Keep Calm & Take a Siesta

The hustle and bustle of American society, what with its encouragement of productivity that is better, faster, and more efficient, is quite frankly exhausting. I echo the sentiments Dr. MB expressed in class last week: that we all have too many obligations. By the middle of the school/work day, the productivity of students, workers, etc., grinds to a halt. At this point, the boosting effects of caffeine have more than likely worn off, lunch has come and gone, we've been at work for hours yet still have hours to go, all for it to repeat the next day. This daily slog needs legitimate replenishment. Caffeine or other methods of stimulation can only go so far. Therefore, I propose a solution that has been used throughout many areas in the world for centuries: the siesta!

WHAT: I propose the siesta, which Google defines as "an afternoon rest or nap, especially one taken during the hottest hours of the day in a hot climate," and typically follows lunch. While the United States is not wholly a hot climate zone, unlike most areas in the world where the siesta is common, the siesta could still serve a valuable purpose. A simple respite (one needn't even sleep) each afternoon could serve as a boon to general morale among hardworking students and the average worker bee. Since siestas, as I have learned, are so common in some countries, many businesses are closed throughout this time period to allow workers to rest, too. The privileged, white-collar worker is not the only beneficiary of the glorious siesta.

WHY: With knowledge from my own experience, I am highly aware that many college students simply do not get enough sleep at night. I am also conscious of the lack of sleep among workers such as my parents, who both work in D.C., and must leave for work by 5:30 or 6 in the morning in order to beat the ridiculous traffic heading into the district. Lack of rest is not healthy. People can literally die from sleep deprivation. Additionally, the culture of the "daily grind" is not healthy either. If only our work-obsessed culture were more forgiving to the beleaguered, downtrodden worker bee and allowed for more rest.   

HOW: The siesta should become a tenet of American society. Similarly to how Hood has established a "common hour," so too should businesses, the government, schools, and other colleges do so, and perhaps designate this as a siesta time. People are free to use their time as they please, but they should be encouraged to utilize this designated siesta time, this period of restfulness, as their time to unwind. A radical idea is that businesses that wish to implement these siesta hours should take a hard line, barring the usage of non-work related activities (such as answering calls/texts, checking social media, etc.), things that most workers do when their bosses' back is turned, but encourage it during these siesta hours. Additionally, instead of making siestas mandatory, businesses could offer incentives to employees that choose to take advantage of this time, especially workers whose productivity has increased following the implementation of this siesta system. The tenet of a siesta could likely become more easily accepted on a college campus, because most students could not say "no" to a mandatory nap. Mandatory siestas, however, could pose issues for students and workers alike who have not planned their schedules accordingly. Siestas could serve as helpful suggestions, beginning in places where they could be easily implemented, among the white-collar and higher education sphere, and then gradually be introduced into other areas of society, gaining support and momentum with it from these rested folks.