, after taking a nap, marketing and paying the bills feel like less of a chore!
What an interesting idea! The Shabbat nap is an important part of Orthodox Jewish practice – I’ve recently read some essays on its spiritual and physical importance. I can see how extending the concept into the work week could possibly make sense.
When I was just out of college in the early 1980s, one of the first contracting jobs I had involved working out of my house from 12-4, twice a day. I would sleep from just after 4AM until 11 or so, have a light meal, and then start work. My coworkers were available via phone if I had any need to collaborate. At 4PM I would quit and go where I was going for the evening, usually beating the evening rush hour. Around 10 or so my friends would be ready to quit for the night, and I would go home. At midnight I’d start work again – in these days before personal computers I got faster response time on my 1200 baud modem when no one else was on the system.
I got so tired in the middle of the day – it’s one of the reasons I retired a couple years early.
I just try to listen to my body rather than apply rigid theory. When it says, ‘Sleep or I’m going to start making mistakes to make you wish you had’ is when I head for the sofa.